The Judas Cradle

Welcome to the first in a series of short articles about Medieval Torture devices and their use.

Introduction

One of the darker sides to the Middle Ages was the frequent use of torture to punish criminals and extract confessions. Hundreds of devices were used and I am going to be creating a series of short articles that detail these horrific devices. Thousands died in the most unimaginable ways, yet torture wasn't as frequent as most of us are lead to believe. During the period known as the inquisition, only 1 to 2 percent of heretics or criminals were subject to longer periods of torture, the rest were kept under lock and key or punished in other ways.
In most medieval towns there would be a council that would determine a person's guilt. It was only in the severest of cases such as murder or treason, that torture would be used. The majority of cases resulted in the offender being incarcerated or banished from the town. In bigger cities, such as London the law was more rigorously adhered to. Many castles had some form of torture chamber, be it in the dungeon or the tallest tower. In this first article, I will be talking about a particularly unpleasant device called The Judas Cradle

The Judas Cradle

The Judas Cradle was one of the nastier torture devices used, where the victim would be placed on top of a pyramid shaped seat. While atop this device, the victim's feet were tied in such a way that if they were to move one leg, the other leg would move as well increasing the amount of pain endured. The triangular shaped end of the cradle was inserted into the victims anus or vagina. This form of torture could last anywhere from a few hours to complete days.
The time it took to die from their injuries varied from individual to individual. It wasn't unknown for the torturers to add weight to the victims legs, increasing the pain and hurrying the person's death. The device was very rarely, if ever washed so if the victim didn't die quickly enough or the torture was interrupted in some way, then they would die from infection.
Occasionally the victim would be rocked or made to fall repeatedly on to the device in order to gain vital information. If they refused to talk, weight was added to their legs until they either confessed or died from their injuries. It has to be said, this is one of the most eye watering torture devices that I have ever seen.

Photo courtesy of Kate Skegg http://www.flickr.com/photos/mindtalk/2930843549/