×

We use cookies to help make LingQ better. By visiting the site, you agree to our cookie policy.


image

The Infographics Show, What Made the Spanish Inquisition So Horrible?

What Made the Spanish Inquisition So Horrible?

Today most of us live in a world where we are free to pursue whatever spiritual path

we see fit, and worship whatever god- or gods- we fancy, without fear of reprisal or persecution.

That was not the case for medieval Europe however, when starting in the 12thcentury

the Catholic Church launched a bloody inquisition that would last for hundreds of years and

see tens of thousands of people tortured and executed, all in the name of their version

of God.

Hello and welcome to another episode of The Infographics Show- today we're taking a look

at some of the greatest horrors of The Inquisition.

Christianity, originally conceived in ancient Israel, was at its inception persecuted as

heresy by the Jewish leaders of the time.

Jesus was famously humiliated, beaten, and ultimately crucified for his claims that he

was the living Son of God, and after his death his closest followers went into hiding until,

fueled by their belief that Jesus had risen from the dead as promised and thus proven

he was the son of God, they began to spread their beliefs in Jesus as saviour.

This led to their becoming known as Christians, and of the original disciples, many would

suffer terrible fates at the hands of the Jewish leadership.

Over a thousand years later though, Christianity had arisen to become the prominent religion

across Europe, and in a bit of irony, it now became the faith that persecuted Jews for

their beliefs.

Yet Christianity was being challenged from both within and without, with many Christians

deeply unhappy with the Vatican's abuses of power and calling into question problematic

Catholic dogma.

Others who simply wanted to worship God in their own ways were also threatening the power

and influence of the Church, and that could not be tolerated.

Publicly proclaiming that there could be only one road to God and all else was dangerous

heresy that threatened to steer people away from God's love, the Inquisition was launched

in the late 12thcentury, though sadly the truth was that the church was more concerned

with securing its own power and wealth rather than the souls of the faithful it claimed

were being threatened.

The Inquisitors were specially trained priests who were instructed in the art of discovering

heresy and rooting it out, then extracting penance and confessions from heretics, almost

always through torture.

When an Inquisitor arrived in town he would immediately announce his presence to the local

population, and would give citizens present a chance to admit their heresy.

If they did, then they would be doled out a punishment befitting their level of heresy,

everything from a forced pilgrimage to holy sites in Rome to severe whippings which could

scar a person for life.

For Inquisitors, true penance could only be achieved through deep pain, thus most Inquisitors

would make use of special bullwhips which would come with small metal beads at the end

in order to deeply lacerate flesh.

Others still used a tool known as a cat-of-nine-tails, which was a whip with nine extensions, typically

with each one inlaid with small pieces of sharpened metal.

The wounds would be so severe that often those receiving this punishment would die from infection

or be crippled afterwards.

Those that survived bore the scars for life, their backs forever disfigured by the horrible

whipping.

This was of course lighter punishment reserved for those who freely confessed.

If one did not confess, the Inquisitor would immediately begin their investigation, calling

in local townsfolk for one-on-one meetings.

Citizens were encouraged to speak up about the heretical practices of their neighbors,

and once accused there was often little evidence needed to determine guilt.

This led to many cases of revenge in the form of false accusations by angry neighbors, or

perhaps just by individuals who coveted the lands or even wives of others for themselves.

With the scantest proof of heresy, one could convince an Inquisitor that their neighbor

was a horrible heretic, deserving of the fires of hell itself.

Of course the Church itself hardly ever needed much incentive to persecute people as heretics.

Count Raymond VII of Toulouse would regularly burn people at the stake for heresy, even

if they had confessed when given an opportunity.

Because often those who were persecuted were Jews, Muslims, or other religious minorities,

the process of killing them was little more than a handy way to cleanse the population

of undesirables.

That included gays, who were persecuted under laws of sodomy and brutally tortured before

being killed.

In the kingdom of Aragon in Spain, the Inquisition only stopped giving out the death penalty

for sodomy after almost 1,000 trials- most of which ended with torture and death for

the accused.

Diego Rodriguez Lucero, an inquisitor nicknamed “the bringer of darkness”, operated from

1499 to 1506, and routinely used the power of his position for his self-gain.

Once he sent an innocent man named Julian Trigueros to burn at the stake so that he

could take the man's wife for himself after his death, and later when he desired one of

his many mistresses for himself, he sent her husband and parents to burn at the stake.

