Welcome to back to our punishments Hall of Infamy, and today we’re going to introduce
to you perhaps one of the vilest torture instruments known to mankind.
Ok, so nothing we have talked about in this series could qualify as being acceptable in
this day and age, but we think you’ll find this piece of sadistic furniture extreme to
the highest degree.
With no further ado, let’s have a look at the Judas Chair.
To start with, it was a chair, but one people were forced to sit on rather than choose to
relax on.
It actually looked more like a stool, with three or four legs pointing upwards at an
angle and a flat base resting on the legs.
On that base was what looked like a pyramid with a very sharp top.
We’ve seen a few different examples of the chair – sometimes called the Judas cradle
instead – and they all look to follow the same basic principles.
If the victim of the chair was a man then he might be forced to sit on it with the point
directed at his rear-end orifice, while a woman might get the same, or be forced to
sit with the point on her vaginal orifice.
The person would be tied with ropes and then lowered onto the spike, which as you can imagine
would cause some serious pain and bodily damage.
The Judas Chair was likely invented by the Spanish in the 16th century and was used as
a torture device during interrogations.
The very thought of being lowered onto that sharp point would no doubt make any person
spill the beans, but as you know, people will generally tell you anything when in such a
terrifying predicament, whether it’s actually true or not.
That person might not die immediately if the spike didn’t penetrate too far, but sometimes
oil or grease was used to make the passage of the spike into the person that much easier.
At times the person might also have weights tied to their legs to really drive the point
home so to speak.
He or she would be naked, and so the humiliation of the experience was also a factor.
Since the instrument was mostly used to extract information from someone, there were tactics
the torturer could apply to increase the pain.
One of those was to rock the person from side-to-side, helping to force the spike further inside
the victim.
A person would sometimes faint from the experience and be taken off the chair, but upon waking
they’d often have to go through the whole ordeal again.
Even if they survived, their injuries were often so severe that they’d later die.
Infections weren’t exactly easy to deal with back in the 16th century.
We also can’t find any record that the chair was ever washed.
We’re not sure what the worst part of the whole experience would be, the pain or knowing
that you’re the hundreth person to get the worst seat in the world..
It wasn’t just the Spanish that has such a wicked device.
In Germany they called it the “Judaswiege.”
The Italians called it the “Culla di Giuda” or Cradle of Judas and the French called it
“La Veille”, which could be translated as “The Wake.”
The French version was so called because they had a practice where the victim would be left
on the chair and forced to clench their muscles, which meant staying awake, since if the muscles
were relaxed it would allow the spike to penetrate further in.
If they did finally give in to exhaustion either from the lack of sleep or blood loss,
then point would go in and the internal damage would usually finish them off.
Unlike some rumored torture methods, these devices no doubt existed and surviving examples
have been the stars of museum exhibits all around Europe, but finding recorded information
regarding when they were used and who they were used on is not easy.
Some historians say the chair might not have originated in Spain at all, but a solid alternative
origin theory has yet to come up.
Like other instruments of torture we have talked about, the items have been passed down
through history, but the facts regarding the use of the instruments are blurry.
We’re guessing that executioners and torturers may not have been the most studious bookkeepers.
Some other sources state that while the Judas Chair might have seen its pinnacle of use
during the inquisition, it was also later used in various parts of Europe to punish
people for everything from adultery to the torturing of people accused of witchcraft.
Folks weren’t as put off back then by the idea of torture because they were big believers
in sin and an afterlife waiting for them when their hardships in the current life were over.
If people did bad thigs, they could repent during torture, and then head to a better
place.
And if they were innocent?
Well no harm done, they’re in heaven all the same.
There’s also some evidence for a similar torture device existing in parts of Asia,
notably Sri Lanka and Thailand.
There it was called bamboo torture, and the victim would be tied over a fast-growing bamboo
root.
These quick growing roots can sprout up more than an inch every hour, so if a person was
tied over it, it would grow right up into them.
There are even tales of the Japanese using bamboo like this to torture or kill Allied
troops during World War II, but some critics point out that there is little if any evidence
to support this.
Did you enjoy this video?
Well maybe enjoy isn’t the right word, but we bet you were as fascinated as we were.
Which is why you need to go watch our video on maybe the worst punishment of all time
“The Brazen Bull” Thanks for watching and we’ll see you next time.