The Street Sweepers Daughter or The Stork
By admin | Oct 23, 2007
The culprit had to wear them in public, in order to let everybody know that
a crime had been discovered and that the culprit was paying for this fault.
Their shape was very fanciful, often commited to the fantasy of the craftmen of the village and it is
difficult to understand if it was directly connected to the kind of sin.
The Street Sweepers Daughter or The Stork
The term Stork given to this torture device was coinde by L.A. Muratori in his book Italian Annals (1749)
The use of this term is attributed to the Roman courts of justice and inquisition during the period between
the second half of the sixteenth century and the year 1650, circa.
The origins of the even stranger name, “The Street Sweepers Daughter” are not known, but it is taken form the
name of an identical model preserved in the Tower of London. Whatever the origins of its names, the device
seems to be a perfect example of the many different constraint systems used during the Inquisition.
In reality, the position assumed by the victim was the result of careful study and produces, even after only a
few minutes, strong and painful muscular cramps in the abdomen and rectal areas. Eventually, cramps begin to plague the chest, neck,
arms and legs causing more and more pain, especially in the abdomen and rectum. As time passed, the person bound be the Stork would pass from merely suffering to a condition of full madness.
The hand Saw
Bock or Witches Billy Goat
The Witch’s chair
The jerking
It is surely the most common torture and the first used during the trials, since it was believed to be a “light” one. The
accused arms were tied up behind his back with a rope around his wrists and that it was linked to a winch.
In such position the victims were left hanging or violently jerked. Often weights were tied at his feet and his
flesh was torn with pliers such as the witch’s spider with the purpose of making this tirture less mild.
The jurists of the time thought that sorceress knew every sort withcraft allowing them to endure torture since it not always led
to confession.
Water Torture
In order to best carry out this form of torture, the accused was placed on a kind of
“rack” that consisted, in one of its forms, of a large table with a raised center.
After tying the hands and feet of the victim
to the edges of this table, the torturer proceeded with his work in one of several ways. One of these methods
involved forcing the victim to swallow large amounts of water with the help of a funnel, then striking his swollen and arched abdomen repeatedly
with heavy blows. Another form of water torture involved inserting a cloth tube into the mouth of victim, forcing it as deep
as possible into this throat. The tube was then filled slowly with water, swelling up and choking the victim. If that weren’t
enough, the tube would then pulled violently from the victim’s throat, causing internal abrasions.
Appendix
The Head Crusher
In latin America it using till now
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