A modern ‘improvement’ features systematically sending an electric current through the chair.
These images depict various military punishments inflicted on soldiers for various transgressions as a means of maintaining discipline.
In the field, summary punishments were unusually preferred to more formal legal proceedings. Facilities for imprisonment were limited, and every convicted soldier removed from active service placed an added burden on the rest of the troops in the company.
Field Punishment Number 1 consisted of the convicted man being shackled in irons and secured to a fixed object, often a gun wheel or similar. He could only be thus fixed for up to two hours in twenty-four, and not for more than three days in four, or for more than twenty-one days in his sentence. This punishment was often known as ‘crucifixion’ and due to its humiliating nature was viewed by many soldiers as unfair.
Field Punishment Number 2 was similar except the man was shackled but not fixed to anything. Both forms were carried out by the office of the Provost-Marshal, unless his unit was officially on the move when it would be carried out regimentally i.e. by his own unit.
In the left-hand image we see an illustration depicting savage tortures used by ‘primitive peoples’. This illustration is typical of the sorts of propaganda which underlined and supported the expansive policies of colonisation espoused by Europeans from the sixteenth–nineteenth centuries. Ironically, the tortures depicted as evidence of ‘savagery’ were each readily identifiable in Europe as well. We see the torture of the saw, of impalement, of burning at the stake, or burying alive, of cutting off ears or tongues and of bastinado (caning of the feet).
Below we see one of the many forms of torture and punishment which were commonplace in the Orient. In this case we see an instance of ‘hobbling’ whereby the achilles tendons of a victim are severed so he cannot walk or even stand. This sort of punishment was probably imposed on slaves who attempted to run away (though of what use a recaptured slave who is incapable of standing would be is uncertain).
PLATES 2
This crucifix conceals a dagger. The purpose of this implement was supposedly to aid in the redemption and dispatch of a heretic who was being publicly executed by the office of the Inquisition, perhaps during an auto-de-fe. If the victim would recant their ‘transgressions’ and embrace the cross (in some way) the Inquisitor might be willing to have mercy on them and kill them quickly with the dagger rather than let them die slowly and painfully in the flames.
This simple yet exquisitely made implement would be used to sever parts of the victim. It could be used in a variety of ways from tongues to lips to nipples to finger joints, etc. As this is such a beautifully made example, it is likely that this item may have been originally intended for a different purpose such as the Izmail used by a Mohel in the Jewish ritual of circumcision.
Most people will be familiar with the story of the Man in the Iron Mask supposedly about the twin brother of King Louis XIV of France.
That story was inspired (at least in part) by objects such as this … known as Branks or masks of shame.
This collar, with its suspended bell, would have been worn by a number of different individuals singled out for public humiliation. Whether a penitent or a troublesome guild member, this item would have been locked around their neck and they would have been led through the streets while being whipped, assaulted or otherwise tormented by the raging populace.
Masks of shame – or Branks, as they were more commonly known – came in a wide variety of fantastical forms. Their variation is dependent in part on the imagination of the craftsman who constructed them and in part due to regional differences or variety of offence.
Here we see a variety of fantastical branks. Clockwise from top left: a donkey mask with a sealed mouth; followed by a boar’s head; then the mask of a monarch or pope; and finally what appears to be an ass or sheep. Centre is a German postcard depicting a shrewish wife being publicly shamed for the ‘house dragon’ she is seen to be.
These devices are known as ‘neck-catchers’ and would have been used in a variety of ways and for a variety of reasons. They might be used to lead a prisoner from his holding cell to the torture room and back. They might have been used to escort a condemned man or woman to their place of execution, or they may have been used to parade criminals through the streets. It is clear to see that once the device surrounds someone’s neck, there is very little hope of escape or independent action other than to cooperate with whomever has hold of the pole. In the detailed image at the top of the page you can appreciate the ingenious mechanism which allows for the device to be easily slipped about someone’s neck, but with little hope of them getting out. Using this device a victim could be coordinated and coerced even without any actual contact.
