#medieval execution

Possibly one of the most well known forms of punishment, is the rack. This was a wooden table with rollers fitted at each end, ropes tied to them. It was meant to stretch and pull at the victim's limbs, causing excruciating pain and extracting a confession, and giving the torturer very exact control over how much pain, and for how long, he wished to exert.

As if it wasn't already bad enough, the French later adapted the rack, adding a roller with blades attached, to cut into the victim's back.

Images from canva.com

The irony of the Gyve is it doesn’t. It is painfully wrapped tight around his ankle and solid enough to give him little purchase to move. The other end is secured to the stone wall behind him. He imagines the bolts go deep, not that he can turn around enough on the short chain to tug and experiment.

His future is as secure as his imprisonment.

The executioner has promised a quick death, “No tongs…