Breaking Wheel or Catherine Wheel
Catherine Wheel
Catherine Wheel were an English alternative rock band from Great Yarmouth. The band was active from 1990 to 2000, releasing five full-length albums in their career, embarking on many lengthy tours and experiencing fluctuating levels of commercial success.
Full Answer
What does “breaking on the wheel” mean?
“Breaking on the wheel” refers to a few different kinds of torture used by various European nations, from antiquity through the early modern period. Originally it may have referred to the act of rolling a heavy wagon over a victim to crush their bones.
What was the punishment for being broken on the wheel?
In France, in the 1700s, when people were condemned to death, those convicted of certain atrocities were sometimes condemned to be broken on the wheel in a public execution. Sometimes after being broken on the wheel, blows were also given on the chest or the abdomen of the condemned person.
What happens to the body of a broken wheel?
The final ninth blow is given at the middle of the spine, so that it breaks. Then, the broken body is woven onto the wheel (i.e., between the spokes), and the wheel is then hammered onto a pole, which is then fastened upright with its other end in the ground.
What was the breaking wheel used for in medieval times?
Breaking wheel. The breaking wheel or execution wheel, also known as the Catherine wheel or simply the Wheel, was a torture method used for public execution from antiquity through Middle Ages into the early modern period by breaking a criminal's bones and/or bludgeoning them to death.
What does the term broken on the wheel mean?
Filters. To fasten (a criminal etc.) to a wheel in order to break his limbs or beat him to death.
How does the Catherine wheel work?
The Catherine Wheel consisted of a large wooden wagon wheel that consisted of several radial spokes. A condemned person was lashed to the wheel and a club or iron cudgel was used to beat their limbs. There were several variations of the device and sometimes it also consisted of a wooden cross.
Why is it called the Catherine wheel?
Saint Catherine was tortured on a wheel by the Emperor Maxentius for refusing to renounce her Christian faith. The wheel broke and Catherine was eventually beheaded instead. Her martyrdom is remembered in the firework called the 'Catherine Wheel'.
When was the breaking wheel created?
The exact date is unknown, as is the creator, but it depicts the execution of Peter Stumpp in Cologne in 1589. This form of punishment was most common during the middle ages and early modern age. Though, for example in many regions of future Germany, the breaking wheel was still used in the 19th century.
What is the punishment broken on the wheel?
1:325:13The Breaking Wheel (Horrible Punishments in History) - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThere were many variations of torture on the wheel. But the most popular during the middle ages andMoreThere were many variations of torture on the wheel. But the most popular during the middle ages and early modern. Period was as described in the year 1518. The torture of the wheel consists in this
What is a Judas Cradle?
Judas cradle (plural Judas cradles) A purported torture device by which the suspended victim's orifice was slowly impaled on and stretched by the pyramidal tip of the 'seat'.
What does it mean to be exposed on the wheel?
The breaking wheel or execution wheel, also known as the Wheel of Catherine or simply the Wheel, was a torture method used for public execution primarily in Europe from antiquity through the Middle Ages into the early modern period by breaking the bones of a criminal or bludgeoning them to death.
Which saint died on a wheel?
Saint CatherineSaint Catherine is shown often with a martyr's palm and always with the wheel on which she was tortured. Medieval saints were often depicted with the instrument of their torture or suffering their martyrdom. Saint Catherine was the daughter of Constus, an Alexandrian governor.
What does a Catherine Wheel look like?
The Catherine wheel or pinwheel is a type of firework consisting either of a powder-filled spiral tube, or an angled rocket mounted with a pin through its center. When ignited, the energy of the fireworks not only create sparks and flame, but cause the wheel to quickly rotate, making the display much more spectacular.
What is the Spanish Tickler?
Described in Robert. Held's book “Inquisition” : “About as large as four fingers of a man's hand, these. devices, usually attached to a short handle, served to rip the victim's flesh to shreds and. to strip it off the bones, in any part: face, abdomen, back, limbs, breasts.” Also called the.
When did the wheel break?
This practice of being broken on the wheel was reported on by an Irish gentleman visiting Paris, France, in 1788, a year before the French Revolution broke out and five years before Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette would be executed by the guillotine. He wrote a letter to a friend in Ireland dated July 23rd, and, in the letter, ...
When was the breaking wheel used?
Breaking-wheel used in Bavaria in 1772 and similar to the wheel used in France in 1788. Courtesy of Wikipedia. This execution was one of the last being broken on the wheel in France. A few weeks later, on 3 August 1788, the execution of Jean Louschart was scheduled in Versailles using a wheel. Louschart had been convicted ...
What happened to the limbs of the prisoner being broken?
All the limbs of the prisoner being broken, the execution looked at his watch and let the prisoner remain in that deplorable situation for some minutes according to his sentence. The time being elapsed, an executioner under the scaffold fastened the extremity of the halter to a windlass.
What was the cross on the scaffold?
On the scaffold was laid horizontally a large wooden cross, much in the form of a Roman X. This cross was marked with eight square notches, two on each extremity, and about five inches in depth. On this cross, I was informed, the condemned prisoner was to have his limbs broken and be put to death. At one end of the scaffold a small coach wheel was ...
Who was the French engraver who engraved the wheel?
Engraving by Jacques Callot (1592-1635) showing a person being broken on the wheel. Courtesy of the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
What was the halter in the cross?
A halter had been fixed round the neck of the prisoner, the end of which the executioner pushed through a small hole in the scaffold, which he immediately corresponded to the back part of the prisoner’s neck when extended on the cross. All the limbs of the prisoner being broken, the execution looked at his watch and let the prisoner remain in ...
What is breaking on the wheel?
