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An artist's depiction of a Torture chamber of the Inquisition

Torture in the in the Middle Ages was prevalent in European society throughout the entirety of the era was a way in order to extract information out of prisoners who they deemed as treasonous to the state. The objectives were to intimidate, revenge punish, daunt and even dehumanize. Such acts of violence took place all throughout Europe including major powers such as England, France and Germany but also smaller European countries such as Romania. The period in which the majority of torture took place was in the middle and late stages of the Middle Ages between the 9th and 15th century. The reason for this is because of the introduction and spread of the feudal system in 1066, especially in England. This gave the King power over the nation and his followers and limited the rights of the serfs and peasants because they were enslaved to the land.

Specific events within the time line of the Middle Ages such as the Crusades or and the Spanish Inquisition are closely associated with accounts of torture.

Importance of Social Hierarchy

Social and economic hierarchy within European society had an extreme impact on who was tortured and who was not. One’s socioeconomic value depended on the social pyramid, which was structured by the feudal system. Due to the strict ‘pecking order’ those that failed to comply often were the most tortured. At the top of the pecking order is the Pope followed by the King who owned the land and thus its people. Those civilians below the king such as the Nobles and Knights were less susceptible to being tortured because they were more valued in society due to their wealth and allegiance to the King and Church.

There is a direct relationship between the amount of social and economic value in the Middle Age society and the personnel who were tortured, serfs and peasants being the most frequent because they lacked rights and were of much lesser value.

Those directly below the King such as Lords, high officials or kinship were off limits to being subject to torture. Those that were tortured the most in society were most often men and due to the ties to the Church, women and young adults were only tortured under extreme circumstances.

Circumstances for Torture

In order for a civilian to be sentenced to torture, the majority of cities and townships had a central council that decided if a person was of any guilt and then if their crime was punishable by torture. Depending on the degree of the accused crime the heretic was ushered to a specific court. For major crimes either against the state or church the accused were taken to the either the royal or church court respectfully. For smaller crimes, civilians were taken to manor courts.

Although throughout the Middle Ages, torture was prevalent, especially through times of change in state, power or church, it was not always the first method chosen by the state for punishment and to instill fear. In fact, torture was used more on those who were already convicted of wrongdoings to get treacherous information about possible uprisings or threats to state or church. In the Spanish Inquisition for example only one to two percent of heretics were condemned to torture. Yet, this does not suggest that torture was only used as a method of divulging information.

Sometimes the circumstances were that torture was used as a prelude to the execution of a condemned felon. In these situations, the convict would be tortured firstly to gain valuable information, and then put through more torture for pure punishment and pain and lastly an execution phase of torture was devised and utilized. In these circumstances torture could last up to five or six hours.

Reasons why people were tortured

There are a multitude of reasons why civilians were sentenced to torture, yet the most frequent crime was high treason. The frequency of this sentence was high because treason was viewed as one of the most unethical, anti-religious or inhumane act because it challenged those in power, namely the King and Church. It was also highly sought after due to the possible threat to power. Other reasons for torture included murder or rape and in the largest of cities during eras such as the early Tutor period (15th century) civilians were tortured for minor crimes such as stealing, poisoning or even adultery.

Another circumstance that influenced the frequency of torture in the Middle Ages was the area that problems occurred. In major cities due to the strong link to power, rules and livelihood in general were stricter and in order to maintain control, more people were tortured. In the largest cities, castles for imprisonment and torture were erected to keep those who were deemed as dangerous or influential away from the general populous. Yet in contrast, many towns did not have buildings for torture, but chose not to torture many of the civilians at all. Nevertheless, The overall decision, for the large cities or small town was based largely upon the degree of the crime.

Methods of Torture

The methods of torture in the Middle Ages vary amongst different societies, countries and cultures, yet are nevertheless some of the most inhumane and vile methods history has ever seen. The following are some examples of torture methodology:[1]

Minor Offenses

• Starvation
• Flagellation, whipping and beating
• Beating
• Bone breaking
• Branding and Burning

• Cutting

Major Offenses

• Disfigurement
• Dislocation
• Drowning
• Flaying
• Roasting
• Genital mutilation
• Limb/finger removal
• Extended Starvation
• Tongue removal
• Ripping out teeth / nails
• Castration
• Boiling
• Blinding

Instruments or Devices of Torture

See also: Medieval instruments of torture

Beyond just methods of torture, many medieval civilizations created instruments or devices to inflict pain procure humiliation or to eventually execute condemned individuals. The Middle Ages are infamous for the amount and degree of brutality of these tools. The following are a couple of examples of instruments commonly used in England, France, and Spain:

Heretic's fork (strap missing)

18th century illustration of perjurer John Waller pilloried and pelted to death in London, 1732.

Cofin Torture – victims are put into a hanging wooden entrapment, usually smaller than normal to increase uncomfort. Victims usually left inside in direct exposure to the sun and so animals could eat at the flesh.

Brank – Used especially for women. The brank is a metal mask often with spikes that cut when one’s mouth opens. Used to humiliate them in public for willingly gossiping, ridiculing and lying about neighbors for no purpose but to insult.

Heretic’s Fork – A double-edged rod, which extends from the lower chin to the upper chest and is connected by a collar on the neck. Used for interrogation purposes, yet and makes it near impossible to speak without inflicting pain and possible death through infection.

Pillory – One of the most characteristic tools used in the medieval era, the pillory is a wooden clasp that holds the head and the arms tightly locked to expose the back for flagellation and humiliation.

The Wheel – designed for slow death, the victim was attached to the spokes on a wheel and was beaten so that his or her bones were broken and left to die over several days.

Thumbscrew- Popular instrument used as preliminary torture that locked the victim’s fingers in place and slowly crushed them.

Pendulum- was used to force confessions by tying the victims wrists behind his back with a rope connected a pulley system that when turned could eventually dislocate a victim’s shoulders.

Spanish Tickler – Tool that tore mutilated all desired parts of the body by ripping the skin apart along with racking bone and muscle

Myths about Middle Age torture

Although torture was most frequent during the Middle Ages, the most often method of execution was hanging.

Public executions were far and few between, in fact most of the executions were done in prison castles away from the public.

The Church albeit strict and powerful also was a sanctuary for small time criminals and even helped those flee the country

In most smaller towns and cities depending on the degree of the crime, the accused were sentenced to exile and the repossession of all valuables.

End of Middle Age Torture

By the end of the 15th century and early 16th century, the Church had already begun to view torture as an inhumane way to punish criminals for testimony and feared for the rights of its people. As this influence grew the acts of great torture were slowly ceasing and by 1640 in the early modern era, torture in England was abolished.