Castle of Sate. 1654

A heavy curtain made of dark purple thick satin, embroidered with gold thread, fluttered from the wind rushing through the wide open window. As if alive, she beat against the wall covered with an exquisite mosaic pattern. The sound was like the flapping of the wings of a mortally wounded bird, desperate to fly, but doomed to die bleeding.

It would be necessary to close the window, but none of those present in the huge chambers of the ancient castle even tried to do this.

In the vague twilight, their faces were barely distinguishable. All four stood near a small marble dais with a golden font at the very top.

They were waiting.

Their gazes were focused on the tightly closed door leading to the chambers. They were completely different from each other: an old man with the smooth skin of a baby and deep-sunk eyes, in strange clothes reminiscent of bird plumage; an old woman with a long hooked nose, a wrinkled neck and gray hair sticking out in all directions, wrapped in brocade and velvet, which only emphasized her ugliness, two young girls with the faces of harlots, dressed in transparent fabrics.

They were different. And yet, something united them: an expression of impatience, barely restrained passion, written on all their faces, without exception.

From somewhere to the left came a barely audible groan or sigh, quiet, almost imperceptible to the human ear. It seemed to come from the depths of the disgusting bronze statue towering in the center of the hall. The figure resembled the roughly sculpted body of some deity, most likely a woman, whose ugly head was crowned with the likeness of a diadem, in which real precious stones shimmered mysteriously. One of the girls turned her head towards the sound, but only for a moment, then she again stared at the door.

A second later, the door silently opened, letting in a fragile female figure, half-hidden by a dark blanket. She froze on the threshold, as if in indecision, then the light fabric slid from her shoulders and smoothly fell to the feet of a beautiful, angelic girl, almost a girl.

Slowly, as if in a dream, she took a step towards the font. Then another, and another. She moved forward, as if obeying an order that only she could hear, her young, beautiful body glowing in the twilight with a gentle pearlescent light. Heavy, thick hair trailed behind her along the floor, like a golden train. Wide-open eyes were directed somewhere into the distance, outside the room.

The girl raised her foot and placed it on the marble step. Rising to the font, she carefully stepped over the low side and still slowly lay down, stretched out to her full height.

In complete silence, the dull muttering of the old man was heard, incomprehensible, frightening words came out of his lips, echoing in every corner of the huge chambers.

The pink skin of the young beauty turned red. The fresh, warm blood that filled the font hid the beautiful body.

The old man’s voice became louder, his eyes lit up with a devilish fire, and finally what everyone had been waiting for with such impatience happened - the blood in the font began to sway, bubbled and overwhelmed the girl’s head.

At this moment, everyone who stood at the foot of the font, in a single impulse, let out something like a groan, expressing the highest degree of pleasure. This sound was much louder than the quiet sob that came from the bronze statue...

CHAPTER 1

I sat on a hard, uncomfortable chair that, on top of everything else, creaked desperately and felt an irresistible desire to throw my head up and howl at the moon. So what if it’s a hot August day outside the window and the sun is shining with all its might. I was so sick that I could have done just fine without the night sky.

In the spacious auditorium there was a steady hum of voices; dozens of boys and girls, yesterday’s schoolchildren, scurried past me like fry in the shallows. For five days now I have been looking at them and realizing more and more clearly that I have become quite an adult. Just yesterday I was younger than everyone and smarter than many, and now... There are so many of them around: everyone is younger than me, and my intelligence, alas, can already be considered an ordinary life experience. But I'm only twenty-four. Or already?

A serious guy with a looming fluff above his upper lip came up and held out a thin stack of leaves. So... Let's see: certificate, certificate, questionnaire... Everything seems to be in order. I entered his details into the journal and put the papers aside. And so - all day long. The period allotted for accepting documents was ending, and applicants came in a continuous stream from morning to evening.

And also these eternal stupid questions! In five days, I answered a hundred times that in the “education” column you should write “secondary”, a thousand times that a mother selling Chinese clothes at the market should be better called a private entrepreneur, and a million times that instead of answering the question about marital status you should put a dash, rather than listing all available grandparents. And who came up with this question? Where do these little guys get husbands and wives, although... Yes, today, perhaps, this is a relevant question. Acceleration!