“Breaking on the wheel” refers to a few different kinds of torture used by various European nations, from antiquity through the early modern period. Originally it may have referred to the act of rolling a heavy wagon over a victim to crush their bones. This evolved into the breaking of limbs with an actual wagon wheel:
Where did the wheel of torture originate?
Many historians believe this form of execution/torture started in the Frankish section of medieval Europe. A large spoked wheel was elevated and the victim was strapped to the wheel so that their limbs were suspended in the gaps between the spokes. Then the wheel was spun slowly while someone struck the limbs with an iron bar. The limbs having room to move between the spokes would often not break quickly but the connective tissue would separate causing intense pain. Confessions were usually forthcoming and quickly. It was also used as a form of execution and the person was beaten until death.
When was the breaking wheel abolished?
Its use as a method of execution was not fully abolished in Bavaria until 1813 , and still in use until 1836 in Hesse-Kassel. In Prussia, the punishment of death was inflicted by decapitation with a large sword, by burning, and by breaking on the wheel. At the time, the Prussian penal code required a criminal to be broken upon the wheel when a particularly heinous crime had been committed. The king always issued an order to the executioner to strangle the criminal (which was done by a small cord not easily seen) before his limbs were broken. The last execution by this stronger form of capital punishment, of Rudolf Kühnapfel, was on 13 August 1841.
What is the wheel of death?
The breaking wheel or execution wheel, also known as the Catherine wheel or simply the Wheel, was a torture method used for public execution primarily in Europe from antiquity through the Middle Ages into the early modern period by breaking the bones of a criminal or bludgeoning them to death.
What is the wheel used for in the execution?
Those convicted as murderers and/or robbers to be executed by the wheel, sometimes termed to be "wheeled" or " broken on the wheel ", would be taken to a public stage scaffold site and tied to the floor. The execution wheel was typically a large wooden spoked wheel, the same as was used on wooden transport carts and carriages ...
Where is the execution wheel?
An execution wheel (German: Richtrad) exhibited in the Museum of Cultural History Franziskanerkloster in Zittau, Saxony, Germany, dated in the centre with year 1775. Bolted to the lower rim edge is an iron blade-like thrust attachment
Who said that breaking someone on the wheel was a punishment?
Pieter Spierenburg mentions a reference in sixth-century author Gregory of Tours as a possible origin for the punishment of breaking someone on the wheel. In Gregory's time, a criminal could be placed in a deep track, and then a heavily laden wagon was driven over him.
Who was executed on the breaking wheel?
On June 7, 1757, the French colonist Jean Baptiste Baudreau Dit Graveline II was executed on a breaking wheel in front of the St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, Louisiana by the French colonial authorities.
Who was the servant who was broken on the wheel?
In Scotland, a servant named Robert Weir was broken on the wheel at Edinburgh in 1603 or 1604 (sources disagree). This punishment had been used infrequently there. The crime had been the murder of John Kincaid, Lord of Warriston, on behalf of his wife, Jean Kincaid.
What was the punishment of the wheel?
During the reign of the Holy Roman Empire, the punishment of the Wheel was mainly reserved for men who were convicted of aggravated murder. The punishment remained common throughout the medieval times but began to be abandoned with the beginning of the early modern era.
Why was the wheel used in medieval times?
It was used to crush the limbs and bones of the condemned and often caused prolonged torture spanning multiple days. The device was popular throughout medieval Europe, although it was more common in Germany and France. A similar device was used in the ancient times and the wheel also remained in use after the end of the medieval times.
What is the Catherine Wheel?
The Catherine Wheel was also known as the Breaking Wheel since it was a device used to break the bones of the accused and crush them to death. Sometimes it was also known simply as “the wheel” and the people who faced torture and death through this device were said to be “broken on the wheel”.
Overview
History
Historian Pieter Spierenburg mentions a reference in sixth-century author Gregory of Tours as a possible origin for the punishment of breaking someone on the wheel. In Gregory's time, a criminal could be placed in a deep track, and then a heavily laden wagon was driven over him. Thus, the latter practice could be seen as a symbolic re-enactment of the previous penalty in which people w…
Punishment
Those convicted as murderers and/or robbers to be executed by the wheel, sometimes termed to be "wheeled" or "broken on the wheel", would be taken to a public stage scaffold site and tied to the floor. The execution wheel was typically a large wooden spoked wheel, the same as was used on wooden transport carts and carriages (often with iron rim), sometimes purposely modified with a rectan…
Archaeology
Since victims' bodies of the breaking wheel were often left exposed to environmental influences over a long period of time, hardly any archaeological features for the "breaking wheel" exist; as a deterrence, the bodies were often left on public display over many years, exposed to wind and weather, birds and other scavenging animals could also take away the remains and bones. In the Germa…
Metaphorical uses
The breaking wheel was also known as a great dishonor, and appeared in several expressions as such. In Dutch, there is the expression opgroeien voor galg en rad, "to grow up for the gallows and wheel," meaning to be destined to come to no good. It is also mentioned in the Chilean expression morir en la rueda, "to die on the wheel," meaning to keep silent about something. The Dutch expression ik ben geradbraakt, literally "I have been broken on the wheel", is used to describe phy…
Execution of St Catherine
Medieval hagiographies, such as the Legenda sanctorum, record that St. Catherine of Alexandria was sentenced to be executed on one of these devices for refusing to renounce her Christian belief, which thereafter became known as the Catherine wheel, also used as her iconographic attribute. It is said the wheel miraculously broke when she touched it; she was then beheaded. As an attribu…
See also
• Dismemberment
External links
• "Breaking on the Wheel". Probertenencyclopaedia. Archived from the original on 28 October 2007.
• Greenblatt, Miriam (2000). Rulers and their Times: Peter the Great and Tsarist Russia. Benchmark Books. ISBN 0-7614-0914-9.