Iron Lady torture. The Iron Maiden from Nuremberg. Iron Maiden of Toledo

What do you think was the most terrible thing during the Middle Ages? Lack of toothpaste, good soap or shampoo? The fact that medieval discos were held to the tedious music of mandolins? Or maybe the fact that medicine did not yet know vaccinations and antibiotics? Or endless wars? Yes, our ancestors didn't go to movie theaters or send emails to each other. But they were also inventors. And the worst thing they invented was instruments for torture, instruments with the help of which the system of Christian justice was created - the Inquisition. And for those who lived in the Middle Ages, Iron Maiden is not the name of a heavy metal band, but one of the most disgusting gadgets of that time.

The term "Inquisition" comes from the Latin. Inquisitio, meaning "interrogation, inquiry." The term was widespread in the legal sphere even before the emergence of medieval church institutions with this name, and meant clarifying the circumstances of a case by investigation, usually through interrogation, often with the use of force. And only over time, the Inquisition began to be understood as spiritual trials of anti-Christian heresies.

The torture of the Inquisition had hundreds of varieties. At the same time, the interrogations were conducted in secret, and the execution in the squares was visually familiar to contemporaries, so the artists of those times sketched it with accuracy. But the tortures of the Inquisition were depicted based on the words of others, often relying on imagination. Some medieval instruments of torture have survived to this day, but most often even museum exhibits have been restored according to descriptions. Their variations are amazing. Here are twenty instruments of torture from the Middle Ages.

20. Spiked shoes

These are iron shoes with a sharp spike under the heel. The tenon could be unscrewed using a screw. With the spike unscrewed, the victim of torture had to stand on the toes of his foot as long as he could. Stand on your toes and check how long you can stretch.
Central Europe is the main place of its popularity. The sinner was stripped naked and placed on a chair covered with thorns. It was impossible to move - otherwise not only puncture wounds, but also ruptures would appear on the body. If this was not enough for the inquisitors, they took spikes or tongs in their hands and tormented the victim’s limbs. Of course, you won’t have “reverse stilettos” under your heels, so the sinners endured much longer. But when their strength was exhausted, the body itself relied on the heel. Then everything is clear - pain and blood.

19. Heretic's Fork

Four spikes - two digging into the chin, two into the sternum - did not allow the victim to make any head movements, including lowering his head lower.

18. Witch bath chair

The sinner was tied to a chair suspended from a long pole and lowered under water for a while, then allowed to take a breath of air, and again - under water. A popular time of year for such torture is late autumn or even winter. A hole was made in the ice, and after some time the victim not only suffocated under the water without air, but also became covered with a crust of ice in such coveted air. Sometimes the torture lasted for days.

17. Spanish boot

This is a fastening on the leg with a metal plate, which, with each question and subsequent refusal to answer it, as required, was tightened more and more in order to break the bones of the person’s legs. To enhance the effect, sometimes an inquisitor was involved in the torture, who hit the fastening with a hammer. Often after such torture, all the bones of the victim below the knee were crushed, and the wounded skin looked like a bag for these bones.

16. Water torture

This method was "seen" by inquisitors in the east. The sinner was tied with barbed wire or strong ropes to a special wooden device like a table with a very raised middle - so that the sinner’s stomach would stick out as far as possible. His mouth was stuffed with rags or straw so that it would not close, and a tube was inserted into his mouth, through which an incredible amount of water was poured into the victim. If the victim did not interrupt this torture in order to confess to something or the purpose of the torture was clear death, at the end of the test the victim was removed from the table, laid on the ground, and the executioner jumped on her bloated stomach. The ending is clear and disgusting.

15. Iron hook (cat's claw)

It is clear that it was not used to scratch your back. The victim's flesh was torn - slowly, painfully, to the point that not only pieces of her body, but also ribs were torn out with the same hooks.

14. Rack

The same rack. There were two main options: vertical, when the victim was suspended from the ceiling, turning out the joints and hanging all the large weights from her feet, and horizontal, when the sinner’s body was fixed on a rack and stretched by a special mechanism until her muscles and joints were torn .

13. Quartering by horses.

The victim was tied to four horses - by the arms and legs. Then the animals were allowed to gallop. There were no options - only death.