Another applicant interrupted my thoughts and everything started again: certificate, application, application form, certificate... Wait, where is the certificate? I looked again at the pieces of paper lying on the table. That’s right, a certificate from the clinic was not enough. I had to patiently explain to the fat woman, who was blinking her eyes and had an upset face, that documents were not supposed to be accepted without the U-86 form. The little girl, biting her lip, listened to me and walked away, hanging her head. Poor guy. I wonder if he will have time to get the certificate or not? Now there are terrible queues at clinics. It would be nice to have time.

I sighed, glad for the little respite.

When six months ago I, Lisa Lokteva, decided to move to this city, it seemed to me that I was doing the right thing. As a matter of fact, that’s what I thought now. After the unpleasant incident that I got into last summer, too much has changed in my life, something has left it. It was probably then that I finally matured.

But even here, in a new place, everything turned out to be not so simple. I did not change the apartment; Zinka, a homeless girl whom I met during that terrible period and to whom I owed the salvation of my own life, remained in it. Zinka tried to dissuade me from moving, having tried every conceivable and inconceivable way to achieve her goal. But I firmly decided that I had to change my environment in order to understand myself and how to continue to approach life.

In a new place, I quickly found housing, made numerous acquaintances and even a serious admirer, but I had no luck with work. At home, I was considered a fairly famous artist and did not experience a shortage of orders.

Everything was different here. In six months, I was not able to acquire a single more or less regular client, but I had to make sure that the city was literally teeming with unemployed talented artists, including those who worked in my field, namely in book illustration.

1

Technical description

Artistic description

Maid of Nuremberg

The "Maiden of Nuremberg", also called the Iron Maiden, is one of the most painful instruments of torture.

The appearance of the Iron Maiden is often attributed to the Middle Ages, although there is reason to believe that in fact the weapon was not invented until the end of the 18th century. It is called Nuremberg because the most famous example was built in this city.

Initially, there was a version for torture, with holes instead of spikes, through which long nails were inserted one by one, but later it was transformed and modified.

The design of the "Iron Maiden" is a female sarcophagus 7 feet high, with a truly monstrous filling. At the top, the inquisitors placed the face of the Virgin Mary - the triumph of the Christian religion over heresy and dissent. The person placed inside suffered from inexpressible fear, being in a confined space and endured hellish pain from punctures with 20 cm long spikes. Their location was carefully thought out and the vital organs were not touched, which extended the torment of the criminal for a long time. The points pierced the arms, legs, stomach, eyes, shoulders and buttocks. The repeated opening and closing of doors caused deep bleeding wounds, and the darkness and uncertainty made the torture psychologically unbearable.

At the end of the bloodthirsty massacre, the moving bottom sank and the dead body was thrown into the river.

Interesting fact:

The method of execution with iron embraces as such was invented much earlier by the Spartan king Nabis. He constructed an iron copy of his own wife Apega, who came to the tyrant’s aid when he was unable to convince his subordinates to give money with his eloquence. The hands and chest of this femme fatale were covered with thin needles and in her company the debtors had a hard time.

Artistic description

And here is the same Iron Maiden about whom there are so many rumors. It looks like an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus, as you correctly noted. With one difference - usually a living person is placed there.

The doors open to reveal the inner walls of the “maiden,” which are studded with long iron spikes. The convict is forced to go inside. He can stand at full height - there is enough space. All that remains is to close the doors. You say the sharp thorns will pierce him and he will die quickly? Experienced inquisitors had foreseen this and positioned them in such a way that the vital organs of the victim were not affected. A piercing scream merges with the echoing sound of the doors being locked. The man is in terrible pain. Ten puncture wounds inflicted simultaneously. Two in the shoulders, two in the lower back, three in the chest, one in each buttock, and one more in the stomach. The thorns seal the wounds and the blood flows out of the wounds slowly. The suffering is aggravated by confined spaces and darkness. The heretic cannot fall, and every sudden movement in any direction only deepens the punctures. Sometimes the executioners open and close the doors several times. As a rule, after the third or fourth opening, the body of the executed person falls to the bottom of the box.

By the way, did you notice that the barrel-shaped chamber is topped with a sculptured head of the Virgin Mary? When a heretic or pagan enters her dark womb, this symbolizes that the saint communes him with the Catholic faith and absolves him of all sins. They say that bodily pain cleanses the soul.

