The iron maiden is a torture device that has grown in standing over the years. The heavy metal band, Iron Maiden, helps keep the name in popular use. The band helped to raise interest in a supposed medieval torture device. The truth behind the iron maiden is not easy to uncover because no evidence exists. Before the 19th century, only a handful of reports exist of iron maidens in popular use.
Philipp Siebenkes and the 19th Century Iron Maidens
The late 18th century was a time of change in Europe. The age of enlightenment was giving way to the era of the romantics. The industrial revolution was changing the landscape of 19th-century Europe. In the late 18th century, the German philosopher, Philipp Siebenkes described a medieval torture device using nails in a box.
No evidence of medieval iron maidens was available when Philipp Siebenkes wrote his account of the death of a criminal. Siebenkes account of the torture and death of a forger dated the iron maidens use to 1515. The iron maiden of Nuremberg became an object of curiosity in the German city. The iron maiden of Nuremberg remained in the city until the Allied bombing of World War II.
The First Accounts of an Iron Maiden
Philipp Siebenkes popularized the modern interpretation of the iron maiden. The first known reports of an iron maiden type of torture device include a book about Christianity. “The City of God” of the 5th Century A.D. includes a report about the death of a Roman General. General Marcus Atilius Regulus was imprisoned standing up in a box filled with nails. The general died of sleep deprivation when he was unable to move for several days. The slightest movement led to painful stabs from the iron maiden’s nails.
The Spartan Iron Maiden
The next known account of an iron maiden takes the tale and gives it a diabolical twist. Polybius, a Greek philosopher recorded the story of the Spartan tyrant, Nabis. The tyrant rule Sparta in 100 B.C. and would use a primitive iron maiden to punish those who failed to pay their taxes.
Those who failed to pay Nabis’ rising taxes hugged Nabis’ metal wife. The wife’s statue included hidden nails. Nabis used Springs to press nails into the skin of the citizen on Nabis’ command.
The Brazen Bull
A diabolical twist on the iron maiden legend dates back to the rule of the Akragas King Phalaris. The King of modern-day Sicily was known for his temper and painful torture techniques. The Italian sculptor, Perilous presented Phalaris with a metal bull sculpture.
For reasons known only to the people of the time, the brazen bull was created with metal pipes inside and space for a human. Those displeased Phalaris would be placed in the cavity within the bull, with boiling water pushed into the pipes. The scalding metal would burn the imprisoned person each time they moved. The overthrow of Phalarus saw the deposed king imprisoned in his own brazen bull torture device until he died.
The Rise of the Iron Maiden
There are no known reports of the iron maiden being used in medieval Europe. The device appeared after the first account by Philipp Siebenkes was published. Historians believe the account by Siebenkes was the catalyst for the creation of the 19th-century iron maiden.
The truth behind medieval torture techniques is that they were banal and easy to complete. The most commonly used torture in medieval Europe was binding people and hanging them. Medieval torture was usually completed to obtain the truth from the individual. The sadistic tyrants of the early civilizations and the medieval period were works of fiction written by philosophers.
Despite the iron maiden being an elaborate work of fiction, the myth of ancient torture techniques persists. An exhibition of medieval torture devices in San Diego included an iron maiden. The exhibition set attendance records for the museum.