Nobody was safe from Lucero, and in one year- 1506- he handed out 100 death sentences.

Eventually the marquis of Cordoba sent his army to attack Lucero's prison and set all

inside of it free.

Unfortunately Lucero escaped, but he was so hated and thoroughly corrupt that the Grand

Inquisitor in Rome had him arrested two years later.

Because trying Lucero for corruption would be the Catholic Church as the pot calling

the kettle black, Lucero was quickly released, and in a frustrating lack of karmic justice,

would die peacefully in Seville that same year.

For the Inquisitor, extracting confessions was paramount- and it mattered little whether

they were real or false.

Inevitably the accused would face one of many different forms of punishment which weren't

meant to actually punish the individual, but rather just get them to confess.

One of the preferred method of exacting confessions was called Strappado.

In this form of torture an individual would have their hands tied behind their back and

the rope attached to a pulley.

Then they were raised so that they would hang from their arms, which would inevitably lead

to the shoulders being pulled out of their sockets.

Often the Inquisitor would raise the victim up high and suddenly drop them before catching

their fall, forcing the body to jerk violently.

As if this wasn't enough, weights would often be tied to the person's feet to make the hanging

even more painful.

The rack was yet another popular tool of the Inquisition, and a very effective one at that.

Here the subject had their hands and feet tied or chained up to rollers at one or perhaps

both ends of a wooden frame.

The Inquisitor then slowly turned the rollers with a handle, which pulled on the ropes or

chains and stretched the victim's arms and legs until they dislocated.

Sometimes the process would simply continue until limbs were torn off completely.

Even though mutilation was forbidden by the Church, in 1256 Pope Alexander IV gave Inquisitors

the power to forgive each other for any wrongdoing they committed during their torture sessions.

This meant that Inquisitors were free to add any form of torture they could dream up to

victims who were enduring the torture of strappado or the rack, and thus they often did- because

why waste a good chance to mutilate someone?

If confessions weren't forthcoming, or perhaps the Inquisitor didn't quite believe they were

honest enough, they could get inventive with their bound up prisoner.

This would include the use of devices such as the Boot, which was a wooden framed shoe

that was placed on the foot of a victim and was slowly tightened until eventually it crushed

the bones of the feet and lower legs.

Another popular device was the thumbscrew, which was made up of small inserts for each

of the fingers on a hand which were gradually tightened until they crushed the finger bones

completely.

For women, one of the most horrific implements of torture was known as the breast ripper,

which was nothing more than a prong-like iron device which would be heated in a fire and

then affixed over each breast, with the Inquisitor violently ripping away the breast tissue until

there was little more left than a mass of cauterized tissue.

All of these were things the victim would suffer along with their normal torture, and

designed to not just exact confessions, but to ensure that the guilty would be forever

marked by the ordeal.

The Judas Chair was number 3 of the top 3 torture devices used by the Inquisition, and

consisted of a pyramid like seat with a sharpened point at the top, upon which the accused was

sat on.

The point of the pyramid was forced into the anus or the vagina, and the Inquisitor would

gradually force the victim down upon the device by lowering them from above by ropes they

were attached to.

Sometimes the ropes were attached from below, allowing an inquisitor to turn a crank and

slowly force the accused down onto the device.

Ironically this was seen as the most humane of the three main methods of torture, as this

would rarely lead to death and instead would disfigure the person and create lifelong difficulties

walking.

For women it would basically make child-bearing all but impossible.

A milder form of punishment was known as the Heretic's Fork, and was an ingenious device

which consisted of a two-pronged fork-like device.

The device would be tied around the person's neck and one end of the forks would be placed

below the neck, digging into the lower jaw.

The other end of the fork would be gouged into the flesh of the chest, securely holding

it in place.

Thus the victim would be unable to move their head forward at all without impaling themselves,

and the act of speaking was excruciatingly painful.

Victims would often be left like this for days before trials in order to encourage their

cooperation, even if those trials more often than not ended in being burned at the stake.

For any who wished to avoid their ultimate fate by trying to impale themselves on the

fork, the prongs were placed in such a way that doing so was impossible and would only

lead to even more pain instead.

The Nuremberg Virgin, or Iron Maiden as it's often known, was a sarcophagus like device

in the shape of a woman, with a Virgin Mary placed atop it by the Inquisitors to symbolize

the triumph of Christianity over heresy and dissidence.

