Mancuerda
Encyclopedia
Mancuerda was a method of torture
. A tight cord was wound around the arm
s of the condemned. The executioner would then throw his entire weight backwards, or the pressure would be exerted by a lever.
The cord cut through skin
and muscle
directly to the bone
. Additional pain
was produced by the fact that the body of the prisoner was stretched as in a rack, and the belt or girdle attached to the waist also contributed further to the suffering.
The procedure was repeated six or eight times, on different parts of the arms. People subjected to such torture usually fainted from its effects.
Giovanni II Bentivoglio
, tyrant of Bologna
, is said to have subjected the astrologer Luca Gaurico
to this method of torture after he was unhappy with a prediction that Gaurico had made.
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...
. A tight cord was wound around the arm
Arm
In human anatomy, the arm is the part of the upper limb between the shoulder and the elbow joints. In other animals, the term arm can also be used for analogous structures, such as one of the paired forelimbs of a four-legged animal or the arms of cephalopods...
s of the condemned. The executioner would then throw his entire weight backwards, or the pressure would be exerted by a lever.
The cord cut through skin
Skin
-Dermis:The dermis is the layer of skin beneath the epidermis that consists of connective tissue and cushions the body from stress and strain. The dermis is tightly connected to the epidermis by a basement membrane. It also harbors many Mechanoreceptors that provide the sense of touch and heat...
and muscle
Muscle
Muscle is a contractile tissue of animals and is derived from the mesodermal layer of embryonic germ cells. Muscle cells contain contractile filaments that move past each other and change the size of the cell. They are classified as skeletal, cardiac, or smooth muscles. Their function is to...
directly to the bone
Bone
Bones are rigid organs that constitute part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells and store minerals. Bone tissue is a type of dense connective tissue...
. Additional pain
Pain
Pain is an unpleasant sensation often caused by intense or damaging stimuli such as stubbing a toe, burning a finger, putting iodine on a cut, and bumping the "funny bone."...
was produced by the fact that the body of the prisoner was stretched as in a rack, and the belt or girdle attached to the waist also contributed further to the suffering.
The procedure was repeated six or eight times, on different parts of the arms. People subjected to such torture usually fainted from its effects.
Giovanni II Bentivoglio
Giovanni II Bentivoglio
Giovanni II Bentivoglio was an Italian nobleman who ruled as tyrant of Bologna from 1463 until 1506. He had no formal position, but held power as the city's "first citizen." The Bentivoglio family ruled over Bologna from 1443, and repeatedly attempted to consolidate their hold of the Signoria of...
, tyrant of Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, is said to have subjected the astrologer Luca Gaurico
Luca Gaurico
Luca Gaurico was an Italian astrologer, astronomer, and mathematician. He was born to a poor family in the Kingdom of Naples, and studied judicial astrology, a subject he defended in his Oratio de Inventoribus et Astrologiae Laudibus...
to this method of torture after he was unhappy with a prediction that Gaurico had made.