Torture and Punishment In The Middle ages

1. Torture and PunishmentIn The Middle ages By Jon Berke, Mike Rapuano, And Brian Taylor

2. The Rack • Two rollers were attached to a wooden frame • The feet and wrists were tied to opposite ends of the frame (rollers) • The rollers were turned and the bodies stretched in opposite directions • This caused great pain and helped get information and names • This device was used differently in different countries

4. The Scavenger’s Daughter • Did the opposite of The Rack and compressed the body • An iron bar connected the shackles of the feet, wrists, and neck • Thus the knees and head were in a sitting position and the body was squeezed • The force was strong enough to force blood out of the ears and nose

6. Thumbscrews • Common way to inflict pain on a prisoner • Designed to crush anything between two iron plates • Useful because they were small and transportable • Sometimes and other fingers were inserted

8. Hung, Drawn, and Quartered • Prisoners were hung until half dead • They then had all their limbs tied to horses • The horses would then run in opposite directions (like and X) • Once al the limbs were torn off they were displayed on the gates of the town

10. Death by Hanging • The most common form of execution • Noose was placed around the neck of the victim • Then the executioner then pulled a lever which opened a trap door • And then the victim’s neck would snap or hanged till suffocation

12. The Brank • Used as punishment for women • It was a muzzle (or a face mask) • This was placed around the head and was meant to humiliate the victim • Some of them had metal spikes so if the women had spoken it would cause great discomfort • Some had bells so if they tried to talked it would ring and they would be scolded and humiliated in front of the whole community

14. The Stocks • Were wooden structures made to humiliate people who committed petty offenses • The victim sat on a wooden bench and placed their wrists and necks in between two locking pieces of wood • People walking by would laugh and throw all forms of disgusting waste at the helpless victims

16. Burned at the Stake • This was always used in cases of witch craft and heresy • A large stake was placed in the ground • A large pile of straw and wood was built around the stake with a path leading to the stake • The prisoner would be led to the stake and chained to the stake • The passage would then be filled and fire was lit around them

18. Branding • Depending on the crime different letters were branded into the victim • For run away slaves an “S” was branded on the forehead or cheek • The brand was an iron pole with a wooden handle and an iron letter at the end • The end would then be heated and placed on the skin of the victim • Sometimes they would wave a red hot brand in the victims face till their eyes had been destroyed by the heat

20. Why The People Would Get Punished • Treason • Harm or death to others • Theft or Robbery • Disrespect/Rudeness • Witchcraft or Heresy

21. Other Facts On Torture and Punishment • Castles had added torture chambers • No laws or rules to protect the treatment of prisoners • Every type of torture was seen as legitamnet means for justice • It was used to extract information and confessions

22. Bibliogrophy • "Medieval Torture and Punishment." Medieval Life and Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Sept. 2010. <http://www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-torture-and-punishment/index.htm>. • Bishop, Morris. The Middle Ages. New ed. New York: Mariner Books, 2001. Print. • "Medieval Torture." Medieval Times & Castles. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2010. <http://www.medievality.com/torture.html>.