"Cradle of Judas" - "Vigil" of the medieval Inquisition

At the present time, no one will be surprised by the statement "I'm an atheist" or "Yes you're a witch!". But in the Middle Ages even the idea of saying such words was punishable and punished. For example, a person could easily "invite" to the execution of "The Cradle of Judas."

What do we know about medieval tortures? It is for certain known that in those days beautiful girls more often than they should have (hard to agree with this) were accused of having links with dark forces and called witches. For an attractive appearance, sometimes you had to pay a terrible price: a fair sex representative, falsely, with intent or for some reason accused of witchcraft, was sentenced to torture under the title "Testing with water". At her feet tied the load and threw it into the pond. If she swam out, she is innocent. Logic is difficult to find here.

In addition to this type of torture, widespread burning was used alive, spinning, "Vigil" or "Cradle of Judas". The invention of the latter belongs to Ippolit Marsili. It was thanks to him that the inquisitorial horrors became more humane (if I may say so): no broken bones and inside inside out turned inside out. "The Cradle of Judas", a photo of which can be seen in this article, was a turning point in the medieval methods of obtaining recognition. It was after the creation of this know-how that the Inquisitors started using tools that did not inflict bodily harm. Bright and deep pain, mixed with shame from nude state, was, in the opinion of the medieval church, only a method to tickle the nerves and achieve recognition. "The cradle of Judas" is a torture that could dislodge the crazy rambling statements so necessary to the executioners, even from the most honest and righteous person.

What is the meaning of this punishment?

A naked heretic (according to the representatives of the Inquisition) was shackled into a steel belt, which was fixed by a system of ropes and blocks. Then it was suspended above the tip of a specially made pyramid in such a way that the anterior passage of the victim was above the peak of the metal monster. While the man was conscious, he was unhurt, but as soon as he closed his eyes for a second, the sharp spear of the pyramid penetrated and caused unbearable pain. This was the "Cradle of Judas". In another way, the Vigil. If the victim lost consciousness (and this happened quite often), the torture was postponed for a certain period.

Of course, there were other types of torture. Quartering, stake, saw, interrogation chair, "Iron Meydn". The latter still had the names "Iron Maiden" and "Nuremberg Maiden". The three names that bore the last method of torture are symbolic: the victim who was sentenced to this torture died three days. The meaning of this method is as follows: an unhappy man was placed in a sarcophagus in the shape of a female figure. At the same time, thorns and blades were placed inside this box, but in such a way that none of the vital organs of the heretic was damaged. Precisely because of the sophistication of this instrument, the condemned man's agony lasted a long time and was very painful.

There was also torture under the name "Cradle", which is considered to be the sister of the Inquisitor's tool "Cradle of Judas". However, the latter is one of the most sophisticated and cruel methods of torture.