Models differed, but in essence they all worked the same way: the victim was shoved inside

it and then had the door thrown shut.

In some models the inside of the maiden was rigged with spikes several inches long, in

others there were no spikes but instead small holes through which long nails could be thrust

through.

In order to keep a victim from dying too fast though the spikes or nails were situated in

such a way that they did not pierce any vital organs, thus ensuring the victim could stay

alive for a long period of time.

Models differ, but generally the victim was stabbed through in both shoulders, the lower

back, in three places across the chest, on each buttock, and once in the stomach.

Some models had special slots for inserting nails that would impale the victim through

the eyes, but not so deeply as to penetrate into the brain.

Inquisitors may throw someone inside and leave them until they died of their wounds, the

victim trapped in the enclosed space and unable to move without deepening the wounds they

are already suffering.

Other Inquisitors would slam the door to the maiden open and shut several times, stabbing

the victim through over and over again.

Curiously, the device was meant to symbolize the victim entering into the embrace of the

Virgin Mary herself, an act that symbolizes the Catholic Church's absolution of the accused's

sins.

The Spanish Inquisition was a time of legalized horror inflicted upon the religious minorities

of Europe; mostly Jews, pagans, and Muslims.

Often the motivations were nothing more than a desire for more wealth and power, with the

Church seizing the assets of the accused, even if they were allowed to live after their

accusation.

Men in power who coveted the wives or lands of others would send innocent men to be executed,

and jealous lovers betrayed their partners to Inquisitors for revenge.

While the Inquisition was meant to combat sin, it ironically only ended up enabling

some of the greatest sins in European history.

Today the world casts a mistrustful eye towards organized religion in most parts of the world,

partly due to the heritage of the Inquisition and its many abuses.

Yet while we like to think we are far removed from such barbarism, one can't help but wonder

given the particular, almost religious like zeal of some extreme far-right political movements

around the world just how far we really are from a new age of torture in the name of God.

One also can't help but wonder how those faithful to a Christ who endured horrible torture would

imagine that he would be ok with them inflicting the same on others in his name.

Found this video interesting, check out our other video titled What Happens When You Die?

See you next time?!

What Made the Spanish Inquisition So Horrible? Was machte die spanische Inquisition so schrecklich? Τι έκανε την ισπανική Ιερά Εξέταση τόσο φρικτή; ¿Qué hizo tan horrible a la Inquisición española? スペイン異端審問はなぜ恐ろしいのか? O que tornou a Inquisição Espanhola tão horrível? Что сделало испанскую инквизицию такой ужасной? İspanyol Engizisyonunu Bu Kadar Korkunç Yapan Neydi? Що робило іспанську інквізицію такою жахливою? 是什么让西班牙宗教裁判所如此恐怖? 是什麼讓西班牙宗教裁判所如此可怕?

Today most of us live in a world where we are free to pursue whatever spiritual path |||||||||||||||spirituel| Bugün çoğumuz, istediğimiz ruhani yolu izlemekte özgür olduğumuz bir dünyada yaşıyoruz.

we see fit, and worship whatever god- or gods- we fancy, without fear of reprisal or persecution. ||||adorer||||dieux||||||représailles||persécution ||||||||||||||retaliation or punishment||oppression or harassment ||uygun gördüğümüz||||||||||||||

That was not the case for medieval Europe however, when starting in the 12thcentury

the Catholic Church launched a bloody inquisition that would last for hundreds of years and |||||sanglante|||||||||

see tens of thousands of people tortured and executed, all in the name of their version

of God.

Hello and welcome to another episode of The Infographics Show- today we're taking a look

at some of the greatest horrors of The Inquisition. |||||horrores|||

Christianity, originally conceived in ancient Israel, was at its inception persecuted as ||conçue||||||||| ||concebido|||||||inicio||

heresy by the Jewish leaders of the time. hérésie des dirigeants||||||| religious dissent||||||| herejía|||||||

Jesus was famously humiliated, beaten, and ultimately crucified for his claims that he |||humilié||||crucifié||||| ||||golpeado||||||||

was the living Son of God, and after his death his closest followers went into hiding until, |||||||||||||||se sont cachés| |||||||||||más cercanos|||||

fueled by their belief that Jesus had risen from the dead as promised and thus proven impulsados por||||||||||||||así|

he was the son of God, they began to spread their beliefs in Jesus as saviour. |||||||||||||||sauveur |||||||||||||||redeemer

This led to their becoming known as Christians, and of the original disciples, many would ||||||||||||disciples|| ||||||||||||followers of Jesus|| Esto|llevó|||||||||||discípulos originales||

suffer terrible fates at the hands of the Jewish leadership. ||destins terribles||||||| ||destinos terribles|||||||

Over a thousand years later though, Christianity had arisen to become the prominent religion ||||||||s'était imposé|||||

across Europe, and in a bit of irony, it now became the faith that persecuted Jews for ||||||||||||||oppressed|| по всей Европе, и, по некоторой иронии судьбы, теперь она стала верой, за которую преследовали евреев.

their beliefs.

