Medieval Torture Research Paper

Trial by hot Iron was one way to determine innocence in the Middle Ages, you had to undergo this trial to prove your innocence. In this trial the defendant would have to carry an iron that weighed one pound, after it was heated over fire and pulled out during a ritual prayer. He or she would carry the hot iron metal for 9 feet, measured by the own defendants foot size. Their hands are strapped at the end of the 9 feet. Then they would be examined after 3 days by a Priest.They were considered guilty if there hands weren't showing any progress of healing. If there hands were showing progress of healing he or she is innocent .If the crime of the accused was particularly bad such as betrayal of a Lord or murder the iron would be 3 pounds. In the

EMBED QUOTE " The greatest and most grievous punishment used in England […] where they are hanged till they be half dead, and then takes down, and quartered alive; after that, their members and bowels are cut from their bodies, and thrown into a fire, provided near hand and within their own sight, even for the same purpose."(JIIOJIIHIJLJ). This shows how severe their punishments. there were many punishments that hsfkasdhjgfljsagfdjhs. The drunkard's cloak was a popular punishment for public drunkenness. It is where a person is to wear a barrel with holes cut out for their arms and head and would like a shirt. They are forced to walk around town and be publicly humiliated. The scold's bridle is a punishment for women who gossiped or were dishonest and it was a cage-like contraption that was worn on the head that would cause injury if they talked. The ducking stool was also a device to punish women and it was a stool attached to a log that would immerse the woman into the water. Other punishments that were used during this time was hanging, burning, the pillory, whipping, branding, cutting off various body parts, pressing,

One of the many things that has been highly controversial and still is to this very day is how to properly punish and treat criminals. Here in America we now have the Eighth Amendment to protect us from cruel and unusual punishment. This was based off of a Parliament Act of 1689 that created England’s Bill of Rights. Before England had come up with the idea that humans should have guaranteed basic rights, it wasn’t a matter of whether or not a criminal would die, as much as it was a matter of how they would die. Torture devices such as the guillotine, the stake, the brazen bull, and the rack were used to spread the idea of fear and punishment that was ineffectually used by leaders to try and control their people throughout the history of Europe.

From the late Middle Ages to the end of the nineteenth century punishments changed quite greatly although some things, of course, remained the same. A few things that changed were the policing, the use of gaols and the ideas based around capital punishment.

Long time ago, the Roman emperor Nero realized that a conspiracy of some nobles to kill him. Nero arrested the suspects and made a threat with torture. In Europe, torture was implemented to extort confessions or to punish

Crime punishment in the 17th century in London was not any better than the methods such as the death penalty used in the 16th century. Matter of fact, one could say that the punishments in the 17th century was exactly as it was in the 16th century London. During this time period, people were still being punished for committing small crimes like stealing things. “There was still support for the execution of the most serious offenders, however, and in certain contexts, such as the 1720s and 1780s, which both experienced crime waves and political instability, the proportion of convicts executed increased.” (London Lives 1690 to 1800 crimes, poverty and social policy in the metropolis). Men and women were punished almost in the same way, however, if a pregnant woman is found guilty of any crime, she was given time to deliver the baby before she faced her punishment for her crimes. In the 17th, most the famous crime punishment method was hanging, criminals who were convicted were hanged instead of given other types of punishment.

The accused were then immediately guilty. Under Elizabethan torture, even the highest class could not escape punishment. However, their tortures were limited to decapitation instead of severe torture that the lower classes endured. For anything stolen that had worth of over 5 pence, that person was to be hung. Begging was outlawed and any person caught begging was beaten until they could reach the stones that marked the town’s boundary, no matter how weak and bloody the poor beggar was in the process of getting to the destination.

According to Clear, Cole, and Reisig, (2013, p. 28 & 29) during the middle ages various forms of punishments were imposed on the body of the offender. Authority of government grew, and the criminal law system became more fully developed. Other forms of sanctions were applied due to the rise of trade, the breakdown of feudal order, the emergence of a middle class. In Europe before the 1800s fines and five punishments were common: galley slavery, imprisonment, transportation, corporal punishment and death. Each

It had a jury to help. The jury would tell the king’s judges about any crimes that were committed. The crimes that Henry II commissioned were murder, theft, and robbery. The men who were punished or subjected were punished in various ways. If a man was convicted of a severe crime, he would receive imprisonment or an amputation of his hand or leg.

A pillory was a very common form of humiliation. The wrong doer would have his wrists and head placed in a pillory and people would insult and throw unpleasant liquids toward the criminal. As mentioned in the first paragraph, if the criminal was convicted of trying to sell false goods, these goods would often be hung around his or her neck. The cucking stool was a punishment that may be thought of

These Trials or (ordeals) were first Ordeal by Combat where if the victims parents were still alive then they would have to fight for there child's freedom.(Medieval Times and Castle Pg.2) Secondly, Ordeal by fire was usually a for sure sentence where the convicted had to hold a red hot piece of wood and if after three days the wound was healed, the convicted would be considered saved by God and free, on the other hand if there was still a wound mark then they would be sentenced to death

To try to prevent crime from occurring some believed that making the punishments severe would slow the growth of crime. The punishments you would receive, varied on how bad the crime was that you committed. If you were accused for adultery or manslaughter, you were more than likely punished with a whipping or branding. When punished with a whipping the number of hits usually varied between 10 to 30. When committing adultery, you usually were required 30 hits with the whip and a hot iron brand to the forehead. You were also made to wear something around your neck showing the crime you committed. These punishments were usually for men, women were normally sent to workhouses. Hanging was also a big punishment in the 1800s. Hangings were found to be entertainment and multiple people received a job during a hanging. (Source 2, Page 101) When hanging got out of hand, they began to send the criminals to other colonies to serve their sentences. They found that it was much cheaper than holding them in the English prisons where they were overcrowded and the traveling had to be paid for. The 1800s is known to be the worst of crime because of the increase of population and the issues with wealth. Escapes were very common because the jails were overflowing and it was too much for the people to keep up with. Not only were adults at risk but children of any age were too because society was so bad. As time moved along some of the

In Medieval times determination of guilt and innocence was unfair and people relied on God to be the determinant of guilt or innocence. Trial by ordeal was a practice that was used to decide whether you were guilty or innocent (thefinnertimes.com).Trial by ordeal was made up of 3 trials – trial by water, trial by fire and trial by combat. These trials all have different negative features; trial by water was when the accused and accuser get tied up and thrown into the water, if someone floated they were guilty and if they sunk they were innocent. Trial by fire was when you either had to walk barefoot on fire or you had to hold a red-hot bar for a certain amount of time, if when the accused came back after 3 days and their hand hadn’t started to heal, they were declared guilty (yesnet.yk.ca). Trial by combat was undoubtedly the most unfair trial out of them all.

Torture (Latin torquere, “to twist”), in law, infliction of severe bodily pain either as punishment, or to compel a person to confess to a crime, or to give evidence in a judicial proceeding. Among primitive peoples, torture has been used as a means of ordeal and to punish captured enemies. Examination by torture, often called the “question,” has been used in many countries as a judicial method. It involves using instruments to extort evidence from unwilling witnesses.

Some tortures included strapping the accused's feet in a pair of metal boots and then filling the boots with boiling hot oil. The accused were often whipped for their purification, sometimes they were left out in the open for hours after having been whipped while the torturers went out to lunch. They had to hang there and wait until they returned and often they received additional torture after their wait just to be certain they had been purified. Tortures were so extreme that many people took their practices underground to avoid the Inquisition.