Inquisition(from lat. inquisitio- investigation, search), in the Catholic Church there is a special church court for heretics, which existed in the 13th-19th centuries. Back in 1184, Pope Lucius III and Emperor Frederick 1 Barbarossa established a strict procedure for the search by bishops of heretics and the investigation of their cases by episcopal courts. Secular authorities were obliged to carry out the death sentences they passed. The Inquisition as an institution was first discussed at the 4th Lateran Council (1215), convened by Pope Innocent III, which established a special process for the persecution of heretics (per inquisitionem), for which defamatory rumors were declared sufficient grounds. From 1231 to 1235, Pope Gregory IX, through a series of decrees, transferred the functions of persecuting heresies, previously performed by bishops, to special commissioners - inquisitors (initially appointed from among the Dominicans, and then the Franciscans). In a number of European states (Germany, France, etc.) inquisitorial tribunals were established, which were entrusted with investigating cases of heretics, pronouncing and executing sentences. This is how the establishment of the Inquisition was formalized. Members of the inquisitorial tribunals had personal immunity and immunity from the jurisdiction of local secular and ecclesiastical authorities and were directly dependent on the pope. Due to the secret and arbitrary proceedings, those accused by the Inquisition were deprived of all guarantees. The widespread use of cruel torture, the encouragement and reward of informers, the material interest of the Inquisition itself and the papacy, which received huge funds through the confiscation of the property of those convicted, made the Inquisition the scourge of Catholic countries. Those sentenced to death were usually handed over to the secular authorities to be burned at the stake (see Auto-da-fe). In the 16th century I. became one of the main weapons of the Counter-Reformation. In 1542, a supreme inquisitorial tribunal was established in Rome. Many outstanding scientists and thinkers (G. Bruno, G. Vanini, etc.) became victims of the Inquisition. The Inquisition was especially rampant in Spain (where from the end of the 15th century it was closely connected with royal power). In just 18 years of activity of the main Spanish inquisitor Torquemada (15th century), more than 10 thousand people were burned alive.

The tortures of the Inquisition were very varied. The cruelty and ingenuity of the inquisitors amazes the imagination. Some medieval instruments of torture have survived to this day, but most often even museum exhibits have been restored according to descriptions. We present to your attention a description of some famous instruments of torture.

The "interrogation chair" was used in Central Europe. In Nuremberg and Fegensburg, until 1846, preliminary investigations using it were regularly carried out. The naked prisoner was seated on a chair in such a position that at the slightest movement, spikes pierced his skin. Executioners often intensified the agony of the victim by lighting a fire under the seat. The iron chair quickly heated up, causing severe burns. During interrogation, the victim's limbs could be pierced using forceps or other instruments of torture. Such chairs had different shapes and sizes, but they were all equipped with spikes and means of immobilizing the victim.

rack-bed

This is one of the most common instruments of torture found in historical accounts. The rack was used throughout Europe. Usually this tool was a large table with or without legs, on which the convict was forced to lie down, and his legs and arms were fixed with wooden blocks. Thus immobilized, the victim was "stretched", causing him unbearable pain, often until the muscles were torn. The rotating drum for tensioning the chains was not used in all versions of the rack, but only in the most ingenious “modernized” models. The executioner could cut into the victim's muscles to speed up the final rupture of the tissue. The victim's body stretched more than 30 cm before exploding. Sometimes the victim was tied tightly to a rack to make it easier to use other methods of torture, such as pincers for pinching nipples and other sensitive parts of the body, cauterization with a hot iron, etc.

This is by far the most common torture and was initially often used in legal proceedings as it was considered a mild form of torture. The defendant's hands were tied behind his back, and the other end of the rope was thrown over the winch ring. The victim was either left in this position or the rope was pulled strongly and continuously. Often, additional weights were tied to the victim's notes, and the body was torn with tongs, such as a "witch spider", to make the torture less gentle. The judges thought that witches knew many ways of witchcraft, which allowed them to calmly endure torture, so it was not always possible to obtain a confession. We can refer to a series of trials in Munich at the beginning of the 17th century involving eleven people. Six of them were constantly tortured with an iron boot, one of the women had her chest dismembered, the next five were wheeled, and one was impaled. They, in turn, reported on another twenty-one people, who were immediately interrogated in Tetenwang. Among the new accused was one very respectable family. The father died in prison, the mother, after being tried on the rack eleven times, confessed to everything she was accused of. The daughter, Agnes, twenty-one years old, stoically endured the ordeal on the rack with additional weight, but did not admit her guilt, and only said that she forgave her executioners and accusers. It was only after several days of continuous ordeal in the torture chamber that she was told of her mother's full confession. After attempting suicide, she confessed to all the terrible crimes, including cohabiting with the Devil from the age of eight, devouring the hearts of thirty people, participating in the Sabbath, causing a storm and denying the Lord. Mother and daughter were sentenced to be burned at the stake.