This is the innocently named ‘Pear’. But this devilish device is anything but innocent. The operational mechanism (clearly demonstrated by the two images below) works by twisting the filigree handle so that the ‘petals’ of the pear open outward and can only be contracted by reversing the screw mechanism. This would have been inserted into the vagina or anus and then cranked open with obvious horrific results, or even have been inserted into the mouth and cranked open until the teeth shattered and the jaw dislocated. It is yet another example of where the artistic, beautifully designed and crafted device hides a dark and sinister purpose.
These images depict various forms of restraint. At the top of the page to the right you can see depicted both shackles and manacles for the wrists and ankles as well as a set of thumbscrews or thumbcuffs in the centre of the grouping.
Below that is a headcage which would have been used as a restraint device as well as a form of public humiliation (similar to the brank shown earlier and the scold’s bridle discussed later).
At the bottom of the page we see two very well-preserved examples of thumbscrews. While the thumbscrews in the image at the top of the page have a loop to serve as an attachment point for restraint, those at the bottom of the page are likely to have been created for the sole purpose of inflicting pain.
Here we see a variety of iron cages. These are properly referred to as gibbets, though the term can be somewhat confusing as hanging gallows and very early guillotines were occasionally called gibbets. Whether bodies were placed in these devices following execution for public display or a living victim was locked within to die of exposure, it was public spectacle which encouraged the use of these devices.
Gibbetting was common law punishment, which a judge could impose in addition to execution. It was most often used for traitors, murderers, highwaymen, and sheepstealers, to discourage others.
The structures were therefore often placed adjacent to public highways. Although the intention was deterrence, the public response was complex. Samuel Pepys expressed disgust at the practice. There was Christian objection that persecution of criminals should end with their death. The sight and smell of decaying corpses was offensive, and regarded as ‘pestilential’, so a threat to public health. In some cases, the bodies would be left until their clothes rotted or even until the bodies were almost completely decomposed, after which the bones would be scattered.
The first known mention of chastity belts in the Western world is in Konrad Kyeser von Eichstätt’s Bellifortis, (c. 1400) which describes the military technology of the era. The book includes a drawing (see below) that is accompanied by the Latin text: ‘Est florentinarum hoc bracile dominarum ferrcum et durum ab antea sic reseratum.’ (‘These are hard iron breeches of Florentine women which are closed at the front.’)
The common myth about early chastity belts is that they were used by crusaders travelling to the holy land, to ensure the fidelity of their wives who awaited their return. This seems rather implausible, since those early belts were very uncomfortable, and it seems very unlikely that they could be worn for extended periods of time. Another, more plausible, theory suggests that the belts were used by the women themselves to protect them against rapes du
ring times such as the surrender of a city following a siege.
‘Girdle of Purity’. ‘Girdle of Venus’. ‘Florentine Girdle’: some of the names of the device better known as the Chastity Belt. While not an object used in the dungeon, the belt was responsible for more than its fair share of anguish. The image on the right depicts a design in which the front (vaginal) opening is quite small in order to allow fluids to escape but only very small objects could enter. The example depicted on the right of the top image, however, has a larger opening but one which is studded with very sharp teeth.
Above on the left is an entirely different sort of torture device designed specifically for female anatomy. This device is referred to as a breast ripper. This item was used both as a punitive and an interrogational device. Punitively, it was used red-hot to mark the breast of unmarried mothers. In an inquisitory nature claws were used, either cold or heated, to punch and tear at an accused woman’s bare breasts.
Here we have a truly spectacular piece of craftsmanship. Whether or not chastity belts were locked on women by men who were worried about their fidelity or by the women themselves as protection against rape, it is open to interpretation whether these devices fall into the category of torture. But no matter which interpretation you take, there is no denying the beauty of the design and workmanship of this gilded example.
We may be tempted to consider these objects as barbaric relics of a distant past, but consider the following: In April 2002, the Uwe Koetter Jewellers company of Cape Town, South Africa completed and delivered a spectacular diamond and pearl-encrusted chastity belt made of gold to a British customer. The belt reportedly cost 160,000 African Rand and was a wedding gift from a husband-to-be for his bride to wear at their wedding.