12. Pear

This device was inserted into the openings of the body - it is clear that not into the mouth or ears - and opened so as to cause unimaginable pain to the victim, tearing these openings.

11. Cleansing the soul

In many Catholic countries, the clergy believed that the soul of a sinner could still be cleansed. For these purposes, they had to use either pouring boiling water into the sinner’s throat, or throwing hot coals there. You understand that in caring for the soul there was no room for caring for the body.

10. Hanging cage

It assumed two extreme methods of exploitation. In cold weather, like a witch's bathing chair, the sinner in this cage, suspended from a long pole, was lowered under the water and taken out of it, causing him to freeze and suffocate.

And in the heat, the sinner hung in it in the sun for as many days as he could endure without a drop of water to drink.

9. Skull press

How a sinner could somehow repent of something when first his teeth clenched and crumbled, then his jaw crumbled, followed by the bones of his skull - until his brain poured out of his ears - I don’t understand. Even more baffling to my awareness is that some countries still use a version of this crusher as an interrogation tool.

8. Bonfire

This was the main way to eradicate witch influence on other people's sinless souls. The burnt soul excluded any possibility of confusing or staining the sinless soul. What doubts can there be?

7. Vigil or Judas' Cradle

The know-how belongs to Hippolyte Marsili. At one time, this instrument of torture was considered loyal - it did not break bones or tear ligaments. First, the sinner was lifted on a rope, and then sat on the Cradle, and the top of the triangle was inserted into the same holes as the Pear. It hurt to such an extent that the sinner lost consciousness. He was lifted, “pumped out” and put back on the Cradle. I don’t think that in moments of enlightenment the sinners thanked Hippolytus for his invention.

6. Cradle

Cousin of the Judas Cradle. I don't think the picture leaves much room for imagination as to how this instrument of torture was used. Also quite disgusting.

5. Iron Maiden. Iron Maiden. Maid of Nuremberg.

This is not “three girls under the window.” This is a huge sarcophagus in the form of an open empty female figure, inside of which numerous blades and sharp spikes are reinforced. They are located in such a way that the vital organs of the victim imprisoned in the sarcophagus are not affected, so the agony of the person sentenced to execution was long and painful.

The "Virgin" was first used in 1515. The condemned man died for three days.

4. Interrogation chair

Central Europe is the main place of its popularity. The sinner was stripped naked and placed on a chair covered with thorns. It was impossible to move - otherwise not only puncture wounds, but also ruptures would appear on the body. If this was not enough for the inquisitors, they took thorns or tongs in their hands and tore the victim’s limbs.

3. Number

In the east they came up with this terrible execution. The fact is that a person who was skillfully impaled - its end should have stuck out from the victim's throat (and not as depicted in this picture) could live for several more days - suffer physically and mentally, since this execution was public.

2. Saw

The executioners and inquisitors of those years showed remarkable ingenuity in their work. They knew better than us why a person experiences pain, and they knew that in an unconscious state he would not feel pain. And what kind of execution in the Middle Ages would be without sadism? A person could encounter ordinary death everywhere; this was not uncommon. And an unusual and very painful death is sawing. The victim was hung upside down so that the blood would not stop supplying oxygen to the head, and the person would experience the full horror of pain. It happened that he lived to the moment when they slowly, slowly managed to saw his body down to the diaphragm.

1. Wheeling

Are you still reading this post? Don't you feel bad? Don't you hide a BDSM kit from your friends under your bed? No, no and NO? I don't understand how you tolerate this. I finished writing this on the third attempt, and I considered each one to be my last. Well, then here is a torture instrument for you, after which you will forget to read such posts once and for all.

A person sentenced to be wheeled was broken with an iron crowbar or wheel, then all the large bones of the body were broken, then he was tied to a large wheel, and the wheel was placed on a pole. The condemned person found himself face up, looking at the sky, and died this way from shock and dehydration, often for quite a long time. The suffering of the dying man was aggravated by the birds pecking at him. Sometimes, instead of a wheel, they simply used a wooden frame or a cross made of logs.

And, although it is believed that instruments of torture were more often demonstrated than used, nevertheless, it is not for nothing that the UN has proclaimed June 26 as the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture since 1997.