Yet Christianity was being challenged from both within and without, with many Christians Однако христианству бросали вызов как изнутри, так и извне, и многие христиане

deeply unhappy with the Vatican's abuses of power and calling into question problematic |||||misuses of authority||||||| глубоко недоволен злоупотреблениями власти Ватикана и ставит под сомнение проблематичность

Catholic dogma. |dogme catholique

Others who simply wanted to worship God in their own ways were also threatening the power

and influence of the Church, and that could not be tolerated. ||||||||||toléré

Publicly proclaiming that there could be only one road to God and all else was dangerous |proclamant publiquement||||||||||||||

heresy that threatened to steer people away from God's love, the Inquisition was launched

in the late 12thcentury, though sadly the truth was that the church was more concerned

with securing its own power and wealth rather than the souls of the faithful it claimed ||||||||||âmes des fidèles|||||

were being threatened.

The Inquisitors were specially trained priests who were instructed in the art of discovering |||spécialement||prêtres|||||||| |종교 재판관||||||||||||

heresy and rooting it out, then extracting penance and confessions from heretics, almost ||éradiquer||||exigeant|pénitence||aveux des hérétiques||hérétiques| heresy: false belief||||||||||||

always through torture.

When an Inquisitor arrived in town he would immediately announce his presence to the local

population, and would give citizens present a chance to admit their heresy.

If they did, then they would be doled out a punishment befitting their level of heresy, |||||||infligé||||approprié à|||| |||||||given|||||||| Если бы они это сделали, то понесли бы наказание, соответствующее их уровню ереси,

everything from a forced pilgrimage to holy sites in Rome to severe whippings which could ||||pèlerinage forcé||||||||flagellations sévères|| ||||religious journey|||||||||| ||||순례 여행|||||||||| От принудительного паломничества к святым местам в Риме до жестокой порки, которая могла

scar a person for life.

For Inquisitors, true penance could only be achieved through deep pain, thus most Inquisitors |||self-punishment||||||||||

would make use of special bullwhips which would come with small metal beads at the end |||||fouets à clous|||||||perles métalliques||| ||||||||||||metallic spheres|||

in order to deeply lacerate flesh. ||||lacérer profondément la chair| ||||Tear deeply.|

Others still used a tool known as a cat-of-nine-tails, which was a whip with nine extensions, typically |||||||||||queues de chat|||||||extensions -> lanières|

with each one inlaid with small pieces of sharpened metal. |||incrusté|||||aiguisé|

The wounds would be so severe that often those receiving this punishment would die from infection |les blessures||||||||||||||

or be crippled afterwards. ||ou être paralysé après| ||severely impaired|

Those that survived bore the scars for life, their backs forever disfigured by the horrible |||portaient||||||||défigurés à jamais||| |||carried||||||||||| Те, кто выжил, носили шрамы всю жизнь, их спины были навсегда изуродованы ужасными

whipping. Beating or lashing.

This was of course lighter punishment reserved for those who freely confessed. ||||||réservée à|||||

If one did not confess, the Inquisitor would immediately begin their investigation, calling ||||avouer||||||||

in local townsfolk for one-on-one meetings. ||habitants locaux|||||

Citizens were encouraged to speak up about the heretical practices of their neighbors, ||||||||hérétiques|||| ||||||||unorthodox, blasphemous, sacrilegious||||

and once accused there was often little evidence needed to determine guilt.

This led to many cases of revenge in the form of false accusations by angry neighbors, or ||||||||||||거짓 고발||||

perhaps just by individuals who coveted the lands or even wives of others for themselves. |||||convoitaient||||||||| |||||탐내는|||||||||

With the scantest proof of heresy, one could convince an Inquisitor that their neighbor ||moindre preuve||||||||||| ||가장 적은|||||||||||

was a horrible heretic, deserving of the fires of hell itself. |||hérétique horrible|||||||

Of course the Church itself hardly ever needed much incentive to persecute people as heretics. |||||||||motivation||persécuter||| |||||||||||oppress or harass||| Конечно, сама церковь вряд ли нуждалась в большом стимуле для преследования людей как еретиков.

