Immersion (act of violence)
The hiding of a person was used in the Middle Ages as a means of truth-finding and / or punishment.
Immersion as a means of establishing truth and / or punishment in the Middle Ages
Water sample
During the water test with cold water, as evidence of guilt or innocence, a person was completely immersed in water to confirm or invalidate the suspicion of witchcraft. It was assumed that the pure element of water repels witches and that they float on the water (see also: weighing sample ).
Honor penalties
The public immersion of a condemned man by the scales or with the seesaw had two functions: firstly, the punishment itself as an atonement against the law-abiding society and, through immersion in cleansing water, the washing off of sin against God .
Todays situation
The induction of "almost drowning" (similar to waterboarding ) by immersing the whole body or head is considered a torture method and is prohibited in Europe by Article 2 of the ECHR in state and state-affiliated institutions without exception.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Konrad Motz: The punishments of the pillory and the basket as well as corresponding legal regulations. In: Dieter Pötsche: Stadtrecht, Roland, and pillory. Lukas Verlag, Wernigerode / Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-931836-77-0 , p. 309 ff.
