Brutal Medieval time torture devices: The Merchant of Venice can do

Medieval torture devices

The rack

In the Merchant of Venice, we are told about a torture device called the Rack. The rack is a medieval torture device, it was rectangular with a usually wooden frame. Raised from the ground a victim would have their ankles and arms chained down. To torture a person they would pull a lever slowly separating the arms and legs from the body. It was incredibly painful and if stretched too far the arms and legs would dislocate, muscles could break leading to them being useless. If a victim survived being stretched this much they would be disabled with many body parts dislocated and muscles are torn. Once being stretched other torture methods were used, burning the legs with a fire, tear out the nails, one of its earliest uses was in Greece to torture slaves or noncitizens. It was then majority used in Britain after that time period it wasn't used much again.

Here are some other torture devices back then:

The tub was a torture device where the victim was placed in a tub with only there heads out of it and covered in honey and milk. Fly would begin eating them and planting maggots in them. They were fed regularly and eventually they would die as maggots ate their decaying body.

Crucifixion was the same thing that in religion killed Jesus. Your body would be nailed to a wooden frame and you would slowly bleed out while nailed to a wooden frame. This method normally took a couple of days to kill.

Coffin torture was when a human-sized cage was hanged and a person was put in it. It would be uncomfortable and eventually, they would die and the crows would come to eat their remains. Overweight people would be put in smaller cages to heighten the discomfort.

The torture chair was a chair filled with spikes over everything, the victim would be strapped to a chair and then the spikes would cut into there body. This was used to scare people into giving confessions and would be incredibly painful.