The Inquisition and Medieval Torture Cube
You will be creating a cube decorated with information about the Spanish Inquisition and some of the torture
techniques they used to attempt to get people to confess to crimes against the church and/or convert to Christianity.
The cube project will contain the following information:
1. In box 1 - Cover with a title, a picture, your name and period number – in color and nicely designed
2. In box 2 – Create a symbol to represent the high office of the Inquisition. Pretend as if the head office of the
inquisition needs you to design a symbol for their organization. This symbol should represent the purpose of the
inquisition and how they went about achieving their goal. Include the title, “The Office of the Spanish
Inquisition”.
On a separate sheet of spiral paper, write 3 complete sentences summarizing the “Intro to Torture” section
below. Each sentence must include 2 important details each.
3. Each of the four remaining panels of the cube should have a torture device on it (there are 8 provided. Pick any
4 of the 8 provided). Each of these should include a title, a picture of the device, and should be in color and
neatly done.
Then, on the same sheet of spiral paper as before, write the title of the torture method and write a 3 sentence
description of its purpose and how it works.
4. So, by the time you’re done, your cube should have a cover, your Inquisition office’s symbol, and the titles and
pictures of the four torture methods you chose. All of your written information should be on your separate
sheet of paper in your binder.
Intro to Torture
Torture was frequently employed during the Middle Ages to punish criminals and extract confessions. Hundreds
of devices were used including The Rack and The Chair.
Even though thousands died in unimaginably painful ways, torture wasn't as frequent as most of us believe.
During the Inquisition only 1 or 2 percent of the heretics or criminals were subject to long periods of torture - the rest
were simply jailed or punished in other ways.
Most medieval towns had a council to determine a person's guilt. Only in the most severe of cases, such as
murder or treason, was the victim tortured. In the majority of cases he was jailed or simply kicked out of the town and
never allowed back.
In bigger cities such as London the law was more harshly enforced. Many castles had torture chambers, usually
located in the dungeon or tallest tower, where many could be tortured at the same time. Burning at the stake and other
methods were not the Sunday spectacle we think. When they happened, they often occurred inside the castle - away
from the population. When a town was becoming rebellious, open acts of torture frequently occurred.
The Middle Ages were not a period one would like to live in, but they were not extremely unfair and
bloodthirsty either. Many towns never tortured a person, resorting to banishment (kicking you out of town) instead.
Torture Devices
Coffin Torture
The Coffin Torture was feared throughout the Middle Ages. It is enough for one to look at the
picture to the left to realize the reason.
The victim was placed inside the "coffin". Torturers were well-known for forcing overweight
victims into the device, or even making the "coffin" slightly larger than normal to make the victims
more uncomfortable.
The period of time a victim was to be kept inside the coffin was determined by his or her crime.
Very serious crimes, such as blasphemy, were punished by death inside the coffin where the victim
was to be kept inside under the sun with animals eating his or her flesh.
The coffin was sometimes placed in a public plaza so the local population would gather around it
and mock the unlucky victim. Sometimes death occurred because of the hatred towards the
person as others often threw rocks and other objects to further increase the pain.
Water Torture
Dunking
Dunking is a form of punishment that was mainly reserved for supposed witches. The
victim was tied to a chair which was elevated or lowered by the torturer. If he noticed
that the victim was going to pass out, he raised the chair. When he needed
information and the victim was unwilling to cooperate, he lowered it. This method
was widely used during the Spanish Inquisition and in England and France. The victim
was usually submerged time and time again for many hours until he or she revealed
information or death occurred.
While witches were commonly tortured using this method, thieves and murderers could be subject to it in order to
extract a confession. This was more common when other more sophisticated torture devices were not present.
Drops of Water
A very painful method of torture consisted of holding a victim's head under a small tube that constantly dripped drops of
water. These fell on the same spot of the victim's head leading to, in prolonged periods of time, creating a hole and
eventually death.
The Cauldron
The unlucky victim was placed inside an empty cauldron (large pot) attached to chains. The cauldron was filled with cold
water and beneath it, a fire was set. Eventually the water began to boil cooking the victim alive. This was more
frequently a way to execute a prisoner rather than to extract a confession.
Freezing with water
In the winter, the naked victim was forced to stand outside in full view of everyone. Slowly, the torturer poured water
on his head which eventually became frozen making the victim die slowly and painfully. Sometimes the body was left for
the whole winter to terrify the population and dissuade any further crimes, as punishment was imminent.
Force Drinking
This torture was mostly used in more recent times, but some historians believe that its origins date to the Middle Ages.
The effect is this: the victim is forced to drink much water until his confession or death.
The Head Crusher
The head crusher was widely used during most of the Middle Ages, especially the Inquisition.
