Medieval Torture Devices

[Lobotomist]

Viking Execution Methods
When the Vikings rampaged throughout Eurasia during the years 793-1066 AD, they not only slaughtered everyone they came across, but concocted some very gory means of ending lives. Below i shall list some of these execution methods and hope that none of y'all vomit or faint as you read about them:

The Blood Eagle:
The Blood Eagle is possibly the most famous of all execution methods used by the Vikings upon their enemies. To perform the Blood Eagle, the victim would be lain on a flat object, then a pair of incisions would be cut into the back . This would be followed by the victim's lungs being forced through the incisions, leading to death by blood loss and suffocation. The fact that the victims organs looked like an eagle, and that it was still blood red, was why it was called the Blood Eagle. Below is an image of a Blood Eagle victim:



Baby Skewering:
One of the many horrendous things the Vikings would do was to grab infants by the ankles, throw the crying and screaming infant into the air, and run then impale it on the tip of either their sword or spear. Only one Viking refused to do this, and as a result ended up being called the Child Lover. Unfortunately, i cannot show any images of this because none exist on the internet.

Snake Pit:
When the Vikings conquered England, they updated the Saxon torture of Snake Dropping and evolved it into the Snake Pit. Inside the pit, a Victim would be tied down as vipers and other venomous snakes were placed on the victim. The victim would die of snakebites and so many different kinds of venom that the body would rip itself apart.

[Kazimiera]

A nasty bunch they were. And not squeamish either.

[Virtuous]

Hellz yeah Iron Maiden lml


wouldn't want to be locked inside one

[Graham]

Fuck that. Just chop my head off. Quick & easy.

[alfieb]

Brazen Bull



The Brazen Bull was a hollow brass statue crafted to resemble a real bull. Victims were placed inside, usually with their tongues cut out first. The door was shut, sealing them in. Fires would then be lit around the bull. As the victim succumbed to the searing heat inside, he would thrash about and scream in agony. The movements and sounds, muted by the bull's mass, made the apparatus appear alive, the sounds inside like those of a real bull. This effect created additional amusement for the audience, and served the added benefit of distancing them from the brutality of the torture, since they couldn't directly see the victim.

The Brazen Bull (aka the Sicilian Bull) is of Sicilian origin. The best part of the story isn't just about any victim, but the first victim... the creator of the bull himself, an Athenian inventor named Perillos, was tortured inside of it by the Sicilian dictator he built it for.

Don't feel too bad for him. Perillos was let out of the bull and executed a different way, while the dictator himself wound up being killed inside the Sicilian Bull.

[Loki]

Medieval Europeans were probably more cruel than people from other parts of the world. AND they were Christian! Go figure ...

Thank Gawd our ancestors survived ...

[Kazimiera]

Fuck that. Just chop my head off. Quick & easy.

Even better. Be a good boy, stay on the straight and narrow and don't piss anyone off. Maybe not as thrilling, but much safer.

(OOOPS! Sorry for adding that to your post! I wanted to quote and instead pressed edit! I only realised it now and edited it back to how it was before!)

[Candice Lee]

Hi Kazimiera,

I am an assistant producer from Infocus Asia, a production house based in Singapore producing documentaries for networks all over the world.
We are currently producing a documentary series for the National Geographic channel on urban legends and history of locations.

In my episode focused on India, one of the stories we are looking into is the Inquisition period. I was searching for archives/images of the inquisition and came across your post on this site on Medieval Torture Devices:

http://www.theapricity.com/forum/sho...orture-Devices

You had quite a number of images of torture devices and people being tortured that i thought would be great in our film. Are these from the Inquisition period?

Do these images belong to you?
If so i was wondering if you can source these images (high res versions of it) to us as archive in our film?
The archives will appear in the episode as our character goes on a history investigation of sorts.

We won't be able to pay for them unfortunately because of a constrained budget, but we will definitely credit you in the endshow credits. The show airs on the National Geographic Channel All Media, Worldwide and In Perpetuity, which will be great exposure.

Thank you, look forward to hearing from you!

Candice
email: candice@infocusasia.com

[Roy]

Guilotine was invented to mitigate the suffering of the convicted. The name was taken via Joseph-Ignace Guillotin who proposed this method during the French Revolution in 1789.

[Kazimiera]

The Pear of Anguish: medieval torture device used against women accused of witchcraft

Source: http://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/1...of-witchcraft/



There is a wide range of medieval torture devices that were available in the Middle Ages.

These devices were separately created for men and women.

One of these devices invented exclusively for women torture was the Pear of Anguish (known as choke pear-the modern name for this instrument displayed in some museums).


The Pear of Anguish, displayed at the Museum der Festung Salzburg, Austria.

There are no contemporary first-hand accounts on these devices or their use.

However, according to their design, concerning metal consistency and style, the devices ought to date from the early modern period, circa 1600 (in “General Inventory of the History of Thieves“ by F. de Calvi in 1639). Further mentions of the device appear in the 19th century.


The Pear of Anguish. Torture museum in Lubuska Land Museum in Zielona Góra, Poland


It was used to torture women who induced a miscarriage, as well as for liars, blasphemers, and homosexuals.

It was an extremely painful device used to punish women accused of inducing a miscarriage, liars, blasphemers, and homosexuals.

However, it was mostly used against women that were accused of being witches.


Its true evil can be noticed in the design.


“Museo de la Inquisición“, Córdoba, Spain. Showcase with a steel chastity belt and a choke-pear.

The pear-shaped instrument was inserted into one of the victim’s orifices: the vagina for women, the anus for homosexuals and the mouth for liars and blasphemers.

The instrument (usually made of hard metal, possibly iron) consisted of four leaves that slowly separated from the rest as the torturer turned the screw at the top.

Turning the key opened the leaves, causing massive internal damage.


It was rarely washed, thus causing infections very frequently.

This torture rarely provoked death but was often followed by other torture methods.

However, the Pear of Anguish was brutal and many women who were tortured in the medieval dungeons had died from their injuries.


The device was rarely fatal, but other methods of torture would usually follow.

Choke Pears can be found in torture museums throughout Europe, invariably crafted with artistic flourish, but their purpose remains clear.