by Eloisa G.

Created on: February 10, 2010

The chronology of medieval times begins with “between his two sons in 395AD and ends in “1499 with “Granadan Muslims given choice of conversion or expulsion (Holmes p 370-380). Another source suggests 1066 – 1485; yet another divides it into early, middle and late, thus opinions vary. Even though torture was used throughout Europe and inherited from other cultures we are concerned specifically with medieval England, torture was used in varying degrees and for different crimes; “After the creation of the Inquisition in the thirteenth century some people were turned over to secular authorities for burning at the stake or hanging; Witchcraft trials were prevalent in England” (Spielvogel 516).  According to the author, one fourth of the towns in English county of Essex, “had at least one witchcraft trial in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries” (517). The kings/queens of Europe intermingled politically through marriage during medieval times that in many instances relatives were in control of several countries at a time; so it is logical to see the common use of torture, even in England.

English Parliament passed a statute during 2 Henry IV stipulating, that “after such sentence promulgate shall receive, and them before the people in an high place cause to be burnt, that such punishment may strike fear into the minds of others… the sheriffs, mayors' and bailiffs of the said counties, cities, boroughs and towns shall be attending, aiding, and supporting to the said diocesans and their commissaries” (De Haeretico).   During the peasant’s revolt of 1381 under King Richard II, “In Bury St Edmunds, the Prior was tried and beheaded by rebels. In Essex and Hertfordshire, the rebels were dealt with severely, but generally the judicial proceedings were fair. Many of the main leaders of the revolt were already dead, while those who had survived were executed” (Hobs).

Some of the methods used were, “the rack was commonly being used to torture prisoners in the Tower of London. It was the Duke of Exeter, appointed in 1420 by Henry V as Tower Constable, who first introduced the rack, and from then on, it was known as the Duke of Exeter's Daughter. The rack was used to inflict pain by stretching, and the Scavenger's Daughter was used to crush the prisoner as they were stretched. There were all kinds of devious methods of extracting confessions from prisoners. Some others

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