With the chin placed over the bottom bar and the head under the upper cap, the torturer slowly
turned the screw pressing the bar against the cap.
This resulted in the head being slowly compressed. First the teeth are shattered into the jaw;
then the victim slowly died with agonizing pain, but not before his eyes were squeezed from his
sockets.
This instrument was a formidable way to extract confessions from victims as the period of pain
could be prolonged for many hours if the torturer chose to. This could be done by repeatedly
turning the screw both ways.
If the torture was stopped midway, the victim often had irreparable damage done to the brain, jaw or eyes.
Many variants of this instrument existed, some that had small containers in front of the eyes to receive them as they fell
out of their sockets.
Flagellation (whipping)
Flagellation, or whipping, was very common in Rome. It was still in use
during the Middle Ages most notoriously in the army where flagellation
was a very common form of punishment.
The British army was very notorious for using flagellation to punish
minor offenses. The amount of whipping depended on the victim's
crime and it sometimes caused death.
Many towns had a post in the main plaza for the sole objective of
displaying public whippings. Deserters, thieves and traitors were
common victims to this torture method. In the High Middle Ages,
flagellation became less common due to newer torture methods.
Some authors call whipping "half death" because the amount of people who died from it, caused by an infection, lack of
blood or damage to an organ, was a very significant percentage. The whipping generally occurred against the victim's
back, but when a more severe crime was committed his chest could be whipped, which was especially dangerous and
painful.
There were different types of whips. Some had small metal spikes at the end to inflict more pain. These whips could
cause some serious trauma including teared skin, eye damage and even the loss of a vital organ.
Flagellation was greatly associated with slavery. Most masters had a whip at hand in order to punish disobedience. The
act of whipping continued well into the past century and reached its peak during the Roman Times. Medieval lords were
also especially fond of using this torture method. Some countries still whip as a form of punishment in recent times.
Burning at that Stake
Burning at the stake was a very common way to execute blasphemers (someone who
speaks badly against God), thieves and witches. It was used throughout the Middle Ages
and beyond.
If the fire was big enough, death occurred first by suffocation rather than damage done
by the flames. However, this was a known fact and the victims were usually burned in a
smaller fire so they would "suffer until the end". When the fire was small, death occurred
because of loss of blood or a heatstroke which could take even hours.
When the victim was hated by the population if he, for example, raped a woman, the
common people often gathered around the stake to see the victim die. The smell was
terrible and lasted for many hours or even days after his death.
Burning at the stake was often preceded by other torture methods. Hundreds were
burned alive during the Spanish Inquisition.
Joan of Arc and many other important people were killed with this method.
The Heretics Fork
The heretics fork was used in the Middles Ages mainly during the Spanish Inquisition.
The instrument consists of two forks set against each other that penetrated the flesh under
the chin in one end and the upper chest in the other. As usual, this instrument didn't harm
any vital points; thus avoiding death and prolonging pain.
The victim's hands were tied behind his back to prevent any chance of escape. The Heretics
Fork made speech and neck movement almost impossible and was used after a confession to
avoid hearing the victim any further. As can be seen in the picture, a small collar supported
the fork forcing the victim to hold his head erect.
Sometimes the victim was jailed and subject to this instrument as well. This instrument often harmed the neck of the
victim, as well as potentially spreading an infection or disease.
Toe Wedging
The victim's feet were secured on a small platform. Using wooden or metallic wedges, the torturer slowly fixed the
wedges underneath the victim's nails, almost exclusively for to get a confession.
What followed next was agonizing pain for the victim, as failure to confess would
mean wedging the next nail, and the next. Toe wedging was considered the
prelude to more painful and humiliating torture methods that would ensue if the
victim failed to confess.
Since the same wedges were used on several victims, it was common for
infections, amputations and even death to result.
Toe wedging became popular hundreds of years before the Middle Ages, its origins
probably date to Ancient Egypt or before. A variant of toe wedging was finger
wedging, which was similar, except that the wedges were presses against the
fingernails.
The Copper Boot
The copper boot could be used in several different ways. First, the torturer placed the victim's feet inside the boot and
secured them with chains inside the device. Depending on the crime, the victim could be tortured in many different
ways:
Boiling Water Although it was more common for victims to be Boiled
Alive with the cauldron, torturers could fill the boot with water and place
some fire underneath, slowly burning the victim's feet until the victim
passed out, died, or confessed.
Molten Metals Although the boot would become unusable for later
victims, filling it with molten copper, lead or silver was a common
practice as it would produce third degree burns and even cause
poisoning.
Beat it Another way to prolong pain was by repeatedly beating the boot
with a hammer. Although the legs would not suffer lethal damage, the
pain this incurred often made the victim pass out.
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