Count Raymond VII of Toulouse would regularly burn people at the stake for heresy, even |||||||brûler|||||||

if they had confessed when given an opportunity. если бы они признались, когда им представилась такая возможность.

Because often those who were persecuted were Jews, Muslims, or other religious minorities, ||||||||||||minorités religieuses

the process of killing them was little more than a handy way to cleanse the population ||||||||||pratique|||purger|| |method||||||||||||||

of undesirables. |d'indésirables

That included gays, who were persecuted under laws of sodomy and brutally tortured before ||homosexuels|||||||sodomie||brutalement||

being killed.

In the kingdom of Aragon in Spain, the Inquisition only stopped giving out the death penalty |||||||||||||||peine de mort

for sodomy after almost 1,000 trials- most of which ended with torture and death for ||||procès|||||||||

the accused.

Diego Rodriguez Lucero, an inquisitor nicknamed “the bringer of darkness”, operated from |||||surnommé "le porteur"||porteur||||

1499 to 1506, and routinely used the power of his position for his self-gain.

Once he sent an innocent man named Julian Trigueros to burn at the stake so that he

could take the man's wife for himself after his death, and later when he desired one of ||||||||||||||désirait||

his many mistresses for himself, he sent her husband and parents to burn at the stake. ||maîtresses|||||||||||||

Nobody was safe from Lucero, and in one year- 1506- he handed out 100 death sentences.

Eventually the marquis of Cordoba sent his army to attack Lucero's prison and set all

inside of it free.

Unfortunately Lucero escaped, but he was so hated and thoroughly corrupt that the Grand |||||||||complètement|||| К сожалению, Лусеро удалось бежать, но он был настолько ненавистен и коррумпирован, что Великий

Inquisitor in Rome had him arrested two years later.

Because trying Lucero for corruption would be the Catholic Church as the pot calling Denn Lucero wegen Korruption vor Gericht zu stellen, hieße, die katholische Kirche als Topf zu bezeichnen. Потому что судить Лусеро за коррупцию - это значит, что католическая церковь - это горшок, который вызывает

the kettle black, Lucero was quickly released, and in a frustrating lack of karmic justice, |bouilloire|||||||||frustrant|||justice karmique| Lucero wurde schnell wieder freigelassen, und das in einem frustrierenden Mangel an karmischer Gerechtigkeit, Лусеро был быстро освобожден, и, к сожалению, без кармической справедливости,

would die peacefully in Seville that same year. В том же году он мирно скончался в Севилье.

For the Inquisitor, extracting confessions was paramount- and it mattered little whether ||||||primordial|||avait peu d'importance|| ||||||of utmost importance||||| Для инквизитора получение признаний имело первостепенное значение - и неважно, было ли это так.

they were real or false. настоящие они или ложные.

Inevitably the accused would face one of many different forms of punishment which weren't

meant to actually punish the individual, but rather just get them to confess. Es geht nicht darum, die Person tatsächlich zu bestrafen, sondern sie zu einem Geständnis zu bewegen.

One of the preferred method of exacting confessions was called Strappado. |||préférées|||obtenir|||| ||||||obtaining through force|||| Один из излюбленных методов выбивания признаний назывался страппадо.

In this form of torture an individual would have their hands tied behind their back and

the rope attached to a pulley. ||attachée|||poulie |||||wheel and axle

Then they were raised so that they would hang from their arms, which would inevitably lead

to the shoulders being pulled out of their sockets. ||||||||cavités articulaires чтобы плечи были выдернуты из гнезд.

Often the Inquisitor would raise the victim up high and suddenly drop them before catching

their fall, forcing the body to jerk violently. |||||||violemment

As if this wasn't enough, weights would often be tied to the person's feet to make the hanging |||||poids||||||||||||

even more painful.

