Medieval Torture Devices: Rat Torture
Facebook/Medieval Torture Museum (Los Angeles)One of the most disgusting medieval torture devices involved a cage and several rats.
The last medieval torture device on our list is perhaps the worst of them all, especially for those who despise rodents. Rat torture was used to great effect in the Middle Ages as an interrogation technique.
Like many other torture devices on this list, rat torture was cruelly simple. The victim would be tied down and a bottomless cage would be placed on their abdomen. Then, the cage would be filled with several rats.
According to the Torture Museum, this was often enough to get someone to start talking. Filled with fear and disgust, a victim might confess to just about anything. But the torture had an even worse component.
Dimitris Kamaras/FlickrA depiction of someone undergoing rat torture at the Torture Museum in Bruges, Belgium.
After the cage was filled with rats, the interrogator would use hot coals to slowly heat up the cage. And the rats, terrified and desperate to escape the heat, would start to burrow through the victim’s abdomen.
In all, medieval torture devices range from the terribly violent — like the Spanish Donkey — to the more psychologically torturous — like immurement. But they were all terrible. Faced with an interrogator and his tools, it’s no wonder that most people would quickly make a confession.
After reading about the most horrific torture devices of the Middle Ages, check out the most painful medicines and medical procedures of medieval times. Then, learn about some of history’s worst ways to die.
