In humanity's darkest hour, many torture devices existed to strike fear in the hearts of men
One medieval torture device, consisting of a human-sized sarcophagus lined with spikes
would slowly and painfully kill its victims. The story of the Iron Maiden seems almost
too gruesome to be true. And in many cases, it is. Today, we're exploring if the Iron Maiden
actually existed. As medieval torture devices go, the Iron Maiden was a bit of a doozy
Considered to be one of the most brutal torture devices of all time, it caused a slow and painful death. What else would you expect from an upright coffin filled
with spikes? The Iron Maiden was large enough to fit an adult. And let's just say the spike-lined
interior wasn't just for show. After being forced into the hideous device, Iron Maiden victims would
slowly bleed out from multiple piercing wounds. It was not a quick death
But as gruesome as it sounds, the Iron Maiden didn't actually exist during the medieval period
Wait a minute, what? The Iron Maiden appeared in the history books much, much later
While it definitely seems like something Henry VIII would have kept around for special occasions
the Iron Maiden didn't appear in historical texts until much later, in the 1800s
Prior to that, there are no references to the torture device from medieval times
In the 19th century, Iron Maidens began to appear across Europe, along with gruesome tales of their use and history
One of the devices even made an appearance at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair
That same Iron Maiden was taken on an American tour shortly thereafter
Hello, Cleveland. I am an Iron Maiden. The first recorded references to the Iron Maiden came from the writings of German philosopher
Johann Philipp Siebenkais, who detailed a fictional account of a coin forger's execution
in 1515 Nuremberg. Siebenkais wrote about it in gruesome, vivid detail for a guidebook to the city
slowly, so that the very sharp points penetrated his arms and his legs in several places
and his belly and chest, and his bladder and the root of his member, and his eyes
and his shoulders, and his butt-ons. Siebenkais wrote, but not enough to kill him
And so he remained making great cry and lament for two days
after which he died. The story caught Victorian collector Matthew Peacock attention Peacock built a functional version of the Iron Maiden from bits of memorabilia he collected and sold the invention to a museum Visitors to the museum marveled at the device
believing it to be real. After that, word of the device and its supposed dark origin
spread, perpetuating the legend of the Iron Maiden. Speaking of museums, pop culture might sometimes
make it seem like Iron Maidens were everywhere during medieval times, but that simply wasn't the case. Travel to any torture museum in Europe
and you'll undoubtedly come across a sinister sarcophagus or two on display. One of the great
unknown factors is where all of them came from in the first place. The answer may shock you
Iron Maidens were basically invented to be museum exhibits, ostensibly to terrify museum visitors
I thought that was the screams job. In 1802, one of the devices was displayed in Nuremberg
This became the famous Iron Maiden of Nuremberg. The original was lost during the 1945 Allied bombing of Nuremberg
but a copy was auctioned off in the 1960s and is currently displayed at the medieval crime museum
Hrothenburg auf der Tauber. Reflecting on the medieval times from a modern perspective
you might perceive the period as being a bit on the barbaric side
In the 18th century, a similar notion took hold of public opinion
allowing the sordid myth of the Iron Maiden to spread like wildfire
Some enlightened thinkers used the story of the device as a way to prove the Middle Ages were an uncivilized time
After all, they surmised, only a brutal medieval sadist could invent a device like the Iron Maiden
In reality, the Iron Maiden was invented by an 18th century historian who believed his own time to be superior
using the Iron Maiden as the focal point of a hoax intended to cast shade on the medieval period
Talk about a few wasted years. While the legend of the Iron Maiden was running free in the public's imagination
Matthew Peacock saw an opportunity to reinforce his claims of 18th century superiority
He reportedly said the device was meant to show the dark spirit of the Middle Ages in contrast to the progress of humanity
Huh, now we have friends on Facebook to do that. As the tale of the Iron Maiden circulated during the 19th century
the story took a few elaborate turns. One story involved the Catholic Church
According to the rumor the church used Iron Maidens during the Inquisition ostensibly to torment and sacrifice non Knowing that fear is the key some claim the woman head ornament that sits on top of
the insidious device represented the Virgin Mary. The reason for this is pretty twisted
