Torture and punishment

Torture has been used as the means of controlling people, to obtain or gain information or simply to punish someone, for a very long time. This wasn´t different in England where torture was frequently used and reached its height during the reign of the Tudors. Especially during the 45 years Queen Elizabeth I ruled England, torture was used more often than ever before.

The punishment first of all was dependent on the crime committed, the worse the crime committed, the worse the punishment. Then it is important to know that all crimes were specifically punished, for example there were several methods of punishment only for women who spoke too freely or had no good reputation, for people who were arrested for drinking in public, for treason or manslaughter.

All in all it can be said that torture did not only have physical pain as a result, there was also a mental or emotional pain because of the embarrassment the punishment led to. Many of the various instruments of punishment were placed in public places, e.g. in the middle of the market place, so all people could see the punishment. People in those days liked and relished these public punishments and sometimes even paid fees to see a public hanging.

In order to give you some more information, here is a list of the instruments which were usually used for punishment:

For women who had a bad reputation, who loved gossip, there was a special torture, the "bride`s scold" or "gossip`s bridle". It was a mask made of metal, which was placed on the head so that it formed a cage around it. Then there was a metal strip which was put into the mouth of the woman. This strip was either sharpened or covered with spikes so that every attempt to speak led to bad injuries in the mouth. Another means to stop women from talking too freely was the "dunking stool", a chair made of wood, which was attached to a large lever system which allowed it to be lowered into the water, dunking the woman who sat on the chair into the water, too. The person on the chair could be dunked as often as it was thought appropriate and accordingly a number of women drowned because they were kept under water too long.

The instrument of punishment which was used very often for all different kinds of crimes was the "pillory", a wooden post with a wooden block on the top with holes in it for the person`s hands and head to be placed in. This pillory was usually placed in the middle of the market so that everyone who passed could make fun of the person held in it. Sometimes the ears of those who were placed in the "pillory" were nailed to it and then later cut off in order to leave a sign of warning.

Of course, whipping, hanging and burning also were all executionary measures, burning for example was popular for executing witches.

Sometimes people were also boiled to death or pressed to death by weight placed on their chest.

It must not be forgotten, that even concerning punishment or execution, society was not equal. Beheading for example was reserved for those people in the upper classes of society as it was considered an honourable way of dying. In contrast to this, the poor were often executed with the "amputation saw" which was like an axe but much more cruel as it was very slow and therefore led to a very slow death.

There were also many public hangings. People were often hanged by chains alongside the road as an example or sign of warning for others because this way everyone could see their slow death. Sometimes the people who were hanged were also taken down again, not dead yet, and quatered.

Furthermore, the situation in prisons wasn`t any better, prisons were cold and dark and the person who was kept in the prison often had to share his cell with mice and rats.

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