Anonymous asked: what did people do to deserve the head crusher in the middle ages?
The head crusher was used as an interrogation device to extract confessions.
It was often used during the Spanish Inquisition to coerce the accused. Torture during the Inquisition was applied mainly against those suspected of Judaism and Protestantism, beginning in the 16th century. For example, scholars estimate that between 1575 and 1610 the court of Toledo tortured approximately a third of those processed for heresy. In other periods, the proportions varied remarkably. Torture was always a means to obtain the confession of the accused, not a punishment itself. Torture was also applied without distinction of sex or age, including children and the aged.
In the middle ages, the head crusher was also used as a torture device at the Tower of London. One is still on display there for tourists to see.
Many sources say that the head crusher is still used in many countries as a torture/interrogation device today, but I don’t know if that is true or not.