The use of the term "stork" is attributed to the Roman Court of the Holy Inquisition in the period from the second half of the 16th century. until about 1650. The same name was given to this instrument of torture by L.A. Muratori in his book “Italian Chronicles” (1749). The origin of the even stranger name "The Janitor's Daughter" is unknown, but it is given by analogy with the name of an identical device in the Tower of London. Whatever the origin of the name, this weapon is a superb example of the vast variety of coercive systems that were used during the Inquisition.

The victim's position was carefully thought out. Within a few minutes, this body position led to severe muscle spasms in the abdomen and anus. Then the spasm began to spread to the chest, neck, arms and legs, becoming more and more painful, especially at the site of the initial occurrence of the spasm. After some time, the one attached to the “Stork” passed from a simple experience of torment to a state of complete madness. Often, while the victim was tormented in this terrible position, he was additionally tortured with a hot iron and other means. The iron bonds cut into the victim's flesh and caused gangrene and sometimes death.

The "chair of the inquisition", known as the "witch's chair", was highly valued as a good remedy against silent women accused of witchcraft. This common instrument was especially widely used by the Austrian Inquisition. The chairs were of various sizes and shapes, all equipped with spikes, with handcuffs, blocks for restraining the victim and, most often, with iron seats that could be heated if necessary. We found evidence of the use of this weapon for slow killing. In 1693, in the Austrian city of Gutenberg, Judge Wolf von Lampertisch led the trial of Maria Vukinetz, 57 years old, on charges of witchcraft. She was placed on the witch's chair for eleven days and nights, while the executioners burned her legs with a red-hot iron (insleplaster). Maria Vukinetz died under torture, going crazy from pain, but not confessing to the crime.

According to the inventor, Ippolito Marsili, the introduction of the Vigil marked a turning point in the history of torture. The modern system of obtaining a confession does not involve the infliction of bodily harm. There are no broken vertebrae, twisted ankles, or shattered joints; the only substance that suffers is the victim's nerves. The idea of ​​the torture was to keep the victim awake for as long as possible, a kind of insomnia torture. But the Vigil, which was not initially viewed as cruel torture, took various, sometimes extremely cruel, forms.

The victim was raised to the top of the pyramid and then gradually lowered. The top of the pyramid was supposed to penetrate the area of ​​the anus, testicles or coccyx, and if a woman was tortured, then the vagina. The pain was so severe that the accused often lost consciousness. If this happened, the procedure was delayed until the victim woke up. In Germany, “vigil torture” was called “cradle guarding.”

This torture is very similar to the “vigil torture.” The difference is that the main element of the device is a pointed wedge-shaped corner made of metal or hardwood. The interrogated person was suspended over a sharp corner, so that this corner rested on the crotch. A variation of the use of the “donkey” is to tie a weight to the legs of the interrogated person, tied and fixed at a sharp angle.

A simplified form of the “Spanish Donkey” can be considered a stretched rigid rope or a metal cable called a “Mare”, more often this type of weapon is used on women. The rope stretched between the legs is lifted as high as possible and the genitals are rubbed until they bleed. The rope type of torture is quite effective as it is applied to the most sensitive parts of the body.

brazier

In the past, there was no Amnesty International association, no one intervened in the affairs of justice and did not protect those who fell into its clutches. The executioners were free to choose any, from their point of view, suitable means for obtaining confessions. They often also used a brazier. The victim was tied to the bars and then "roasted" until they received genuine repentance and confession, which led to the discovery of new criminals. And the cycle continued.

