What methods of torture were used in the Spanish Inquisition?

What methods of torture were used in the Spanish Inquisition?

While the accused heretics were on strappado or the rack, inquisitors often applied other torture devices to their bodies. These included heated metal pincers, thumbscrews, boots, or other devices designed to burn, pinch or otherwise mutilate their hands, feet or bodily orifices.

What is a Toca torture?

Before pouring the water, torturers often inserted an iron prong (known as the bostezo) into a victim’s mouth to keep it open, as well as a strip of linen (known as the toca) on which the victim would choke and suffocate while swallowing the water.

What was the purpose of the hair shirt for the Inquisition?

During the Spanish Inquisition, the hairshirt was used after a voluntary or post-torture confession. If a person was suspected of heresy, they could either confess their sin or wait for the Inquisition Tribunal to charge them. The use of the hairshirt happened mainly in the New World viceroyalties.

Who was tortured in the Spanish Inquisition?

Beginning in the 12th century and continuing for hundreds of years, the Inquisition is infamous for the severity of its tortures and its persecution of Jews and Muslims. Its worst manifestation was in Spain, where the Spanish Inquisition was a dominant force for more than 200 years, resulting in some 32,000 executions.

How does the knee splitter work?

For those who didn’t commit crimes justifiable by certain death, the use of the knee splitter was brought into play. A victim’s leg would be inserted between the metal teeth, which sat at the front and back of the knee, thus effectively crippling the victim for life, if they didn’t fall to infection first.

What does it mean to waterboard a girl?

Waterboarding is a form of torture in which water is poured over a cloth covering the face and breathing passages of an immobilized captive, causing the person to experience the sensation of drowning.

What is water torture called?

Waterboarding, or “water torture,” is a brutal practice whereby an interrogator straps a prisoner to a board, places a wet rag in his mouth, and by pouring water through the rag induces controlled drowning.

What did Silas wear on his leg?

In Dan Brown’s novel The Da Vinci Code, one of the antagonists, an albino numerary named Silas associated with the religious organization Opus Dei, wears a cilice in the form of a spiked belt around his thigh.

What was the knee splitter used for in the Spanish Inquisition?

Used frequently during the Spanish Inquisition, the knee splitter, naturally, was used to split a victims knee. The device was built from two spiked wood blocks with a screw at the back, and was clamped on the front and back of the knee. One turn of the screw and, hey presto, a knee was easily, and painfully, crippled.

What did the Inquisition do to the accused?

During the Inquisition, those accused of heresy were often required to witness torture. When the tendons and ligaments of a person on the rack began making noise, bystanders routinely offered up confessions. For the accused stretched out too much, their muscles would lose the ability to contract.

Why was waterboarding used in the Spanish Inquisition?

Theatrical images of someone having their head held under water to encourage a confession pay homage to toca. In modern times, this would be referred to as waterboarding. During the Spanish Inquisition it was also called interrogatorio mejorado del agua. The idea behind it was to make the accused feel as if they were drowning.

Why was Toca used in the Spanish Inquisition?

During the Spanish Inquisition it was also called interrogatorio mejorado del agua. The idea behind it was to make the accused feel as if they were drowning. The techniques used for toca were different from place to place.