Medieval practices of torture, pillorying and the craft of the executioner
How much did the famous executioner Jan Mydlář charge for the execution of 27 Czech gentlemen? How was the execution by sword or hanging carried out? What was the condemned man allowed to wear on the day of his death? How were minor offences punished by pillorying and what were the most common methods and instruments of torture?
Today, the treatment of criminals may seem unnecessarily cruel, painful and inhumane, but in reality it was just like the times themselves. Neither the executioners, their bureaucrats, nor the town council and the mayor were sadists, they used only such means as were available and expedient in their time. Torture was a common part of investigations in secular and ecclesiastical courts in the Middle Ages and early modern period, when it was considered a legitimate way to obtain a confession from the accused. In addition to the usual methods of torture, special procedures were sometimes used to multiply the suffering.
Although the rules were significantly changed, torture could only be resorted to on the basis of significant evidence, but then the executioner's options were virtually unlimited - at the same time, he had to ensure that the tortured person did not die or go mad or commit suicide under the weight of the ordeal.
