![]() The victim would have the bones in all four limbs broken in two places by strikes from an iron bar. One of the most horrible wheel tortures was akin to crucifixion. The difference was likely immaterial to the victims. Instead of swinging, the wheel might turn on an axle. The wheel itself could also have spikes mounted on it, so the pain came from all directions. The victim would be tied to the wheel, and then swung across some undesirable thing below - fire was always a good choice, but dragging the victim's flesh across metal spikes also worked well. ![]() A more elaborate method involved a wheel mounted to an A-frame that allowed it to swing freely. Early torturers were fond of tying someone to a large wooden wheel, then pushing it down a rocky hillside. They could be part of a stretching rack, but medieval torturers were far too creative to leave it at that. Wheels were adapted to many torturous uses. Torquemada, the infamous torturer of the Spanish Inquisition, was known to favor a stretching rack known as a potro, where the victim was bound to a ladder and water continually poured in his mouth so as to simulate drowning. He or she was stretched until his or her joints dislocated, then left there or slackened and allowed to hang underneath the horse while an inquisitor or judge questioned the victim and tried to get a confession. Pulleys below tightened ropes affixed to the victim's hands and feet. The victim was tied to a beam on the top (the horse's "back"), facing up. It was a wooden device that vaguely resembled an actual horse in shape. Eventually, the fire was extinguished by the downpour of blood as the victim's limbs were torn free. A fire was lit beneath the wheel, adding to the torture. In one story, a Christian youth was tied to a wheel and his joints destroyed by the stretching. ![]() Such torture was known as being "broken on the rack," "racked" or "stretched on the rack." It could be combined with other forms of torture to make things even more painful. ![]() Continued pressure could cause the limbs to be torn right off. It came in many forms, but here's the basic idea: The victim was tied down while some mechanical device, usually a crank or turning wheel, tightened the ropes, stretching the victim's body until the joints were dislocated. The rack was used throughout Europe for centuries. Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images This took place in 1558 during the reign of the Catholic Queen Mary of England. Cuthbert Simpson was tortured on the rack in the Tower of London for his Protestant beliefs before being burned at the stake. ![]()
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