The earliest mention of a device akin to the Iron Maiden can perhaps be attributed to Polybius. The Inspiration for the Maiden: The Apega Of Nabis With that, it cemented its place in the public consciousness. Whether the Maiden had existed and been in use prior to this-either the Iron Maiden of Nuremberg itself, or a device of the same name-is up for debate, but versions of the machine began to be created by those of a vicious disposition. Some of the Iron Maiden’s notoriety in popular culture can be attributed to Johann Phillipp Siebenkees, a historian of the eighteenth century who wrote a dubious and dramatic account of the execution of a forger of coins in the sixteenth century. Medieval Iron Maiden from the Ripley’s Exhibit Collection
An Iron Maiden with the face of the Virgin Mary was a real showstopper as a Medieval torture device, even if it may have actually been (as has been reported) a simple exaggeration of the Schandmantel, or shame cloak-a barrel of sorts that unseemly members of society were forced to wear as a sort of mobile stocks! By this time, tourists with an interest in the macabre had to be catered to, and grim tales of such devices could be very lucrative. However, as previously mentioned, the Iron Maiden of Nuremberg was said to have been constructed in the year 1800, placing it firmly out of the era of the Reformation. The sufferer was, perhaps, absolved of their sins by this terrible treatment. As far as the Inquisition was concerned, physical pain in this world was liberating and sin-cleansing. The Iron Virgin, for all its cruelty and horror, may not have simply been intended as a plaything for the sadistic. With the Iron Maiden, it’s not simply about the puncture wounds or the repeated opening and closing of the doors, but the isolation, darkness, and silence in between. Its blades were long and vicious but carefully placed so as not to cause fatal damage to the body… at first. The Inquisition, it’s said, employed it against their victims, using a Nuremberg-constructed Maiden designed specifically not to instantly kill, but to prolong pain as much as possible. Initially known as the ‘Nuremberg Virgin,’ legend has it that this device was adorned with a bust of the Virgin Mary and utilized against non-believers. The history of the Iron Maiden of Nuremberg is almost impossible to verify (as is the case with the alleged Medieval use of Iron Maidens in general), but this infamous instance of the device certainly provides a grim and fascinating tale to tell. The most famous Iron Maiden legend is that of the iconic Iron Maiden of Nuremberg, which alleges it was built at the turn of the 19th century and was later shattered by bombing raids at the close of World War II. Throughout history, there have been contradictory accounts of this grim, vertical-standing coffin laced with spikes and similar methods of torture.
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