We can’t help but think of dungeons and brutal torture devices when we think of the medieval era

We can’t help but think of dungeons and brutal torture devices when we think of the medieval era.

The iron maiden was one of these devices—or was it? Most historians today believe the iron maiden to be a myth, readily accepted as the truth based on the belief that our medieval ancestors were a bloodthirsty and ruthless breed.

The iron maiden was a human-shaped iron sarcophagus lined with spikes that would impale its victims when closed, leading to a slow and excruciating death. After being forced into the device, the spikes would pierce the victim in several, yet non-fatal, places over the body, and the unfortunate victim would slowly bleed out.

There are no medieval texts that mention this mode of torture; indeed, the first mention of the iron maiden appears in historical texts from the 1800s.

 Although there are one or two references in antiquity to similar devices, the Spartan tyrant Nabis is said to have used something similar for torture, and the Abbasid vizier Ibn al-Zayyat reprotedly created a "wooden oven-like chest that had iron spikes", which he ironically would fall victim to.

All of the iron maidens that exist today were made in the 19th century or are later reproductions of lost 19th-century iron maidens.

It is thought that the tales of the iron maiden were inspired by a real device known as Schandmantel, or “cloak of shame,” which was made of wood and metal but without spikes. It was used mostly as a punishment for poachers and prostitutes.

Despite pretty much being debunked the iron maiden is still a constant feature of films based in the era that have scenes of torture or punishment.

A picture of an iron maiden from the Lubuska Land Museum in Zielona Góra, Poland

Sources:

Die Eiserne Jungfrau, Wolfgang Schild

Medieval Imposter: the Iron Maiden, San Diego Museum of Man

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