Boot (torture)
Encyclopedia
The boot was an instrument of torture
and interrogation
designed to crush the foot and leg. The boot has taken many forms in various places and times. Common varieties include the Spanish boot and the Malay boot. One type was made of four pieces of narrow wooden board nailed together. The boards were measured to fit the victim's leg. Once the leg was enclosed, wedges would be hammered between the boards, creating pressure. The pressure would be increased until the victim confessed or lost consciousness.
Primitive forerunners of the archetype can be found dating back as far as a thousand years. The first Scottish effort—also referred to as a buskin—made use of a vaguely boot-shaped rawhide garment that was soaked with water, drawn over the foot and lower leg, and bound in place with cords. The contraption was slowly heated over a gentle fire, drastically contracting the rawhide and squeezing the foot until the bones were dislocated, though there would not have been sufficient pressure actually to crush the bones of the foot. A more progressive variant, found in both the British Isles
and France, consisted of a trio of upright wooden boards that splinted around and between the feet and were tied in place by cords. Wedges were hammered between the boards and the feet to dislocate and crush the bones. A prototype hailing from Autun, France, consisted of high boots of spongy, porous leather that were drawn over the feet and legs. Boiling water was poured over the boots, eventually soaking through the leather and eating the flesh away from the entrapped limbs. Lastly, oversized boots of iron or copper (often soldered in place on the floor) received the prisoner's bare feet as he lay helplessly bound and gagged in a chair. The boots were slowly filled with boiling water or oil, or even molten lead, to consume the feet and legs. One variant—applied in Ireland to the martyr Dermot O'Hurley
—consisted of lightweight metal boots that were filled with cool water and heated with the feet inside over a fire until the water boiled aggressively.
, Germany—lined the upper plate with hundreds of sharp spikes. A version from Venice
even connected the crank mechanism to a drill, so that a hole was drilled in the center of the instep while the instrument was tightened. This family of torture devices is not widely recorded but is described in Richard Sair's The Book of Torture and Executions (Toronto: Golden Books, 1944), cataloged under the editor's name (Arnold Hirsch, M.D.) in the Library of Congress database (catalog number HV8593).
The Malay Boot is a foot press made of wood. One sees a "Hollywoodized" version of the Malay boot in the film China Seas
, applied to Clark Gable—wearing socks, curiously—to force him to disclose the location of the ship's cargo of gold bullion.
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
and interrogation
Interrogation
Interrogation is interviewing as commonly employed by officers of the police, military, and Intelligence agencies with the goal of extracting a confession or obtaining information. Subjects of interrogation are often the suspects, victims, or witnesses of a crime...
designed to crush the foot and leg. The boot has taken many forms in various places and times. Common varieties include the Spanish boot and the Malay boot. One type was made of four pieces of narrow wooden board nailed together. The boards were measured to fit the victim's leg. Once the leg was enclosed, wedges would be hammered between the boards, creating pressure. The pressure would be increased until the victim confessed or lost consciousness.
Spanish boot
The Spanish boot was an iron casing for the leg and foot. Wood or iron wedges were hammered in between the casing and the victim's flesh. A similar device, commonly referred to as a shin crusher, squeezed the calf between two curved iron plates, studded with spikes, teeth, and knobs, to fracture the tibia and fibula.Primitive forerunners of the archetype can be found dating back as far as a thousand years. The first Scottish effort—also referred to as a buskin—made use of a vaguely boot-shaped rawhide garment that was soaked with water, drawn over the foot and lower leg, and bound in place with cords. The contraption was slowly heated over a gentle fire, drastically contracting the rawhide and squeezing the foot until the bones were dislocated, though there would not have been sufficient pressure actually to crush the bones of the foot. A more progressive variant, found in both the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
and France, consisted of a trio of upright wooden boards that splinted around and between the feet and were tied in place by cords. Wedges were hammered between the boards and the feet to dislocate and crush the bones. A prototype hailing from Autun, France, consisted of high boots of spongy, porous leather that were drawn over the feet and legs. Boiling water was poured over the boots, eventually soaking through the leather and eating the flesh away from the entrapped limbs. Lastly, oversized boots of iron or copper (often soldered in place on the floor) received the prisoner's bare feet as he lay helplessly bound and gagged in a chair. The boots were slowly filled with boiling water or oil, or even molten lead, to consume the feet and legs. One variant—applied in Ireland to the martyr Dermot O'Hurley
Dermot O'Hurley
Blessed Dermot O'Hurley - in Irish Diarmaid Ó hUrthuile - was a Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cashel during the reign of Elizabeth I who was put to death for treason...
—consisted of lightweight metal boots that were filled with cool water and heated with the feet inside over a fire until the water boiled aggressively.
Foot press and Malay boot
The construction of the foot press, also known as the foot screw, was based upon the thumbscrew but was much heavier and stronger. The device consisted of a pair of horizontal iron plates, interconnected by a crank mechanism, wide enough to completely enclose the naked foot. As questions were put to the prisoner, the foot press was slowly tightened, squeezing the foot between the plates with sufficient pressure to fracture the arch and, ultimately, pulverize the toe bones. While it was quite standard to line the lower plate with ribs to prevent the bare foot from popping out of the grip of the instrument as it became sweatier, a crueler variant of this device—typically encountered in NurembergNuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
, Germany—lined the upper plate with hundreds of sharp spikes. A version from Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
even connected the crank mechanism to a drill, so that a hole was drilled in the center of the instep while the instrument was tightened. This family of torture devices is not widely recorded but is described in Richard Sair's The Book of Torture and Executions (Toronto: Golden Books, 1944), cataloged under the editor's name (Arnold Hirsch, M.D.) in the Library of Congress database (catalog number HV8593).
The Malay Boot is a foot press made of wood. One sees a "Hollywoodized" version of the Malay boot in the film China Seas
China Seas (film)
China Seas is a 1935 adventure film starring Clark Gable as a brave sea captain, Jean Harlow as his brassy paramour, and Wallace Beery as an extremely suspicious-looking character...
, applied to Clark Gable—wearing socks, curiously—to force him to disclose the location of the ship's cargo of gold bullion.