In order to best carry out the procedure of this torture, the accused was placed on one of the types of racks or on a special large table with a rising middle part. After the victim's arms and legs were tied to the edges of the table, the executioner began work in one of several ways. One of these methods involved forcing the victim to swallow a large amount of water using a funnel, then hitting the distended and arched abdomen. Another form involved placing a cloth tube down the victim's throat through which water was slowly poured, causing the victim to swell and suffocate. If this was not enough, the tube was pulled out, causing internal damage, and then inserted again, and the process was repeated. Sometimes cold water torture was used. In this case, the accused lay naked on a table under a stream of ice water for hours. It is interesting to note that this type of torture was considered light, and confessions obtained in this way were accepted by the court as voluntary and given by the defendant without the use of torture.

The idea of ​​mechanizing torture was born in Germany and nothing can be done about the fact that the Maid of Nuremberg has such origins. She got her name because of her resemblance to a Bavarian girl, and also because her prototype was created and first used in the dungeon of the secret court in Nuremberg. The accused was placed in a sarcophagus, where the body of the unfortunate man was pierced with sharp spikes, located so that none of the vital organs were affected, and the agony lasted for quite a long time. The first case of legal proceedings using the "Maiden" dates back to 1515. It was described in detail by Gustav Freytag in his book "bilder aus der deutschen vergangenheit". Punishment befell the perpetrator of the forgery, who suffered inside the sarcophagus for three days.

Wheeling

A person sentenced to be wheeled was broken with an iron crowbar or wheel, all the large bones of his body were then 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.

Vertically mounted wheels were also used for wheeling.

Wheeling is a very popular system of both torture and execution. It was used only when accused of witchcraft. Typically the procedure was divided into two phases, both of which were quite painful. The first consisted of breaking most of the bones and joints with the help of a small wheel called a crushing wheel, equipped on the outside with many spikes. The second was designed in case of execution. It was assumed that the victim, broken and mutilated in this way, would literally, like a rope, slide between the spokes of a wheel onto a long pole, where he would remain to await death. A popular version of this execution combined wheeling and burning at the stake - in this case, death occurred quickly. The procedure was described in the materials of one of the trials in Tyrol. In 1614, a tramp named Wolfgang Zellweiser from Gastein, found guilty of intercourse with the devil and sending a storm, was sentenced by the court of Leinz to both be thrown on the wheel and burned at the stake.

Limb press or “Knee crusher”

A variety of devices for crushing and breaking joints, both knee and elbow. Numerous steel teeth, penetrating inside the body, inflicted terrible puncture wounds, causing the victim to bleed.

The “Spanish boot” was a kind of manifestation of “engineering genius”, since the judicial authorities during the Middle Ages made sure that the best craftsmen created more and more advanced devices that made it possible to weaken the prisoner’s will and achieve recognition faster and easier. The metal “Spanish Boot,” equipped with a system of screws, gradually compressed the victim’s lower leg until the bones were broken.

The Iron Shoe is a close relative of the Spanish Boot. In this case, the executioner “worked” not with the lower leg, but with the foot of the interrogated person. Using the device too hard usually resulted in broken tarsus, metatarsus, and toe bones.

This medieval device, it should be noted, was highly valued, especially in northern Germany. Its function was quite simple: the victim's chin was placed on a wooden or iron support, and the cap of the device was screwed onto the victim's head. First, the teeth and jaws were crushed, then, as the pressure increased, brain tissue began to flow out of the skull. Over time, this instrument lost its significance as a murder weapon and became widespread as an instrument of torture. Despite the fact that both the cover of the device and the lower support are lined with a soft material that does not leave any marks on the victim, the device brings the prisoner into a state of “readiness to cooperate” after just a few turns of the screw.

The pillory has been a widespread method of punishment at all times and under any social system. The convicted person was placed in the pillory for a certain time, from several hours to several days. Bad weather during the punishment period aggravated the victim’s situation and increased the torment, which was probably considered as “divine retribution.” The pillory, on the one hand, could be considered a relatively mild method of punishment, in which the guilty were simply exposed in a public place to public ridicule. On the other hand, those chained to the pillory were completely defenseless before the “court of the people”: anyone could insult them with a word or action, spit at them or throw a stone - silent treatment, the cause of which could be popular indignation or personal enmity, sometimes led to injury or even the death of the convicted person.

