Thumb screw
The thumb screw , which was called the thumb stick in the Constitutio Criminalis Theresiana of 1769 , was an instrument of torture for "establishing the truth" of the jurisprudence in the late Middle Ages (from the 14th century at the latest) and the early modern period . She was used in an embarrassing questioning to obtain confessions .
application
The thumb or other fingers are clamped in a clamp . Their jaws, which are connected to one another by thread , contract in a helical manner. This process is extremely painful and not infrequently associated with fractures that can cause permanent damage to the hand .
Very often this form of torture was used to obtain "confessions" in the pursuit of witches .
The torture was often carried out by medical professionals.
Colloquial language
The colloquial expression "tighten the thumbscrews" means "exert pressure" or "force".
See also
- Torture , witch hunt , legal history
- other instruments of torture: the Spanish boot , the bike or the rack
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Thumbscrew. In: City History Museum Leipzig . Retrieved September 23, 2013 .