Editing Inquisition (section)

==== Fake instruments of torture ====
Despite what is popularly believed, the cases in which torture was used during the inquisitorial processes were rare, since it was considered (according to some authors) to be [[Interrogational torture|ineffective in obtaining evidence]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-12-04|title=El mito de la Inquisición española: menos del 4% acababan en la hoguera|url=https://www.abc.es/historia/abci-falsa-leyenda-negra-inquisicion-espanola-solo-18-por-ciento-quemado-hoguera-201512040335_noticia.html|access-date=2023-06-22|website=Diario ABC|language=es}}</ref><ref name="IM" /> Before torture, some inquisitors may have displayed  the  instruments mainly on the purpose of intimidation of the accused, so  he  could understand what to expect. If he wished to avoid punishment, he should only  confess his faults.{{sfnp|Kirsch|2008|p=112}}{{sfnp|Saraiva|2001|p=53}}{{sfnp|Murphy|2013|p=89}}

In the words of historian [[Helen Mary Carrel]]: "the common view of the medieval justice system as cruel and based on torture and execution is often unfair and inaccurate."<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2006-08-03|title=Medieval Justice Not So Medieval|url=https://www.livescience.com/927-medieval-justice-medieval.html|access-date=2024-05-04|website=Live Science|language=}}</ref> As the historian Nigel Townson wrote: "The sinister torture chambers equipped with cogwheels, bone crushing contraptions, shackles, and other terrifying mechanisms only existed in the imagination of their detractors."<ref>{{Cite web|date=2010-05-19|title=El Mito de la Inquisición Española: el famoso documental de la BBC de 1994|url=https://bibliaytradicion.wordpress.com/2010/05/18/el-mito-de-la-inquisicion-espanola-el-famoso-documental-de-la-bbc/|access-date=2023-06-23|website=Biblia y Tradición|language=es}}</ref>

In fact, it seems likely that the inquisitors favoured simpler and "cleaner" methods, which left few apparent marks. Aymerich points out that canon law does not prescribe either this or that particular torture, so judges can use whatever they see fit, as long as it's not an unusual torture. Many types of torments have been chosen, but Eymerich think they seem more like the inventions of executioners than the works of theologians. "It is true that it is a very praiseworthy practice to subject the accused to torture, but no less reprehensible are those bloodthirsty judges who base their vain glory on the invention of crude and exquisite torments" – he adds.{{sfnp|Eymerich|1821|p=43}} Also, [[Rafael Sabatini]] notes that the available records do not show these uncommon inventions. It seems that the inquisitors  must have been satisfied with the  devices already in use, or a limited number of the most efficient.{{sfnp|Sabatini|1930|pp=202-203}}

[[File:Diverse torture instruments.jpg|thumb|Probably falsified instruments of torture of the inquisition, of which there is no evidence of their use in inquisitorial processes. The most blatant case is the Iron Maiden; there are no records of its use.]]
Many torture instruments were designed by late 18th and early 19th century pranksters, entertainers, and con artists who wanted to profit from people's morbid interest in the [[Dark Ages (historiography)|Dark Age myth]] by charging them to witness such instruments in [[Victorian era|Victorian-era]] circuses.<ref name="Sin_nombre-1_53s-1">{{Cite web|last=McDaniel|first=Spencer|date=2019-11-12|title=Why Most So-Called "Medieval Torture Devices" Are Fake|url=https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/2019/11/11/why-most-so-called-medieval-torture-devices-are-fake/|access-date=2023-06-23|website=Tales of Times Forgotten}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Marks|first=Anna|date=2016-06-18|title=Victorian Con Men Faked the Middle Ages' Darkest Devices|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-middle-ages-darkest-tech-was-invented-by-victorian-con-men/|access-date=2023-06-23|website=Vice}}</ref>

However, several torture instruments are accurately described in ''[[Foxe's Book of Martyrs]]'', including but not limited to the dry pan.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Foxe|first=John|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/22400/22400-h/22400-h.htm|title=Fox's Book of Martyrs}}</ref>