But inside this femme fatale no one would want to be there! The Iron Maiden (aka the Lady of Nuremberg, although she was invented long before this city was born) is one of the most terrible, slowest and most painful things known to mankind. With it, perhaps, you can only compare or stay on!..

From the outside, it looks exactly like a sarcophagus - the kind the ancient Egyptians once buried theirs in. But in this iron coffin, which has a female outline, you will not find any mummies. Apart from the sharp thorns with which the inner surface of the terrible house is dotted, it is empty: the instrument of torture was intended for living people, so that, having tormented them well at parting, they would mercilessly be sent on their final journey.

Do you like to always be up to date with the news? Then go to the website and read Max Polyakov - last news online.

The prototype of the iron maiden, according to ancient scrolls, was invented by the ruler of Sparta named Nabis. Apparently, he was so inspired by his own wife (Alega) that he created - or ordered to create - a mechanical woman in her image. When someone approached her, the unfortunate person, without suspecting it, pressed the pedal, powering the mechanism with his weight, and the beautiful artificial lady embraced him. And her arms, like her chest, were covered with thin thorns. So in a simple way the king was engaged in extorting money from his own subordinates. Corruption, as they say, is in the flesh. Death awaited those who refused.

Despite this, initially the main purpose of the iron maiden was torture: most of the models had holes instead of spikes - long nails were inserted into them one by one. In this, the principle of its operation is partially reminiscent. Much later, having already passed the Middle Ages, the torturers lengthened the spikes: execution began to follow the confessions of the victim. The doors of the Nuremberg Lady (the most famous one was located in this city, it was built already in the 16th century) were not completely closed for several hours. The executioners wanted the interrogated person, in addition to pain, to suffer from claustrophobia. The man could not get out. In truth, he could not even move: the spikes dug into the soft parts of his body - shoulders, stomach, legs, even his eyes - and held him firmly in place. Any movement only aggravated the torment.

I would like to say that this exhibit has not survived to this day, having been preserved only in films and museums - in Kyburg, for example - but, unfortunately, this is not the case. In 2003, one of these “virgins” was found in Iraq. It was used by supporters of Saddam Hussein to deal with his enemies. Who knows where and for what purposes the iron lady is being used right now...

The Middle Ages have always been famous for their instruments of torture. Here you have all kinds of hooks, and a rack for tearing joints, and torture with water, but still there are exhibits that send an incomprehensible shiver through your entire body. Today I will tell you about the famous Zheleznaya
a virgin who has been bringing fear to the human race for three centuries. There are many legends and myths about her, a film was even made, I will try to reveal the truth.

Deadly femininity

Many authors date the appearance of the iron maiden to the 16th century; it is believed that she was used as an instrument of torture by the Holy Inquisition. It is not entirely clear where the truth is here, because in some sources it was also a device for executing an already convicted person.

The Iron Maiden looked like a huge, a couple of meters high, sarcophagus made of wrought iron, inside of which there were long and sharp spikes. The door could open and
close in order to later retrieve the body of the unfortunate victim. Above the terrible box towered a woman’s face, sometimes the face of the Virgin Mary. It was believed that she, as it were, closes the doomed victim within herself and accepts all his sins, thereby cleansing the soul with suffering. Well, at that time catholic church there was a philosophy, just like now.
Be that as it may, the principle was as follows: the executioners forced a person to enter a huge sarcophagus, and then they slowly closed the door. Sometimes the victim’s hands were tied behind his back, sometimes not, because anyway, the convict, pierced in many places, could not move! The spikes were designed so as not to pierce the vital organs of the body and cause unbearable suffering for several days. Blood flowed from the wounds very slowly, because they were “plugged” with metal pins. If the executioners wanted to kill the prisoner faster, they opened and closed the door several times, thereby shredding the unfortunate body.
It is believed that there was another version of this trap for sinners - instead of ready-made thorns, many holes were visible in the maiden, through which the executioner could insert sharp objects, spears, swords or knives and thereby regulate the force of influence on the prisoner.

Was it or wasn't it?