This instrument, sometimes referred to as ‘the throne’ was a pillory-like chair designed to hold the victim upside down by his feet. As you can see in Goya’s illustration (left) the victim, once locked into place, would often have been flogged (note torturer in shadow on the left of the image) or have water poured into his mouth to choke him (note pitcher). Additionally, in the process of inquisition there would be a questioner (centre) and a scribe recording any statements the victim may have been able to make. This device was favoured by inquisitors in areas where the law permitted only one torture session of any given subject. With this device they could declare that they only inflicted one session – even if that session may have lasted for weeks on end. If done carefully, not only would these excruciating tortures have been non-lethal, but they would also have not left any noticeable marks on the body of the victim.
This device is known as both the ‘witch’s spider’ and the ‘Spanish Spider’. These four-pronged, scissor-joined claws were basic tools in the torture dungeon. They served, both red-hot and cold, for the lifting up of the victim by the buttocks, breasts, belly or head, often with two prongs in the ears or the eyes. They can still be found in the Third World today, especially for the interrogation of women.
A prisoner being subjected to this device would have been strapped down before having this forced into his or her mouth and then screwed open. This would result in broken teeth, followed by a broken jaw and then finally (if they were strapped face down) damage to the vertical vertebrae at the back of the neck. Not only could this torture be inflicted upon them, but they could be left in the grip of the jawbreaker for any length of time.
There are many types of bonds that tie humans to inhuman burdens: leg irons, arm irons, belts, and collars in great variety. This example is typical of the idiomatic ball and chain. The prisoner locked within this iron collar would be forced to carry this weight about with him for a long time; weeks, years, perhaps even for the rest of his life. This particular stone weighs 27 lbs (over 12 kg).
Furnished with spikes on all sides, this device (above left), which weighs more than 11 lbs (5 kg) is locked around the victim’s neck, constantly and systematically eroding the flesh of the neck, shoulders and jaw to the bone. Infection, gangrene, sepsis and finally the erosion of the bones themselves (especially the exposed vertebrae) can prove fatal. The spiked necklace (top right) served a similar function. In the bottom right image we can see an example of a cilice belt. While these could be (and were) employed by torturers, they were more commonly self-imposed for the purposes of self-mortification. Whether worn around the torso or around a thigh or bicep, these devices furnished with sharp barbed spikes (222 in this example) on the inside were, and in some circles still are, dear to religious self-mortifiers. Below left we can see an example of a coat of thorns. Rather than serving as a punishment, this is found to be worn in certain parts of the world by torturers or executioners themselves; it certainly would have been helpful in dissuading any victim from readily fighting back.
The punishment of the spiked barrel is fairly straightforward. A victim would be stripped naked and forced into a cask (such as those pictured here) with hundreds of inward-facing spikes. The cask would then be sealed and rolled down a hill or around the town or even thrown into the ocean to be tossed and rolled and thrown by the waves crashing on the shore. It should be apparent that there would be little hope of surviving such an ordeal.
There is not much that needs to be said about the torture of the saw after examining the accompanying illustrations. The implement pictured below is a common four-hand twoman saw used by woodsmen and carpenters through the centuries.
History abounds in martyrs who suffered this fate, one that may be worse even than being burned at the stake with a slow, small fire, or being repeatedly dipped into boiling oil. Owing to his inverted position, which assures ample oxygenation of the brain and impedes the general loss of blood, the victim does not lose consciousness until the saw reaches the level of the lungs or the heart.
The Bible (II Samuel 12:31) tells us that David exterminated the inhabitants of Rabbah by putting man, woman and child ‘under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brick-kiln’.
Perceived (along with the axe and the stake) as a method of execution to be wielded by the righteous, the saw was often meted out to homosexuals of both sexes though predominantly to men. There are various records of this sort of gruesome punishment being carried out in Spain, Germany, France and Italy – among others – until as recently as the nineteenth century.
The images above (based on a woodcut done by Lukas Cranach in 1548) and on the following page clearly show this method of torturous execution in action.
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BY THE SAME AUTHORS:
* * *
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Medieval Furniture: Plans & Instructions
Medieval Celebrations
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First published in 2008
This edition published in 2011
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The Big Book of Pain: Torture & Punishment Through History Page 28