Catherine Barker
September 28, 2009
Period 2
Medieval Punishment
During the medieval times punishment was looked to for everything. It was
believed the only way to keep things under control was to make people fear the
punishment of certain actions. For this reason all crimes held incredibly harsh
punishments. For example if a person was caught stealing bread they were impaled in
some countries. This made people commit fewer crimes especially since the punishment
was usually done in public to show people how harsh the punishment was.
Throughout the medieval times punishment could be used to either get a
confession or could serve as a consequence for an action. The devices used to torture the
accused could be as minimal as placing wooden wedges under the toenails or as extreme
as spinning someone over a fire. The torture was usually done in public as a consequence
but when a confession was needed the torture was performed in a dungeon. The dungeons
were located underneath the castles and usually had a winding entrance so the screams of
the victims were muffled and could not be heard throughout the castle or the village.
In order determining whether a person was guilty or innocent two types of court
were held. The manorial court was held for the basic crimes and occurred a few times
throughout the year. For the manorial court the whole village was required to attend and
the Lord’s steward was in charge of the court. For this type of court a jury of twelve men
had to collect evidence on the accused to determine if they were guilty or innocent and
what the punishment was going to be if they were found guilty. The second type of court
was the King’s court. In this court the accused had to face trial by ordeal to determine if
they were guilty or innocent. The three main types of trial by ordeal are: ordeal by fire,
ordeal by water, and ordeal by combat. In ordeal by fire the accused had to pick up a redhot iron bar and hold it while they walked a few steps. Then their hands were wrapped in
bandages and they were allowed to leave. Then three days later they had to return to the
court and the bandages were removed. If the wound was beginning to heal they were
innocent but if the wound had not started to heal they were found guilty. Ordeal by water
was when the accused had their hands and feet tied together and were then thrown into a
body of water. If they sank they were found innocent and if the floated they were found
guilty. Ordeal by combat, the third type of ordeal, was when a nobleman and the accuser
would fight until death and the winner was considered to be right. The verdict of the
ordeal was based on the belief that God would intervene to determine guilt or innocence.
After a person was tried and found guilty they were then punished using different
torture devices. The torturing devices were also used to get a confession. Toe torture was
a process where wooden wedges were placed under the victim’s toenails until the victim
confessed to a crime. This usually caused infection and the victim’s toenails would break
off. Another device used was the tongue slicer. This device was used to slice up the
victims tongue as a punishment for the crime they committed. Water torture was also
used for someone found guilty. This way performed by first closing the victim’s nostrils
and then pouring water, urine, or vinegar down their throat. This type of torture caused
the victim to choke and made it impossible for them to breath.
Some of the punishments that caused the most pain were the foot press, the juda
cradle, and the cat’s claw. For the foot press the victim’s foot was placed in the device
and then slowly tightened breaking all of the bones in their foot. The juda cradle was
preformed by hanging the victim above a pyramid and then slowly lowering them onto it
so that the pyramid was forced in the area between their legs. The cat’s claw was a pole
with a pitchfork at the end and was used to scratch the flesh of the victim. Other
punishments that caused greats amounts of pain were the chair of spikes and the iron
maiden. For the chair of spikes a victim would sit in the chair that was cover in spikes
and slowly weights would be placed on their body forcing them into the spikes. If a
person’s punishment was the iron maiden they were placed in a device in the shape of a
person that was lined with sharp devices and as the door was closed they would be
harmed with sharp devices ultimately leading to death if they were in there long enough.
The most common types of punishment for criminals was burning at the stake,
using the wheel of torture, and a few others. Burning at the stake was when the criminal
was hung and then burnt to minimize his pain. When resources were scarce though and
they did not have enough supplies to burn people separately they would tie up next to
each other and then burn them all together. But when burning at the stake didn’t seem
like a cruel enough punishment the victim was placed on top of hot coals and left their to
roast. The wheel of torture, another common device, had many variations depending on
the crime. One type included fixing the victims hands against a wall and then attaching
their feet to a pole, which was connected, to a horse and then the horse was instructed to
run. This would break the persons bones and dislocate joints causing great amounts of
pain and those who survived say it was the most painful torturing device ever made.
Another variation of the wheel includes tying a person to a wheel and then as the torturer
spun the handle the victim’s body was stretched. Sometimes fire was added under the
wheel and sharp objects would be placed on the floor so that when the wheel spun the
victim would be faced with more pain.
Looking back these forms of punishment seem cruel and unusual but during the
medieval times this was common and widely practiced.