In the view of modern people, the torture of the Middle Ages was an invention of sadistic monks and kings crazy for cruelty. In fact, they were an integral part of medieval life, in particular, one of the judicial procedures and religious ritual. To understand the development of man, 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 a fabrication 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 applied during the time of the Roman Republic. In the empire, they began to recede from it, but the “untouchability” of honestiores (worthy) still remained. However, if a person was suspected of a crime against the emperor, then his social status did not matter anymore. In the Germanic tribes conquered by Rome, torture could also be applied only to slaves and prisoners. The free German was released from the charge by guaranteeing relatives for him. Everything changed with the spread of Christianity and the emergence of such a thing as Ordalia - “the judgment of God.” 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 tenets of Christianity, as evidenced by its main symbol - the cross. Which, in fact, is nothing but a tool of torture. Add to this the peremptory faith in the afterlife and the daily observed death from illnesses and wars: and you won’t even think that death is a serious punishment for a criminal. Therefore, in the Middle Ages, torture was easily used for punishment or as a way of establishing the truth. Moreover, a confession obtained without torture might not have been 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, the law stipulated how, whom and when to torture.
The most terrible tortures of the Middle Ages
Since torture was granted procedural status, it was immediately brought to terrifying perfection. So that not only the pain she inflicts, but the very thought of her leads the criminals to faith and the law to immediate repentance. The instruments of torture of the Middle Ages, with rare exceptions, were simple, but terrifyingly effective. Most of them were designed for crushing small bones or joints, as well as for their inversion and stretching. Vivid examples of such tools are a rack and all kinds of grips for fingers and knees. It was 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 apply tortures not prescribed by law looks somehow unnatural.