The rack was yet another popular tool of the Inquisition, and a very effective one at that. |Le chevalet|||||||||||||||

Here the subject had their hands and feet tied or chained up to rollers at one or perhaps ||||||||||enchaîné|||rouleaux||||

both ends of a wooden frame. |||||cadre en bois

The Inquisitor then slowly turned the rollers with a handle, which pulled on the ropes or ||||||||||||||cordes|

chains and stretched the victim's arms and legs until they dislocated. ||||||||||déboîté

Sometimes the process would simply continue until limbs were torn off completely. |||||||membres|||| ||procedure|||||||||

Even though mutilation was forbidden by the Church, in 1256 Pope Alexander IV gave Inquisitors ||mutilation||||||||||| ||severe bodily harm||||||||||| Несмотря на то, что калечащие операции были запрещены церковью, в 1256 году папа Александр IV дал инквизиторам

the power to forgive each other for any wrongdoing they committed during their torture sessions. прощать друг другу проступки, совершенные во время пыток.

This meant that Inquisitors were free to add any form of torture they could dream up to

victims who were enduring the torture of strappado or the rack, and thus they often did- because |||subissant|||||||||||||

why waste a good chance to mutilate someone? ||||||mutiler|

If confessions weren't forthcoming, or perhaps the Inquisitor didn't quite believe they were Если признания не было, или, возможно, инквизитор не совсем верил в то, что они были

honest enough, they could get inventive with their bound up prisoner. |||||créatifs|||ligoté||prisonnier captif ligoté

This would include the use of devices such as the Boot, which was a wooden framed shoe ||||||||||Botte de torture|||||encadré|chaussure en bois

that was placed on the foot of a victim and was slowly tightened until eventually it crushed

the bones of the feet and lower legs.

Another popular device was the thumbscrew, which was made up of small inserts for each |||||vis à pouce|||||||inserts||

of the fingers on a hand which were gradually tightened until they crushed the finger bones

completely.

For women, one of the most horrific implements of torture was known as the breast ripper, |||||||instruments de torture||||||||déchiranteur de seins

which was nothing more than a prong-like iron device which would be heated in a fire and ||||||dent métallique chauffé|||||||||||

then affixed over each breast, with the Inquisitor violently ripping away the breast tissue until |apposé||||||||arrachant violemment|||||

there was little more left than a mass of cauterized tissue. |||||||||cautérisé| |||||||||burned and sealed|

All of these were things the victim would suffer along with their normal torture, and

designed to not just exact confessions, but to ensure that the guilty would be forever

marked by the ordeal. |||marqué par l'épreuve |||difficult experience

The Judas Chair was number 3 of the top 3 torture devices used by the Inquisition, and Стул Иуды занимал 3-е место в списке трех лучших пыточных устройств, использовавшихся инквизицией, и

consisted of a pyramid like seat with a sharpened point at the top, upon which the accused was consistait|||||||||||||||||

sat on.

The point of the pyramid was forced into the anus or the vagina, and the Inquisitor would

gradually force the victim down upon the device by lowering them from above by ropes they |||||||||abaisser||||||

were attached to.

Sometimes the ropes were attached from below, allowing an inquisitor to turn a crank and |||||||||||||handle or lever|

slowly force the accused down onto the device.

Ironically this was seen as the most humane of the three main methods of torture, as this Ironiquement||||||||||||||||

would rarely lead to death and instead would disfigure the person and create lifelong difficulties ||||||||défigurer||||||

walking.

For women it would basically make child-bearing all but impossible. |||||||having children||| Для женщин это сделает деторождение практически невозможным.

A milder form of punishment was known as the Heretic's Fork, and was an ingenious device |plus douce|||||||||||||ingénieux|

which consisted of a two-pronged fork-like device. |||||à deux dents|||

The device would be tied around the person's neck and one end of the forks would be placed ||||||||||||||fourches|||

below the neck, digging into the lower jaw.

The other end of the fork would be gouged into the flesh of the chest, securely holding ||||||||enfoncé dans|||||||solidement| ||||||||dug deeply into||||||||

it in place.

Thus the victim would be unable to move their head forward at all without impaling themselves, ||||||||||||||s'empaler sur|

and the act of speaking was excruciatingly painful. ||||||atrocement| ||||||extremely, intensely, unbearably|

Victims would often be left like this for days before trials in order to encourage their

cooperation, even if those trials more often than not ended in being burned at the stake.

For any who wished to avoid their ultimate fate by trying to impale themselves on the ||||||||||||empaler sur le|||

fork, the prongs were placed in such a way that doing so was impossible and would only ||dents||||||||||||||

lead to even more pain instead.

