In the Middle Ages, prisoners and those accused of crimes were subjected to various horrific torture methods. It’s hard to believe that the torture devices we see in museums today claimed the lives of so many people — innocent or otherwise. Back then, however, torture was the norm — a socially acceptable type of punishment sometimes even done in front of jeering crowds. As reported by History Hit, the torture method used was dependent on the harshness of a person’s crime, but all of them were gruesome in nature.

Some of the most common execution methods used were crucifixion, hanging, impalement, and burning. In other cases, prisoners were tortured to coerce a confession or a plea out of them, which usually worked as victims were desperate to avoid being tortured for long periods of time. One of the methods used in the medieval ages was crushing, which began in the 1400s, per ATI. In this method, heavy weights — usually stones — were added on top of the body until the person confessed. In most instances, prisoners died of the crushing weight before they got the chance to make a plea or confess.

Instances of death by crushing weights

Remisser/Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)