Iron maiden (torture device)
From Open Encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Iron Maiden (disambiguation).
Image:Iron Maiden of Nuremberg.jpg
An Iron Maiden is an iron cabinet allegedly built to torture or kill a person by piercing his body with sharp objects (such as knives, spikes, or nails), while the victim is forced to remain standing. The victim bleeds profusely and is weakened slowly and dies of a combination of shock and blood loss, if not asphyxiation. There is no evidence of Iron Maidens before the 19th century.
The most famous, and probably the first, device was the Iron Maiden of Nuremburg. According to a hoax by Johann Philipp Siebenkees in 1793, it was first used on August 14, 1515 to execute a coin forger. The Iron Maiden was actually built in the 19th century as a misinterpretation of a medieval "Schandmantel" (infamy cloak), which was made of wood and tin but without spikes. The infamy cloak did not harm the body, and it was used as a chastisement for poachers and prostitutes, who were made to wear it in public for a certain time.
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Physical features
The Iron Maiden of Nuremberg was anthropomorphic. It was probably styled after the Madonna, with a carved likeness of her on the face. The Maiden was about 7 feet (2.1m) tall and 3 feet (0.9m) wide, had double doors, and was big enough to contain an adult man. Inside the tomb-sized container, the Iron Maiden was fitted with dozens of sharp spikes. Supposedly, they were designed so that when the doors were shut, the spikes skewered the victim, missing vital organs and permitting the victim to remain alive and upright. The spikes were also movable to accommodate each victim.
The condemned person was kept in an extremely confined space to maximize his level of suffering by claustrophobia. Mobility was nearly impossible, and if the victim ever were weakened by the ordeal, the piercing objects would remain in place and tear into the body even further, causing even more intense pain.
The doors of the Maiden could be opened and closed one at a time, without giving the victim opportunity to escape. Supposedly, this was helpful when checking on the injured party to be sure that he was sufficiently suffering or willing to comply with the demands of his tormenter.
Supposed operation
Purportedly, the condemned prisoner had to pass through seven rooms with seven doors before his scheduled execution. At the end of a long corridor he found himself looking into the face of an iron wardrobe that vaguely resembled a female form. On the outside, the Maiden appeared harmless and unthreatening, while inside were hidden spikes of iron that were designed to torture slowly rather than kill.
The doors of the Maiden were shut slowly, so that the very sharp points penetrated a man’s arms, and his legs in several places, along with his belly and chest, bladder, eyes, shoulders, and his buttocks, but not enough to kill him. Historical experts have theorized that the spikes on the inside of the doors may have been moveable. They were thought to have been able to be repositioned and/or relocated depending on the individual requirements of the person’s body and their crime. The overall result would be more or less lethal and mutilating depending upon where the spikes were located.
The point of this deadly object was to impale the victim and inflict extreme pain and punishment - and also, like most instruments of torture, to intimidate the prisoner before actual use, so that he confessed.
Known usage
The number of Iron Maidens ever built, let alone used in judicial proceedings or executions, is much in doubt. Replicas have been made, even if never used for the macabre purpose.
The iron maiden at Nuremberg Castle was destroyed in the air raids of 1944 near Nuremberg, Germany.
An Iron Maiden was found in Iraq near the building housing the Iraqi Football Association in which Uday Hussein had an office(1). Members of the Iraqi Olympic team claim it was in use during Saddam's rule against persons who ran afoul of Uday.
References
- Note (1): {{Web reference
| author = Aparisim Ghosh | publishyear = 2003 | url = http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,444889,00.html | title = Iron Maiden Found in Uday's Hussein's Playground | format = | work = TIME.com | publisher = | date = February 7 | year = 2006
}}
- {{Book reference
| First = Wolfgang | Last = Schild | Authorlink = | Year = 2000 | Month = | Title = Die eiserne Jungfrau | Pages = | Publisher = | Location = | ID = | URL =
}}
- {{Web reference
| author=Jürgen Scheffler | publishyear= | url=http://www.zeitenblicke.de/2002/01/scheffler/scheffler.html | title=Der Folterstuhl - Metamorphosen eines Museumsobjektes | work=Zeitenblicke | date=January 25 | year=2006 }}
- {{Web reference
| author= | publishyear= | url=http://www.mondzauberin.de/einstieg/informativ/essays/essays3/BerlinOnline%20Die%20unsichtbare%20H/vortrag.html | title=Vortrag von Klaus Graf: Mordgeschichten und Hexenerinnerungen | format= | work=Mondzauberin | publisher= | date=January 25 | year=2006 }}cs:Železná panna
de:Eiserne Jungfrau es:Doncella de hierro fr:Vierge de fer ja:鉄の処女 pl:Żelazna dziewica ru:Железная дева sv:Järnjungfrun