The Nuremberg Virgin, or Iron Maiden as it's often known, was a sarcophagus like device ||||||||||||coffin-like device||

in the shape of a woman, with a Virgin Mary placed atop it by the Inquisitors to symbolize |||||||||||||||||symboliser

the triumph of Christianity over heresy and dissidence. |triomphe||||||dissidence |||||||opposition or dissent

Models differed, but in essence they all worked the same way: the victim was shoved inside |différaient|||||||||||||poussé à l'intérieur|

it and then had the door thrown shut.

In some models the inside of the maiden was rigged with spikes several inches long, in |||||||||équipé||pointes métalliques||||

others there were no spikes but instead small holes through which long nails could be thrust ||||||||||||clous longs|||

through.

In order to keep a victim from dying too fast though the spikes or nails were situated in

such a way that they did not pierce any vital organs, thus ensuring the victim could stay |||||||transpercer|||organes vitaux||||||

alive for a long period of time.

Models differ, but generally the victim was stabbed through in both shoulders, the lower |diffèrent||||||||||||

back, in three places across the chest, on each buttock, and once in the stomach. |||||||||fesse|||||

Some models had special slots for inserting nails that would impale the victim through

the eyes, but not so deeply as to penetrate into the brain. ||||||||pénétrer dans|||

Inquisitors may throw someone inside and leave them until they died of their wounds, the

victim trapped in the enclosed space and unable to move without deepening the wounds they ||||enfermé(e)|||||||aggravant les blessures||| ||||confined||||||||||

are already suffering.

Other Inquisitors would slam the door to the maiden open and shut several times, stabbing ||||||||||||||poignardant

the victim through over and over again.

Curiously, the device was meant to symbolize the victim entering into the embrace of the Curieusement|||||||||||||| Любопытно, что устройство должно было символизировать, что жертва попадает в объятия

Virgin Mary herself, an act that symbolizes the Catholic Church's absolution of the accused's ||||||||||absolution|||de l'accusé Сама Дева Мария - акт, символизирующий отпущение грехов обвиняемого католической церковью.

sins.

The Spanish Inquisition was a time of legalized horror inflicted upon the religious minorities |||||||légalisée||infligée à||||

of Europe; mostly Jews, pagans, and Muslims. ||||païens|| ||||non-Christians||

Often the motivations were nothing more than a desire for more wealth and power, with the ||motivations|||||||||||||

Church seizing the assets of the accused, even if they were allowed to live after their |saisie|||||||||||||| |confiscating||property or wealth||||||||||||

accusation.

Men in power who coveted the wives or lands of others would send innocent men to be executed, ||||desired greatly||||||||||||| Власть имущие, жаждавшие чужих жен или земель, отправляли на казнь невинных людей,

and jealous lovers betrayed their partners to Inquisitors for revenge. |jaloux|amants jaloux|trahi|||||| А ревнивые любовники предавали своих партнеров инквизиторам, чтобы отомстить.

While the Inquisition was meant to combat sin, it ironically only ended up enabling Хотя инквизиция была призвана бороться с грехом, по иронии судьбы она лишь способствовала его распространению.

some of the greatest sins in European history. одни из самых больших грехов в истории Европы.

Today the world casts a mistrustful eye towards organized religion in most parts of the world, |||jette||méfiant||vers|||||||| Сегодня мир с недоверием смотрит на организованную религию в большинстве стран мира,

partly due to the heritage of the Inquisition and its many abuses. ||||legacy||||||| Отчасти из-за наследия инквизиции и ее многочисленных злоупотреблений.

Yet while we like to think we are far removed from such barbarism, one can't help but wonder ||||||||||||barbarie||||| И хотя нам хочется думать, что мы далеки от такого варварства, нельзя не задаться вопросом.

given the particular, almost religious like zeal of some extreme far-right political movements ||||||fervent enthousiasme||||||| ||||||fervor||||||| учитывая особое, почти религиозное рвение некоторых крайне правых политических движений

around the world just how far we really are from a new age of torture in the name of God. По всему миру мы видим, как далеки мы от новой эры пыток во имя Бога.

One also can't help but wonder how those faithful to a Christ who endured horrible torture would Также нельзя не задаться вопросом, как бы отнеслись к этому те, кто предан Христу, перенесшему ужасные пытки.

imagine that he would be ok with them inflicting the same on others in his name. представить, что он был бы не против, если бы они причиняли то же самое другим от его имени.

Found this video interesting, check out our other video titled What Happens When You Die?

See you next time?!