Iron Maiden Torture is certainly terrifying, but was she really that good? At the moment, not a single original copy of the 16th century has survived; all you can see in museums are numerous copies of one single exhibit - the Maiden of Nuremberg, which was found in 1802 and exhibited in the museum. However, even here doubts arise, because even in fiction there is no mention of the iron maiden until 1793. It was this year that I.F. Siebenkes, a German historian, mentioned this instrument of torture in his books. Perhaps even the Maid of Nuremberg was made no earlier than the 18th century.
Over time, many of the Inquisition's court cases were made public, and various interrogation methods were encountered, ranging from the rack to a simple brazier, but not a word about the iron maiden. The fact is that each trial was carefully recorded by the executioners in special books; witnesses, aggravating circumstances and “methods of pressure” on the prisoner were also indicated there. All instruments of torture were registered, so the executioners could not use the unknown iron maiden.
Another important argument in favor of falsifying the Maid of Nuremberg is that such a structure was extremely expensive to operate in the 16th century. Think for yourself, all the work was done by hand, making such a huge sarcophagus would have cost a lot of money, and hundreds of thousands of people went through the courts. Conventional pliers are much more effective. In addition, if we consider the iron maiden to be an instrument of execution and not torture, then she should have appeared in engravings, appeared in literature and popular rumor of that time, because most executions took place in the square, for the amusement and intimidation of the people.

And finally, look at the iron maiden photo.

THE IRON MAID OF TOLEDO

When French troops entered Toledo during the Spanish War (1808–1814), General Lasalle visited the palace of the Inquisition. Many instruments of torture captured the imagination of even French soldiers who had seen death. One of these instruments, unique in the sophistication of the death it brought to its victims, deserves a separate discussion. In the underground hall adjacent to the torture chamber, in a niche in the wall there was a statue made by the hands of monks and depicting the Virgin Mary. She had a gilded halo on her head and a banner in her right hand. Folds of silk robe fell from her shoulders, but underneath them the cuirass was visible. Upon closer inspection, one could find that the entire front of the figure was studded with spikes, with the points pointing outward. Her arms were hinged and their movement was ensured by a mechanism located behind the partition in the iron maiden's body. One of the Inquisition's servants was ordered to show the statue in action (en manoeuvre, as the general put it). The virgin slowly opened her arms, as if she was about to gently press someone to her chest. Instead of a person, she was given a packed backpack of a Polish grenadier. The statue pressed him to her chest, and when, by order of the general, the servant of the Inquisition opened her hands, everyone saw that the spikes had pierced the satchel to a depth of two or three inches, and it remained hanging on the chest of the iron maiden from Toledo.

("Percy Anecdotes", Reuben and Sholto Percy,

London, 1820–1823)

From the book 100 Great Temples author Nizovsky Andrey Yurievich

From the book Mythological Dictionary by Archer Vadim

Virgo (Old - Ind.) - “god” - a class of gods distributed over three cosmic spheres: heavenly - Dyaus, Varuna, Mitra and other Adityas, Surya, Savitar, Pushan, Vishnu, Vivasvat, Ushas, Ashvins; atmospheric - Indra, maruts, Vayu, Vata, Trita, Aptya, Apam, Napat, Matarisvan, Ahi Budhnya, Aja

From the book Encyclopedic Dictionary (T-F) author Brockhaus F.A.

Toledo Toledo (Toledo, Dan. Toletum) – Ch. mountains Spanish province of the same name, on the right ber. R. Togo. Surrounded by battlements; inside it is a network of narrow, crooked, sometimes steeply uphill and dark streets and alleys. Built by King Alfonso X in the 13th century, on

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (TO) by the author TSB

by Brian Lane

THE VIRGIN According to the historian Pennant, the maiden appeared in Scotland through the efforts of the regent Morton, who spied her device in Halifax (see Halifax machine). By appearance it looks like an artist's easel. This 10-foot-high structure has below, at a height of 4

From the book Torture and Punishment by Brian Lane

THE IRON MAID OF NUREMBERG Perhaps the most notorious execution instrument to enter folklore is the Iron Maiden of Nuremberg. In the country where she was born, she was called Eiserne Jungfrau. However, the Spanish city of Toledo also claims primacy in the invention.

From the book Year of the Squirrel. Zodiac forecast 2012 author Globa Pavel Pavlovich

author Borsch Tatyana

Virgo In June you will find yourself too demanding of your environment. And if you don’t lower the bar, then conflicts cannot be avoided. Work, career, business. In June, you are at the peak of your professional activity and have the right to count on recognition for the results already achieved. However, not all