Some of the instruments that "the Inquisition" never used, but that are erroneously registered in various inquisition museums:<ref>{{Cite web|last=Medievalists.net|date=2016-03-20|title=Why Medieval Torture Devices are Not Medieval|url=https://www.medievalists.net/2016/03/why-medieval-torture-devices-are-not-medieval/|access-date=2023-06-23|website=Medievalists.net}}</ref>

* The troublemaker's flute:<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Flute of Shame: Discover the Instrument/Device Used to Publicly Humiliate Bad Musicians During the Medieval Period|url=https://www.openculture.com/2020/01/the-flute-of-shame-discover-the-instrument-device-used-to-publicly-humiliate-bad-musicians-during-the-medieval-period.html|access-date=2024-05-06|website=Open Culture|language=}}</ref> Created in the 17th century. Its first mention comes from the years 1680–90 of the [[Republic of Venice]] used against deserters from the [[Ottoman–Venetian wars|war between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice]].{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}
* [[Head crusher]]: Created in the 14th century. Its first mention comes from 1340 in [[Germany]]. It was not used by the Inquisition but by the German courts against the enemies of some [[prince-elector]]s.
* Judas's cradle: Created in the fifteenth century. Its first mention comes from 1450 to 1480 in France. Used by the ''[[parlement]]'' and not by the Inquisition, it was abolished in 1430.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}
* The [[Wooden horse (device)|Spanish donkey]]: Created in the 16th century. The name connects the instrument to the [[Spanish Inquisition]], although it was only used in certain regions, which were not primarily Spain nor as part of the Inquisition, but by [[Central Europe]]an civil authorities (most notably [[Protestantism in Germany|Reformed Germany]] and the [[Lands of the Bohemian Crown|Bohemian Crown]]), [[New France]], the [[Netherlands Antilles]], the [[British Empire]], and the [[United States]]. It is unclear exactly who invented this device, and it is likely that it was ascribed to Spain as [[Spanish Black Legend|"Black Legend" propaganda]].
* The Spanish tickle: Created in 2005 as a false rumor on Wikipedia.<ref name="Sin_nombre-1_53s-1" />
* The [[Thumbscrew (torture)|Thumbscrew]]: Created in the 16th century.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-06-16|title=7 Famous Torture Devices, Real and Mythical|url=https://www.history.com/news/7-famous-torture-devices-medieval-iron|access-date=2024-05-12|website=HISTORY}}</ref> It was used for the persecution of Catholics by [[William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley|William Cecil]] in [[England]] during the reign of [[Elizabeth I]]. It was not used by the Inquisition, but by the English courts against dissidents to the [[Protestant reformation|Protestant Reformation]],{{citation needed|date=April 2024}} later also for the torture of [[Slavery|slaves]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Equiano|first=Olaudah|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15399|title=The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African|year=1789}}</ref>
* [[Death by sawing|The saw]]: Created in the fifteenth century. Its first mention comes from 1450 to 1470. Used by the Hungarian court against Muslims in the context of the war between the [[Ottoman Empire]], the [[Byzantine Empire]] and the [[Kingdom of Hungary]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-06-30|title=Medieval Torture Devices and Methods That Date Back to the Ancient World|url=https://explorethearchive.com/9-torture-methods-of-the-ancient-world|access-date=2024-05-13|website=explorethearchive.com}}</ref>
* [[Pear of anguish]]: Created in the fifteenth century. Its first mention comes from 1450. Used by the French ''parlement'' and not by the Inquisition, it was abolished in 1430.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-04-06|title=HISTORIAS PARA MENTES CURIOSAS: "Juguetes decimonónicos": la pera oral o vaginal.|url=https://revisioneshistoricasopusincertum.blogspot.com/2020/04/juguetes-decimononicos-la-pera-oral-o.html|access-date=2023-06-23|website=HISTORIAS PARA MENTES CURIOSAS}}</ref> The historian [[Chris Bishop (historian)|Chris Bishop]] came to postulate that it could have actually been a sock stretcher, since it has been proven that it was too weak to open into a body orifice.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Things People Believe About Historical Torture That Are Just Not True|url=https://www.ranker.com/list/myths-about-historical-torture-that-arent-true/genevieve-carlton|access-date=2023-06-23|website=Ranker}}</ref>
