Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: torture

A Celtic castle existed here, from which resistance against the Romans originated. The city was nevertheless taken. Afterward, it began to be built as a Roman city and became an important Roman military base. In the second half of the 5th century, Segovia became part of the Visigoth Empire. From the 8th to the 11th centuries, Segovia was under Moorish possession. In 1085 Alfonso VI conquered the city. From the 13th to the 15th century it was a royal residence. The church of the "True Cross", formerly known as the Church of Holy Sepulchre, is located to the north of the city and close to the Convent of San Juan de la Cruz. It consists of a nave with a dodecagonal floor plan that surrounds a small central two-story shrine. The construction of this temple has traditionally been attributed to the Knights Templars, but it is believed that it was the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem and that it depended of the Collegiate church of Santa María la Mayor in Zamora. The church was dedicated in 1208. In 1531 as a result of the unification of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre with the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, it became dependent on the Sovereign Military and Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta. To the original building was added an apse which is now used as a sacristy. Then, the tower, initially separated from the church, was added. Later, three apses were built, giving the church its today's appearance. In 1951, the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta took possession of it again and is still today in charge of its conservation and custody. The capitals of the portal's left side. On the very left a poor soul is tortured by the devils. Unfortunately, the church, which was probably erected to preserve a cross relic, was closed to visitors at the end of December 2022.

r The town of Toro lies on a plateau above the Duero River about 40 km east of Zamora. In medieval times Toro had some importance. Ferdinand III of Castile was crowned king in Toro in 1230, his wife Elisabeth of Swabia died here five years later. The large collegiate church Colegiata de Santa María la Mayor, whose construction began in 1160 under Alfonso VII, but lasted possibly even until the end of the 13th century. During the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, it was elevated to a collegiate church. The architectural highlight of the church building is the two-story crossing tower (“cimborrio”) with its sixteen-sided floor plan, with four sides being particularly highlighted by round corner towers, which serve both for architectural decoration and for static stabilization. While the corner towers in the lower part hardly have any architectural decoration, the two levels of the central tower with their windows - accompanied by small columns and ending in oriental-looking multi-aisle arches - are designed in exactly the same way. The west portal ("Portada de la Majestad") is an important achievement of Spanish Gothic architecture. The portal itself is dated to the time of Sancho IV (1258-1295), the colored version comes from the 18th century. In the stone lintel there is a depiction of the death and ascension of Mary. The tympanum shows the scene of her sitting at God's right hand and being crowned. In the six archivolts above are a total of 78 individual figures. Here are parts of the outer archivolts. After the cruelest torture, the poor souls are stuffed into the mouth of hell. While the orchestra of the 24 Elders of the Apocalypse coninues to play.

Monpazier was originally an English bastide, founded in 1284 by a general of the English king Edward I. The Royal Charter granted to the bastide was associated with advantages for the residents, such as tax exemption and the abolition of sovereign rights. During the Hundred Years' War, Monpazier was fiercely contested and was taken several times by the English and French. The inhabitants violently opposed the reformation, but Huguenots could temporarily occupy the town in 1574. At the end of the 16th century, Monpazier was one of the main venues of the croquant rebellions ("Jacquerie des croquants") a long peasant uprising, that lasted for decades. One of the leaders, the weaver Buffarot, was captured in 1637 and executed in the central square of Monpazier, seen here. The execution took part on 6th August 1637. This was a Thursday, the Market Day, to give the gathering public a spectacle .. and to send a message to the adults. Julien Buffarot was condemned to "supplice de la roue". The "breaking wheel" was the most gruesome form of public execution. The victim was taken to a scaffold and tied to the floor. The goal now was the agonizing mutilation of the body, not death. The torture started with breaking the leg bones, by dripping the execution wheel on the shinbones of the person and then worked his way up to the arms. In many cases the executioner was instructed to execute the person at the end by aiming for the neck or heart in a "coup de grace". Then body was braided into another wooden spoked wheel, which was possible through the broken limbs. The wheel was then erected on a mast or pole, like a crucifixion.