Medieval Punishments: An Illustrated History of Torture

Gave as a requested gift.

Arrived on time and as described

They didn't fool around back in the day when it came to punishment! Most of it seems to be severe overreaction if you ask me. Death penalties for what would today be minor infractions??

Granted, I've only gotten a little way into the book, but I was disappointed to see that it was limited almost exclusively to England and that, rather than being set strictly in the medieval period, there are accounts from the mid- to late 1700s and even into the 1800s. That is NOT medieval.In particular, which probably makes me seem like a ghoul (although I've purchased a book about torture methods in the medieval period; ghoul is written!), I was seriously disappointed by the chapter about hanging, drawing, and quartering. It was much smaller than other chapters and very limited references to historical events (e.g., William Wallace and others, such as during the Plantagenet period).I'm still not sure what the purpose of this book is and whether it is simply a hobbyist using a vanity publishing company to simply say, "I've written a book," but I'm disappointed in the early goings. I will finish the book because that's how I roll, but I will not seek out this author or publishing house again.

interesting look into medieval punishment

I didn't enjoy this book. The tiny illustrations were few and far between and the book itself was long and drawn out to the point of me losing interest. I resold out it to a local used book store. Hopefully someone will get more out of it than I did.

great book

My interest in this macabre topic with spurred by reading about the voyage of Magellan and how crew members were disciplined.This is a re-print of a book published in England in 1898. As such, the limited illustrations and depictions are hand-drawn images. The book also centers attention primarily on English devices and practices and is weak on other contraptions and practices of continental Europe.

Well researched, but I'm afraid it is somewhat like reading a phone book.

An easy read, could have more detail and research i to it

I am pleased with the size an quality of the book, however, I was under the impression that there would be more pictures or drawings showing off the type of torture instruments used within the medieval period, which is not really the case. The book is still informative, but could have benefited from a little more visual stimulation.

Arrived looking like it had been sitting in a high school library for years. Damaged on the front. No fault with books contents.

A previous reviewer complained that there is a guillotine on the cover. The French used guillotines in the eighteenth century but they did not invent them. Scotland had a guillotine much earlier. However, he is right that many of these stories are not Medieval. Some are from the eighteenth century. So, use it but be careful.