Page 39 - All About History - Issue 19-14

Through History

With the heretic’s fork
attached, even the slightest
movement of the head
would cause pain

THUMBSCREW 1250 BAMBOO TORTURE 1941
Also known as ‘the pillywinks’, this was a simple HERETIC’S F One of the East’s most ingenious and
vice-like device that allowed a victim’s thumbs An early example of s horrific torture techniques, bamboo
to be slowly crushed or dislocated. The the heretic’s fork force torture entailed tying a victim up with
instrument worked by trapping th cious at all times ropes above a patch of bamboo – often
victim’s thumbs beneath a metal a double-ended t on a wooden frame – before leaving
which was then slowly squeezed pped around the victim’s neck, with one them to be impaled by the plant’s
down by a butterfly clamp. ork placed on the throat and the other sharp and incredibly fast-growing
Despite being invented fork placed on the breastbone. The shoots. The shoots would first puncture
in Medieval Europe, the victim was then hung from the ceiling the victim’s skin and then penetrate
thumbscrew remained such preventing them from lying down. A ically skewering them
a popular torture implement such, the victim was forced to rem hem bleed to death. This
that it was still being used by conscious, and as soon as their he que was reportedly used
the 19th century, with records ropped from fatigue they would imp oldiers during WWII, but
indicating it was often used to themselves. This torture tool was a the technique was also
punish slaves for relatively favourite of the Spanish Inquisitio na and Malaysia prior to
minor indiscretions.

The iron maiden
SPIKED ROL
is one of history’s
best-known torture Elizabeth Cylindrical wooden d
devices, despite Báthory with a number of sh
questionable spikes, spiked rolle
authenticity 1560-1614 HUNGARIAN
Báthorywasacountessfromthe used to slowly di
renowned Hungarian Báthory family a victim. Firstly
who, with four accomplices, tortured and
killed hundreds of girls, with the peasants as an additional
lured to her castle with the promise of the rack, with th
well-paid jobs. They were tortured, stretched across
imprisoned and then left to die. their limbs were d
Báthory is known as the
Blood Countess. and then in a mobi
form, this torture tool
increasingly popular t
the Medieval and Ren
periods, only falling o
with the termination
Spanish Inquisition in
19th century. Due to t
damage the spikes
did to human flesh,
IRON MAIDEN 1793
Theironmaidenwasa anyone subjected to
The sharpened ends of
torture device in which a any form of spiked bamboo can easily pierce
victim was encased within a roller had little human flesh
spiked coffin. Historians today chance of survival.
believe that despite the device
being often associated with
theMiddleAges,itwasinfact
alatercreation,withnorecord
WATERBOARDING2002
of it found earlier than the While waterboarding has been in use for
late-18th century. Regardless centuries,itsmostmodernincarnation
of its origin, the iron maiden was introduced by the USA following
wasafearsometool,capable the11Septemberattacksin2001.The
of wounding or killing with method involves pouring water into
ease.Today,manyhistorians the nose and mouth of a victim who
believe the device was used is forced to lie on their back on an
more as a mental torture tool, inclined platform. This simulates the
withvictimsthreatenedwith feeling of drowning and can cause brain
its use rather than actually damage through oxygen deprivation.
encased within it. This practice was not considered torture
An early form of waterboarding was used according the US Department of Justice,
by the Spanish in the 16th century – it with it licencing the Central Intelligence
involved putting a cloth into someone’s Agency (CIA) to use the technique
© Thinkstock; Alamy
mouth and forcing them to ingest water
againstanysuspectedterrorist.

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