Why were people torture in Dark Ages?

Answer 1

AnswerIn some countries people are tortured today. Think also of the dictatorships of the 1900s. The reasons include terrorizing the population and extracting confessions. MoreThe reasons for torture were the same in the middle ages as they are today, and were as the answer above indicates. There are some misconceptions about the middle ages, however, and they should be understood.

First of all, torture was not as common as people might imagine. There were papal injunctions against it and after the 13th century clergy were prohibited from being involved in any proceedings that included torture.

Ecclesiastical courts were not permitted to torture people during much of the middle ages, but they could be appealed to by people who were qualified for them. These included any clergy, and since clergy were hard to identify, legally they were defined as anyone who could read. In England, passing a standard test qualified any person accused for ecclesiastical court, and the test was to read the 51st Psalm.

Also, in most of Europe, for most of the middle ages, criminals and fugitives could find sanctuary in monasteries and churches, which meant that anyone who was worried about it, or about any sort of abuse, could get refuge.

Clearly torture was used, and there were kings and even dynasties well known for its use. But it was not always used, and it was frowned upon in those days by many people just as it is today.

The crimes for which torture was used were those the authorities most wanted to discourage. Possibly the most important was treason, though this was broadly defined in those days.

Answer 2

Some medieval monarchs tortured people because they wanted to impress the population with the idea that opposing them and their laws would result in a great deal of pain. This made people more compliant, they believed.

Others who tortured people were probably just mean and wanted to hurt people.

You should understand, however, that torture was not used as much as many modern people might believe. The use of torture was repeatedly denounced by the Church. There were particular dynasties, such as the those in England of the High Middle Ages, that were known for torture. Even the Church turned to torture at times. But it was not used everywhere, and may have only been used in a minority of places and times.

Also, torture was not used for most crimes, and where it was used, it was usually only used for punishing treason. There were exceptions, of course.

Answer 3

mostly as a punishment or as a way to make the suspect confess. the latter was the main reason why it got banned since many people would confess crimes they did not commit so the torture would stop.

Answer 4

Torture happened all over Europe during the middle ages. Most torture was conducted by officers to the King or by The Church. Some tortures were held out in public, to either humiliate the victim or to deter the public from "bad" behaviors. Other times it was used in a torture chamber, usually at the bottom of a castle, to extract information or get confessions from people.

Answer 5

IN trials, it was used to gain a confession from a suspect. After the trial took place, however, different torture mechanisms were used to make the condemned die in a very slow, painful way - thereby punishing them for their crimes.

Answer 6

I don't think torture was ever needed. A better question would be: "Why did people in the Middle Ages [and in ancient times too] think they needed torture?"

People believed that if the victim was in enough pain, he would do anything to stop the pain, including betray all his friends, his gods and their secrets. So they tortured him until he started talking.

What the torturers didn't seem to understand was that some people will say anything to stop the pain - including a pack of lies. So information extracted under torture has little hope of being accurate.

Other people, of course, will never betray their friends or their gods, no matter how bad the torture. Many torture-victims have died, taking their secrets to the grave.

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This was because of lack of faith in Allah (or God in English and same God worshiped in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) and tendency to fulfill personal benefits and interests.