Thumbscrew

Thumbscrew

The thumbscrew, or pilliwinks, is a torture instrument which was used in medieval Europe. It is a simple vise, sometimes with protruding studs on the interior surfaces. The victim's thumbs or fingers were placed in the vise and slowly crushed. The thumbscrew was also applied to crush prisoners' toes, while larger, heavier devices based on the same design principle were applied to destroy knees and elbows.

This torture was extremely painful and usually forced out confessions of the victim.

As late as the mid-18th Century, the ex-slave Olaudah Equiano testified to having witnessed the use of thumbscrews to torture slaves on a Virginia plantation (included in his autobiography "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano").

Pilliwinks or pyrwykes may also have been used to straighten girls' fingers in medieval and Renaissance England, similar to how braces are used to straighten teeth today. The pyrwykes used for this purpose probably differed from thumbscrews by squeezing the fingers. According to the Tudor historian Eric Ives, Anne Boleyn sent a pair of pyrwykes to the nursemaid looking after her daughter, the future Elizabeth I. Presumably, this device was responsible for Elizabeth's elegant fingers.

External links

*http://www.angelfire.com/darkside/forgottendreams/thumbscrew.html
*http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/getent4.php?plen=1544&startset=48903703&query=Pilli-&fhit=Win&dregion=form&dtext=dost


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Thumbscrew — Thumb screw , n. 1. A screw having a flat sided or knurled head, so that it may be turned by the thumb and forefinger. [1913 Webster] 2. An old instrument of torture for compressing the thumb by a screw; a thumbkin. [1913 Webster] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • thumbscrew — ► NOUN ▪ an instrument of torture that crushes the thumbs …   English terms dictionary

  • thumbscrew — [thum′skro͞o΄] n. 1. a screw with a head shaped in such a way that it can be turned with the thumb and forefinger 2. a former instrument of torture for squeezing the thumbs …   English World dictionary

  • thumbscrew — UK [ˈθʌmˌskruː] / US [ˈθʌmˌskru] noun [countable] Word forms thumbscrew : singular thumbscrew plural thumbscrews a piece of equipment used in the past for torturing people by squeezing their thumbs very hard …   English dictionary

  • thumbscrew — [[t]θʌ̱mskruː[/t]] thumbscrews also thumb screw 1) N COUNT A thumbscrew is an object that was used in the past to torture people by crushing their thumbs. 2) N COUNT If someone puts the thumbscrews on you, they start to put you under extreme… …   English dictionary

  • Thumbscrew (fastener) — A thumbscrew is a specialized type of screw with either a tall head and ridged or knurled sides, or a flat, vertical head. They are intended to be tightened and loosened by hand. They are often cut for Phillips head or slotted screwdrivers as… …   Wikipedia

  • thumbscrew — noun Date: 1788 1. an instrument of torture for compressing the thumb by a screw 2. a screw having a flat sided or knurled head so that it may be turned by the thumb and index finger …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • thumbscrew — /thum skrooh /, n. 1. a screw, the head of which is so constructed that it may be turned easily with the thumb and a finger. 2. Often, thumbscrews. an old instrument of torture by which one or both thumbs were compressed. [1705 15; THUMB + SCREW] …   Universalium

  • thumbscrew — noun a) A screw that can be turned with the thumb and fingers b) An instrument of torture used to crush the fingers Syn: pilliwinks …   Wiktionary

  • thumbscrew — ● ►en n. f. ►CABLE Vis à main en français. Vis qu on peut visser et dévisser en vissant avec les doigts... (++). Signalé par Nancy Mobarhan …   Dictionnaire d'informatique francophone

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