In the view of modern people, the torture of the Middle Ages was an invention of sadistic monks and kings crazy on cruelty. In fact, they were an integral part of medieval life, in particular, one of the judicial procedures and religious ritual. To understand the ways of human development, human society, you need to look at the torture of the Middle Ages without fear and disgust.
Brief background
It is wrong to consider torture an invention of the dark Middle Ages: as a procedural procedure, it was used long before that. By and large, the torture of the Middle Ages was a legacy of antiquity. True, in ancient Greece only slaves could be tortured, and according to the law, torture was not applied to the free. The same rule was in force in the days of the Roman Republic. In the empire, they began to retreat from it, but the “untouchability” of honestiores (worthy) still remained. However, if a person was suspected of a crime against the emperor, then his socialposition no longer mattered. In the Germanic tribes conquered by Rome, torture could also be applied only to slaves and prisoners. A free German was relieved of the charge by the guarantee of his relatives. Everything changed with the spread of Christianity and the emergence of such a thing as Ordalia - "God's judgment." They began to look at the use of torture much more democratically - after all, everyone is equal before God.
Medieval torture
Purification through pain and suffering is one of the postulates of Christianity, which is confirmed by its main symbol - the cross. Which, in fact, is nothing more than an instrument of torture. Add to this the peremptory belief in the afterlife and the daily observed death from disease and war, and it will no longer seem to you that death is a serious punishment for a criminal. Therefore, in the Middle Ages, torture was easily used for punishment or as a way to establish the truth. Moreover, a confession obtained without torture could not be taken into account by the court. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, after the reception of Roman law in Western Europe, torture received legal status. From that moment on, it was fixed by law how, whom and when you can torture.
The worst torture of the Middle Ages
Because torture received procedural status, it was immediately brought to horrific perfection. So that not only the pain it causes, but the very thought of it, would lead criminals before faith and law to immediate repentance. Instruments of torture of the Middle Ages, rareexceptions, were simple but frighteningly effective. Most of them were designed for crushing small bones or joints, as well as their eversion and stretching. Prominent examples of such tools are the rack and all kinds of finger and knee vise. It was also very common to give the body of the tortured a certain position in which he could stay for days, while he could be pierced (so that vital organs were not damaged) or burned with fire. Against this background, the requirement of the law for judges and executioners to be moderate and not to use torture that is not prescribed by law looks somehow unnatural.