This instrument was created as a pillory in the shape of a chair, and was sarcastically called the "Throne". The victim was placed upside down, and her legs were strengthened with wooden blocks. This type of torture was popular among judges who wanted to follow the letter of the law. In fact, the laws governing torture only allowed the Throne to be used once during interrogation. But most judges circumvented this rule by simply calling the next session a continuation of the same first one. Using "Tron" allowed it to be declared as one session, even if it lasted 10 days. Since the use of the Tron did not leave permanent marks on the victim's body, it was very suitable for long-term use. It should be noted that at the same time as this torture, prisoners were also tortured with water and a hot iron.

It could be wooden or iron, for one or two women. It was an instrument of mild torture, with rather psychological and symbolic meaning. There is no documented evidence that the use of this device resulted in physical injury. It was applied mainly to those guilty of slander or insult to personality; the victim’s arms and neck were secured in small holes, so that the punished woman found herself in a prayer position. One can imagine the victim's suffering from poor circulation and pain in the elbows when the device was worn for a long period of time, sometimes for several days.

A brutal instrument used to restrain a criminal in a cross-like position. It is credible that the Cross was invented in Austria in the 16th and 17th centuries. This follows from the book “Justice in Old Times” from the collection of the Museum of Justice in Rottenburg ob der Tauber (Germany). A very similar model, which was located in the tower of a castle in Salzburg (Austria), is mentioned in one of the most detailed descriptions.

The suicide bomber was seated on a chair with his hands tied behind his back, and an iron collar rigidly fixed the position of his head. During the execution process, the executioner tightened the screw, and the iron wedge slowly entered the skull of the condemned man, leading to his death.

A neck trap is a ring with nails on the inside and a trap-like device on the outside. Any prisoner who tried to hide in the crowd could be easily stopped using this device. After being caught by the neck, he could no longer free himself, and he was forced to follow the overseer without fear that he would resist.

This instrument really resembled a double-sided steel fork with four sharp spikes piercing the body under the chin and in the sternum area. It was tightly fastened with a leather belt to the criminal's neck. This type of fork was used in trials for heresy and witchcraft. Penetrating deeply into the flesh, it caused pain with any attempt to move the head and allowed the victim to speak only in an unintelligible, barely audible voice. Sometimes the Latin inscription “I renounce” could be read on the fork.

The instrument was used to stop the victim's shrill screams, which bothered the inquisitors and interfered with their conversation with each other. The iron tube inside the ring was pushed tightly into the victim's throat, and the collar was locked with a bolt at the back of the head. The hole allowed air to pass through, but if desired, it could be plugged with a finger and cause suffocation. This device was often used in relation to those sentenced to be burned at the stake, especially in the large public ceremony called Auto-da-Fé, when heretics were burned by the dozen. The iron gag made it possible to avoid a situation where convicts drown out spiritual music with their screams. Giordano Bruno, guilty of being too progressive, was burned in Rome in the Campo dei Fiori in 1600 with an iron gag in his mouth. The gag was equipped with two spikes, one of which, piercing the tongue, came out under the chin, and the second crushed the roof of the mouth.

There is nothing to say about her, except that she caused death even worse than death at the stake. The weapon was operated by two men who sawed the condemned man suspended upside down with his legs tied to two supports. The very position itself, which caused blood flow to the brain, caused the victim to experience unheard-of torment for a long time. This instrument was used as punishment for various crimes, but was especially readily used against homosexuals and witches. It seems to us that this remedy was widely used by French judges in relation to witches who became pregnant by the “devil of nightmares” or even by Satan himself.

Women who had sinned by abortion or adultery had a chance to become acquainted with this subject. Having heated its sharp teeth white-hot, the executioner tore the victim's chest into pieces. In some areas of France and Germany, until the 19th century, this instrument was called the “Tarantula” or “Spanish Spider”.

This device was inserted into the mouth, anus or vagina, and when the screw was tightened, the segments of the “pear” opened as much as possible. As a result of this torture, internal organs were seriously damaged, often leading to death. When opened, the sharp ends of the segments dug into the wall of the rectum, pharynx or cervix. This torture was intended for homosexuals, blasphemers and women who had abortions or sinned with the Devil.

