Talk:Pendulum (torture device)

Was this ever actually used?
This is a pointless and idiotic article, speculating on something that may not (and probably did not) exist. It definitely does not deserve an entire entry of its own, when the only references it cites are Poe's work. This should be deleted immediately.


 * I pretty much agree. Looking at sources, a few say it was used, but the reliable ones are skeptical.    The only evidence that this method of torture was ever used is one paragraph by the Spanish historian Juan Antonio Llorente in the preface to his  History of the Inquisition relating a second-hand account of a single prisoner, released in 1820, who described the pendulum torture method.  Most credible present day sources feel this is a myth, kept alive by Poe's story and public feelings about the Inquisition.   They point out that the Inquisitors, following Jesus' admonition against bloodshed, only used torture methods which did not spill blood, and the pendulum method would have violated this stricture.  One theory is that Llorente misunderstood; the prisoner was actually referring to another common Inquisition torture, the strappado (garrucha), in which the prisoner has his hands tied behind his back and is hoisted off the floor by a rope tied to his hands, until his shoulders dislocated.  This was called the pendulum since the prisoner was swinging off the floor.  I will add these facts to the article, along with sources. -- Chetvorno TALK 13:36, 9 November 2015 (UTC)


 * I suggest this article be merged into Pendulum. Without any credible evidence it was ever used, this hypothetical torture method does not merit a separate article.-- Chetvorno TALK 13:36, 9 November 2015 (UTC)


 * Unless someone comes up with a good reason not to, I am going to merge this article into Pendulum in about a week. -- Chetvorno TALK 19:21, 27 November 2016 (UTC)
 * I think that's a good idea. I support.MartinezMD (talk) 00:29, 28 November 2016 (UTC)