They also assure us that the Iron Maiden, the Pear of Anguish, the Spanish Chair, and other “medieval torture devices” were product of much more recent times, and were built for entirely different purposes. Torture was used in the middle ages, Buzzkillers, but scholars assure us that it was not as extensive as usually thought.
Why did they do this? The list of reasons includes the fact that “freak shows” and “horror shows” drew lots of patrons that it was easy to depict medieval societies as backward and barbarous and making “modern” people feel better about themselves was an excellent way to sell tickets and make money. “Medieval” torture devices were invented by carnival showmen and “house of horrors” promoters, and occasionally by museums.
So where did this myth come from? Well, the popularity of medieval torture devices had its heyday not during the medieval period, as you might expect, but during 19th century. As demonstrated by the rack, a torture device could be used to inflict either physical or psychological pain on its victim and make him/her confess. Therefore, Medieval torture devices were seldom designed to actually kill their victims. One of the main goals of torture was to extract a confession. Ditto for the Pear of Anguish, the Spanish Chair, and many other alleged medieval torture devices. Medieval Torture Wanted to Extract Confessions. In fact, Iron Maidens didn’t even exist in medieval times, and there is no evidence of an Iron Maiden ever being used for anything but scaring the pants off of museum patrons in more recent centuries. These devices are all terrible, to be sure, but they also have one other thing in common. There was also the “Spanish Chair,” made of spikes and used as a seat for hapless heretics while they had their feet boiled – kind of like a spa treatment, but not as relaxing. Ah, from medieval weapon to medieval torture device. Early torturers were fond of tying someone to a large wooden wheel, then pushing it down a rocky hillside. They could be part of a stretching rack, but medieval torturers were far too creative to leave it at that. We previously chronicled how in the Internet age, the whole sex toy thing has gotten completely, terrifyingly out of hand. Wheels were adapted to many torturous uses. There was the “Pear of Anguish,” a steel device that was supposed to be inserted into the body (I’ll let you guess where), and spread like a speculum in order to destroy a person from the inside out. Well, theres a whole new generation of devices that will get your blood pumping for all the wrong reasons. There were plenty of other torture devices, each with a clever name, and allegedly dating back to medieval times.
The spikes would impale the victim, and the blood would drain out the bottom. Allegedly, people were threatened with being put in the Iron Maiden and having the door closed on them. It was a kind of a cabinet with spikes on the inside (and pointing inward). I’m talking about the medieval torture device. In this week’s mini-myth, we take on the Iron Maiden! No, not the heavy metal band.
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