Was medieval western Europe full of sadistic torture? Well, no… and mainly because most of the things we think were medieval torture devices actually weren’t!
This false image is mythologised in our culture through film and TV, popular torture museums which are almost entirely fictional, and journalists using “medieval” as an adjective when describing modern torture.
As with all periods, including our own, torture was sometimes used to extract confessions, but when we think of medieval torture we often think of things that were later in the early modern period – for example the Spanish Inquisition, witchcraft trials, and Guy Fawkes.
For the first 700 years of the Middle Ages, torture was rare. It became legalised in the last 300 years in some countries like France, but was limited in scope and primarily used as a threat. It remained illegal in other countries like England, and there were huge debates across Europe about the morality of using torture, in the same way we might debate the death penalty now.
One of the reasons we think medieval torture was so common is because the image of the body in pain was (and is) a very common literary device. For example, in saints lives’ the depiction of torture may be exaggerated to emphasise the saint’s martyrdom. Similarly, there’s so many depictions of serial killers in modern fiction that in 1000 years people are going to read that and think, “oh my goodness what a brutal place to live!” In reality, there’s so few serial killers in the UK this wouldn’t make sense to us.
The prevalence of the medieval torture myth has led to the later invention of some pretty gruesome, but entirely made up, medieval torture devices.
Things that were not medieval torture:
The Iron Maiden
First written about at the end of the 18th century, by a writer named Johann Philipp Siebenkees, then popularised hugely as a medieval torture device throughout the 19th century and even displayed at the World Fair of 1893.
The Rack
The first recorded use of the rack in medieval England was in 1447, which was the last 30 years of the 1000-year Middle Ages in England. The rack is commonly attested to in ancient sources, and early modern – the Tudors absolutely loved it!
The Pear of Anguish
This is such a funny example because it wasn’t even a torture device! It first appeared in sources in the 19th century, claiming to be inserted into various orifices and opened to cause immense pain. But analysis of the device itself showed that it wouldn’t have the power to open up inside something tight like an a***hole. It was probably something innocuous like a glove opener!
The Chastity Belt
Supposedly “medieval” chastity belts were created in the 19th century as curiosities, and the British Museum removed theirs from display after realising they were actually dog collars. The concept of the chastity belt did exist in the Middle Ages – as a joke in literature.
Further reading
Podcast, “Medieval torture with Larissa ‘Kat’ Tracy”: https://www.medievalists.net/2019/04/medieval-torture-with-larissa-kat-tracy/
Podcast, “The myth of the medieval chastity belt with Albrecht Classen”: https://www.medievalists.net/2009/01/the-myth-of-the-medieval-chastity-belt/
Chris Bishop, “The ‘Pear of Anguish’: Truth, Torture and Dark Medievalism”, International Journal of Cultural Studies (2014), pp.591-602.
Ellen Castelow, “Torture in the Tower of London”, Historic UK: https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Torture-in-the-Tower-of-London
Christopher J. Einolf, “The Fall and Rise of Torture: A Comparative and Historical Analysis” Sociological Theory, Vol. 25, No. 2 (2007), pp. 101-121. Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20453071.
Linda Migl Keyser, “The Medieval Chastity Belt Unbuckled” in Stephen J. Harris and Bryon Lee Grigsby (eds.), Misconceptions about the Middle Ages (2008) pp.254-262.
Peter Konieczny, “Why Medieval Torture Devices are Not Medieval”, Medievalists.net: https://www.medievalists.net/2016/03/why-medieval-torture-devices-are-not-medieval/
Amy G. Remensnyder, “Torture and truth: Torquemada’s ghost” in Celia Chazelle et al (eds.), Why the Middle Ages Matter: Medieval Light on Modern Injustice (2012), pp.154-168.
Larissa Tracy, Torture and Brutality in Medieval Literature: Negotiations of National Identity (2015)
Medieval Lauren 