The Judas Cradle was a tall, thin, stool with a metal or wooden pyramid on top. The victim would be stripped and bound with ropes. The victim would then be lowered, very slowly, onto the device, where the pyramid would then enter the vagina or anus. Any movement by the victim would cause an increasing amount of pain.
The Judas Cradle was often used to acquire vital information. If he or she refused to talk, the torturer would then rock the victim, raise and drop them repeatedly onto the device, move the legs, causing the tip of the pyramid to protrude in different ways. Often olive oil would be spread over the pyramid, or brass weights hung from the victim’s legs.
The primary attraction for this torture method was the humiliation the victim would endure. If the victim fainted from the pain, the torturer could lift them until they were awake again, and commence.
Torturers would sometimes need to continue interrogations overnight, and would then suspend the victim above the device overnight, only to resume the torture the next morning. Torture would range from several hours to several days.
The Judas Cradle was rarely, if ever, cleaned, meaning that if the victim did not die from wounds inflicted by the device itself, they would almost certainly die from infection.
This device was used in various countries, and of course, each called it something else. In France it was “la veille,” in Germany, “Judaswiege.” In Italy it was known as “culla di Guida.” It has also been called the Judas Chair.
Judas Chair at the Mittelalterliches Foltermuseum of Freiburg, Germany
Now, which is worse, the Judas Cradle, or the Iron Maiden?
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