The
Iron Maiden is one of the
most artistically crafted
of the many instruments
of torture to be devised
in the medieval era.
Though the device is famous
in modern times, its actual
use in the past is a subject
of much debate with little
actual proof to substantiate
its reputation as a feared
method of killing.
The original Iron Maiden
is believed to have been
used in Nuremburg Castle,
an ancient fortress that
was once home to the Germanic
Kaisers of the Holy Roman
Empire.
The first historical mention
of its use refers to the
year 1515. It is said to
have been lost in the castle's
destruction during the Allied
bombings of 1945.
The spikes within the Maiden
were cruelly placed to cause
agonizing pain and a lingering
suffocating death in darkness.
The
medieval Iron Maiden
was inspired by tools
of torture from an
even more distant
past and it served
as the prototype for
other similar devices.
Most of the Maiden's
deadly progeny are
now remembered only
in legend and lore,
kept in museums as
evil curios. One of
the devices, shown
at right, was discovered
in Iraq, apparently
used for physical
or psychological torture
by Uday Hussein.
It is not known when
last it was used to
take a life.
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