It was thought the Iron Maiden's victims would see the depiction of the Virgin Mary before
being sealed inside the device. Her presence symbolized the victory of religion over heresy
In German, the head was referred to as Jungfa. the German word for spinster. Speaking of German Iron Maidens, one of the most famous Iron Maidens
in history was the Nuremberg Maiden, located in Germany. The device incorporated some cutting-edge
technology for the period. According to 19th century historian Dr. Wiley, the Nuremberg Maiden
operated with a series of buttons to accomplish its devious effects. One button seized the victim
another slammed the door shut, starting up the whirling blades inside. A third button popped
open a trap door that dropped the victim's lifeless body into the river below. Dr. Wiley
asserted these mechanical abilities never existed during the medieval era. Daniel Mannix confirmed
this in his 1964 book on the history of torture, saying, nothing short of the International Business
Machines Corporation could manufacture such a complicated apparatus. I guess IBM missed the boat
on that one. Proving that humanity has always been somewhat cruel, the idea of torturing other
people with spice goes way back. A device similar to the Iron Maiden actually appeared in a 5th
century book, The City of God. Written by St. Augustine, it described the torture of Roman
General Marcus Atilius Regulus by the Carthaginians. They shut him up in a narrow box in which he was
compelled to stand, and in which finely sharpened nails were fixed all round about him, so that he
could not lean upon any part of it without intense pain. And so they killed him by depriving him of
sleep. Well, that's one horrible way to go. While it was similar to an Iron Maiden, the spikes didn't
actually pierce the unfortunate Roman general. There's also little evidence to prove the device
described by Augustine existed in the first place. But that wasn't the only case of ancient history
where similar devices are described. It goes all the way back to the ancient Greeks
Around 100 BC, the Greek historian Polivios described a reverse version of the Iron Maiden
The story tells of the Spartan tyrant, Navis, who made a statue of his wife but chose a bizarre accessory to go with it He covered it in iron nails When tax time rolled around Navis forced any Spartan who refused to pay their taxes to embrace the statue
Ouch, ooh, ow, ow, ow. Gardishing my wages will be fine. Both her arms and hands, as well as her breasts
were covered with iron nails. So that when Navis rested his hands on her back
and then by means of certain springs drew his victim towards her, he made the man thus embraced, saying anything and everything
Indeed, by this means he killed a considerable number of those who denied him money
And you thought the IRS was tough. Though the Iron Maiden itself was essentially a 19th century fabrication, medieval Europeans
did use a punishment device called the Schandmantel. The name Schandmantel translates to code of shame in the German language
And while it bore some similarity to the Iron Maiden, it was decidedly not one of the
mythological devices. Instead, the prisoner had their torso sealed into a barrel with their head
and legs left free. It resembled the ancient humiliation device known as a pillory, or the
stock, and wasn't intended to kill the victim. Of course, non-lethal humiliating barrel doesn't
have quite the same ring to it as coffin filled with spikes. So while it may have inspired the
Iron Maiden myth, it certainly bore no resemblance to the torture device
Back in the Halcyon days of 2003, looters raided the compound of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's murderous son, Uday, following his death
Known for his cruelty and murderous tendencies, Uday would regularly have poor-performing athletes tortured throughout his tenure as head of the Iraqi Olympic Committee and the Iraq Football Association
But the worst part was the Iron Maiden that was found within view of Uday's offices, toppled over and covered in leaves
Per a 2003 report from Time magazine journalist Bobby Ghosh, the one found in Baghdad was clearly worn from use
its nails having lost some of their sharpness. It lay on its side within view of a day's first floor offices in the Soccer Association
Ironically, the torture device was brought to Time's attention by a group of looters
who had been stripping the compound of anything of value. They had left behind the Iron Maiden, believing it to be worthless
Despite the worn nails, no blood was found on the device, suggesting it may have only been there to scare and intimidate
But given a day Hussein's penchant for causing harm to others, it's entirely likely he used the cruel device for its intended purpose
The world may never know, and that's a terrifying prospect indeed