Lecture on Medieval Torture and Execution Methods

Introduction

• Speaker: Matt Lewis
• Focus: Examination of brutal and terrifying forms of torture and execution during the medieval period.
• Warning: Content is graphic and potentially distressing.

1. Hanging, Drawing, and Quartering

• Purpose: Punishment for treason, considered a crime against the state.
• Process:
  • Drawing: Initially involved dragging the condemned through streets; later changed to transporting on a wooden board.
  • Hanging: Either by breaking the neck or slow strangulation to maintain consciousness.
  • Drawing (Disemboweling): Opening the body from chest to groin, often with intestines burnt.
  • Quartering: Post-mortem dismemberment into four parts, used as a warning.
• Historical Case: William Wallace, Hugh Despenser.

2. Impaling

• Famous Practitioners: Vlad the Impaler; also used by John Tiptoft in England.
• Method:
  • Transverse or vertical impalement, often avoiding vital organs for prolonged suffering.
  • Used both as execution and as a deterrent.

3. Crushing

• Usage: Popular in Asia (e.g., being crushed by elephants).
• In England: Used to extract pleas in court, avoiding forfeiture of property.
• Method: Placing a board on the victim and adding weight until compliance or death.

4. Beheading

• Considered Merciful: Common for nobility; quicker and less humiliating.
• Execution Method: Use of an axe or sword.
• Historical Notables: Queen Anne Boleyn, Margaret Pole.

5. Breaking Wheel

• Also Known As: St Catherine's Wheel.
• Technique: Breaking bones and then weaving the body into the wheel.
• Purpose: Prolonged suffering; sometimes followed by burning.

6. Boiling to Death

• Rare but Used: For poisoners (notably Richard Ruse) and those committing severe crimes.

7. Sawing

• Method: Victim hung upside down and sawn vertically.
• Historical Anecdote: Emperor Caligula’s interest in this method.

8. Burning at the Stake

• Common for Heresy: Especially during witch hunts.
• Notable Case: Joan of Arc, executed as a heretic.

9. Flaying

• Process: Removing skin while victim is conscious.
• Notable Victim: St Bartholomew, King Richard I’s assassin.

10. The Wooden Horse

• Use: During the Spanish Inquisition, prolonged torture.

Conclusion

• Reflection: Medieval methods of execution reveal human cruelty.
• Continued Use: Some methods persisted into modern history.
• Additional Content: Matt Lewis is a co-host of the "Gone Medieval" podcast.

Note: The lecture covered a variety of execution methods, emphasizing the brutality and historical context of each method. The content ties into broader discussions on the evolution of punishment and human cruelty throughout history.