* The [[Boot (torture)|Spanish Boot]]: Created in the 14th century. Its first mentions come from [[Scotland]] with the buskin. Used by the authorities in England to persecute Catholics in [[Kingdom of Ireland|Ireland]]. Later the civil authorities of [[Kingdom of France|France]] and Venice would use it, but not by the Spanish Inquisition.
* The "Cloak of Infamy". Created in the 17th century. It was first mentioned by [[Johann Philipp Siebenkees]] in 1790, and was used by the [[Nuremberg parliament]] (Protestant) against thieves and prostitutes.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}
* The [[Iron maiden|Iron Maiden]]. The use of iron maidens in judicial proceedings or executions is doubted.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kerrigan|first=Michael|title=The instruments of Torture|publisher=Lyons Press|year=2001|pages=142–143}}</ref> Several replicas of the Iron Maiden existed, and the one of Nuremberg Castle  was destroyed in 1944 as a result of bombing during  World War II. It was probably based on the 17th century Cloak of Infamy.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Madrid|first=Darío|date=2020-08-30|title=La "Doncella de Hierro" no fue empleada como método de tortura por la Inquisición España. Nunca existió.|url=http://dariomadrid.com/la-doncella-de-hierro-no-fue-empleada-como-metodo-de-tortura-por-la-inquisicion-espana-nunca-existio/|access-date=2023-06-23|website=Darío Madrid Historia y Fotografía|language=es}}</ref>
* The [[Breast ripper]]. Created at the end of the 16th century. The first reference dates back to [[Duchy of Bavaria|Bavaria]] (Germany) in 1599 and presumably it would have been used in France and [[Holy Roman Empire]] by civil authorities and not by the Inquisition. However, there are no reliable first-hand historical sources on the use of the devices, so, like the Iron Maiden, there is a possibility that the devices shown in the images are fakes of a later manufacture (such as from the 17th century) or assembled from small fragments that may have been parts of another device. Most likely, it was often mentioned to frighten and force the accused to confess, rather than such dubiously existent torture being inflicted on them.<ref>{{Cite web|title='Breast Ripper' Torture Device, Probably German, 17th/18th C|url=https://www.antiqueweaponstore.com/product/breast-ripper-torture-device-probably-german-17th-18th-c/|access-date=2023-06-23|website=Antique Weapon Store}}</ref>
* The [[Stocks]]. Created in the Middle Ages and used by the civil authorities of [[London]], not the Inquisition, in order to publicly shame criminals, but not physically harm them or take life.
* The [[Brazen bull|bronze bull]]. Created in the [[Ancient history|Ancient Age]] and never used in medieval Europe, much less in the Inquisition. In fact, there is a chance that it never existed at all and was just a popular legend of Greco-Latin culture.
* The [[Scold's bridle]]. Created in the 16th century. It was never legalized and was only used unofficially by some civilians in Scotland and England, not by the Inquisition.
* The [[Rat torture|dungeon of rats]]. Created in the 16th century, its main reference is from [[John Lothrop Motley]] about some anecdotes of torture against the "papists" during the [[Eighty Years' War|Dutch war of independence]]. It is also said that Catholics who resisted the [[Church of England]] under [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]] were tortured in the [[Tower of London]].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Craik|first1=George Lillie|url=http://archive.org/details/pictorialhistor03macfgoog|title=The pictorial history of England, being a history of the people, as well as a history of the kingdom ..|last2=McFarlane|first2=Charles|date=1846|publisher=New York, Harper & brothers|others=New York Public Library}}</ref> Used by some Protestant governments and not by the Inquisition.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Motley|first=John Lothrop|title=The Rise of the Dutch Republic — Complete (1555–84)|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4836/pg4836-images.html.utf8|access-date=2023-06-23|website=gutenberg.org}}</ref>
* Heretic's Fork, [[Boot (torture)|Boots]], Cat's Paw, and Iron Cage. Created in the 15th–16th century. Used by the French ''parlement'' and not by the Inquisition.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}