Cells

Even if the space between the bars was sufficient to push the victim into it, there was no chance for it to get out, since the cage was hung very high. Often the size of the hole at the bottom of the cage was such that the victim could easily fall out of it and break. The anticipation of such an end aggravated the suffering. Sometimes the sinner in this cage, suspended from a long pole, was lowered under water. In the heat, the sinner could be hung in it in the sun for as many days as he could endure without a drop of water to drink. There are known cases when prisoners, deprived of food and drink, died in such cells from hunger and their dried remains terrified their fellow sufferers.

Humanity knows many examples of atrocities that occurred during the Middle Ages. The Iron Maiden (torture instrument) was a device allegedly used in the Middle Ages for execution or to loosen the tongues of uncooperative heretics. Was this really so? Let's figure it out.

Design

Rare sources describe that the “Iron Maiden” (an instrument of torture) looked like a vertical hollow coffin with one or two doors. The inner walls are studded with rows of sharp spikes or rods from the very top to the bottom.

The craftsmen who made this cabinet of death often gave it the outline of a woman. Perhaps hinting at death itself, which embraces a person in its arms, and perhaps there are erotic notes here. Therefore, the device looks more like a sarcophagus with spikes. When was the device used?

Application

It is not known for certain whether the “Iron Maiden” (an instrument of torture) was used by medieval executioners and inquisitors. There is a high probability that its existence is due to the hoaxers of the 18th-19th centuries. This is confirmed by the fact that not a single such device dating from the 6th-15th centuries has been found. The most famous example from Nuremberg was made around the 16th century. Unfortunately, it was lost during a bombing in 1944.

The doors closed slowly. One of them could open so that the executioner could check the condition of the victim. So that the torturer would not experience severe discomfort from the screams and groans of the executed person, the walls of the “Iron Maiden” were quite thick. The spikes entered the soft tissues of the body of the tortured person, piercing the arms, legs, buttocks, shoulders, and stomach. Death did not come very soon. The judges could continue interrogations for some time. In addition, the closedness of the space added to the torment of the executed person.

Ancient analogue

Ancient writers left records of a similar device, which was used by the tyrant Nabis, who ruled Sparta. The mechanical device, according to descriptions, was made in the form of a luxuriously dressed woman with a face - a complete copy of the face of his wife Apega.

Nuremberg design

Let's return to the most famous example of a torture device - the "Maiden of Nuremberg". She was also called the “Iron Maiden,” translated from English as “Iron Maiden.” By the way, this is where the name of the famous rock band came from. And it is called the “Maid of Nuremberg” because the first copy was built in the city with the corresponding name. What was the instrument of torture?

Description of the "Iron Maiden":

• structure height - 7 feet;
• a cabinet in the form of a woman’s figure with the image of the Virgin Mary;
• the arrangement of rods and long nails inside the creepy cabinet was calculated so as not to touch the vital organs of the condemned man.

Thus, the torment lasted for many hours, or even days. The massacre ended with the bottom of the structure being moved away and the corpse being thrown into the river.

Debunking the Myth

Russian researcher of the Middle Ages, teacher at the Russian State University for the Humanities Maria Eliferova, questions the very fact of the existence of the “Iron Maiden” (an instrument of torture) during the Inquisition - a period called by historians “The Middle Ages”. Not a single written document has been found that describes the use of a sarcophagus studded with long nails from the inside. Believe me, the Inquisition documented the remaining methods of executions and interrogations extremely scrupulously.

There are no mentions even in art books until the end of the 18th century. The main argument against this myth is the price of the issue. Then manual labor was used, and the stamping of large, complex, expensive-to-produce products would have hit the treasury of the Inquisition.

More than tens of thousands of heretics, witches, sorcerers, etc. have gone through terrible trials. Why such expenses if there are many proven and simple ways to loosen the tongues of the “wicked”? For example, a very common type of torture during the ferocity of the Inquisition. But such a question did not occur to the creators of the myth. After all, metals were already mined industrially, and there was plenty of iron.

All known museum exhibits are just copies of one Nuremberg specimen, which was already mentioned above. The original Iron Maiden (torture instrument) was lost. And it was created at the beginning of the 19th century, right at the height of the fashion for all kinds of “medieval horror.” “Completely by accident” at this time Europe was gripped by a boom in sadomasochistic sex. It is not for nothing that the instrument of torture is made in the form of a maiden as a symbol of innocence. The thorns inside it are a symbol of sadism.

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
to 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 the Catholic Church had its own philosophy, just as it does 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.