Medieval Justice
Time: middle ages
By Ivan Bulley

Chapter 1
A girl's school:
Somewhere in England

The curtains were drawn in the head mistress' office. In the dimmed lighting, faint drops of sweat on the foreheads of three teenage girls went unnoticed. Outwardly they seemed calm and even slightly arrogant. The headmistress of the girls' school stared at the delinquents. This time she would make certain that their punishment would leave a lasting impression on them.

"Jane and Allison" she said with a sneer, "you have been the trouble makers of the school for too long, and I'm going to teach you a lesson! This time you will be sent to the Juvenile Court for a hearing and punishment. A court official will make certain that your sentence will be carried out professionally and with the maximum effect. Jane, as you are the youngest, I'll suggest only a light punishment for you. Allison, you are the instigator and you should receive a harsher one. The judge will decide on the exact details."

She chuckled, for it was well known how sadistic the judge could be and how he seldom showed any mercy for young women. Maybe his frustrated secret desire for them and his longing to take pretty young women to bed, was satisfied by the knowledge of the torment he could bring to them, all in the name of justice.

"And Agnes, you know that boys are not allowed on the school premises. You were caught in most disgraceful circumstances behind the bushes. How could you! This is a serious offence and will not be tolerated. You will receive a heavy sentence with maximum humiliation and pain.

Your punishment will take place at the Boys' School (in England, girls and boys attended separate schools) in front of all of them watching your disgrace. Your punishment will be a deterrent and a lesson for all. In the past, the school's punishments were insufficient disincentive and now you will be formally chastised by our legal system. You will appear in Court tomorrow morning. You, the juveniles, will be sentenced first, but we won't stay to hear the more severe punishments of senior offenders."

Court Room:

The three girls were dressed in prison attire. They were young and pretty, in spite of their drab garments. The judge felt more frustrated than usual, as he noticed how pretty they were. How he longed to administer the punishment himself! He could imagine them screaming and writhing in agony. The courtroom was packed with village people and girls from the school. After hearing all the complaints against them, he impatiently announced the sentence with a brusque voice. "Jane, you shall receive 50 strokes and Allison will receive 100 strokes (he sneered) … on the naked buttocks. In this fashion you will experience your punishment to its maximum effect. Young woman are known for wearing too much clothes and that would attenuate the effect. As for you, Agnes, your offence was particularly repugnant to all Christians and your penalty will be a disincentive for all. You will receive 300 strokes, on any part of your fully exposed body, administered in any manner that pleases the officials.

You all shall remain in custody for the night, to prevent you from escaping. In the morning your teachers will come and make you look presentable for your punishment."

The girls were all crying and sobbing as they were escorted out of the courtroom. Each one was taken to a separate dark and dingy cell. The warden knew that if he left them isolated without food, water or sleep for the night, they would experience the punishment so much more intensely the next day. The girls had iron collars put tightly around their necks, making it difficult for them to breathe. One hand was then pulled up behind their backs and secured to the collar, while the other hand was manacled to a chain hanging from a beam above. Each girl was thus forced to stand alone in her own cell the whole night long. The chains were just too short to allow them to go down on their knees.

The next morning two teachers arrived. They found the girls completely exhausted and their eyes red from crying. The teachers took pretty dresses with them. They washed the girls and to their embarrassment, shaved their body hair. They combed their hair and put pretty ribbons in them. The girls looked stunning, as they were taken to the horse and cart outside. They sat in silence as they rode to the boys' school. The early rays of the morning sun shone through the green leaves of the trees and birds were twittering merrily. This was in stark contrast to the dread in the girls hearts, which came with the realization of what was going to happen to them.

As they approached the school, they could hear the excited hum of boys' voices. A large wooden platform had been erected six feet above the ground, outside on the sport field, and the boys were assembled all around it. This was the stage were the girls chastisement would take place. The prison officials were experienced in making preparations for public performances. After the judge had made his decision about the number of strokes that had to be administered, it was up to the prison guards to make certain that each stroke would have the maximum effect. They were experts in meting out discipline.

The cart with girls was driven past the stage and congregated boy, and on to the school building. The boys cheered and shouted as they rode past. The girls were then locked in a windowless room in the school, to await their fate.

The headmaster of the boys' school climbed on the stage and made a speech. He told the boys that what they were going to witness would also become their fate if anyone misbehaved. Any delinquents would be taken to the girls' school, where an even worse fate would await them.

The girls' punishment:

Jane goes first.

The headmaster turned to the two prison wardens and said that it was now expected of them to do their utmost best. The wardens sighed and said they knew what to do as they have done it many times before. They dragged a heavy bench closer to the edge of the platform and prepared their ropes.

The female teachers left to fetch the first girl and came back with her, escorting her on both sides. Jane looked so pretty and young, with a red dress and long blond hair, tied with red ribbons on each side of her head. She had a blush on her face and avoided looking at the sniggering boys. She was led onto the platform and left standing there, with a teacher on each side.

"Get on with it," a prison guard barked, "you know what the judge ordered. Strip!" Jane blushed deeply and the boys cheered. Many had never seen a naked girl before and now their excitement knew no bounds.

Jane stammered and pleaded with the teachers. They just looked at her and both had expressions of pleasure and anticipation on their faces. Definitely no signs of any pity! Jane's predicament and embarrassment had an arousing effect on them.

"STRIP!" roared the guard.

Jane tried to turn her back on the boys, but they were on all sides and their eyes were riveted on her. "Strip, Strip, Strip", they chanted. Beads of perspiration formed on her forehead and fear besieged her shyness. She loosened the buttons of her dress and stood there in her bloomers. The guard got impatient. "You know the judge ordered that you must take it on your NAKED bottom" and he grabbed her bloomers on both sides and ripped it off her body. Jane gave a high pitched yelp and tried to cover her privates with her hands.

"Hands behind your head!"

Jane stood there sobbing. She had a perfectly shaped slender body, with beautifully rounded buttocks. The boys stared at her pale bottom and perky breasts. Soon those buttocks would be transformed into raw and crimson flesh. The boys laughed with glee as both guards took long slender canes and swished them in front of the girl and made her cringe in fear. The guards ordered her to turn around, so that all the boys could see her other side.

One guard said to her "the cane will treat you justly, but its bite is brutal and without compassion. If your offending buttocks should break it, this amounts to damage of government property. A larger cane will take its place and you will receive extra strokes to pay for the damage."

Jane was left standing with her hands behind her back for five minutes, while the boys savoured her absolute nakedness. Her breasts were already nicely formed, with prominent nipples and her genitals were more mature than a little girl's, with the small lips sticking out slightly from the slit, like pink lace. Many of the boys had seen their little sisters naked, but now stared in rapture at the private parts of an almost mature woman.

"Hit her, hit her", they started chanting. Obligingly the guards dragged her to the bench and pushed her down on her belly. They tied her hands together and fastened the rope to a peg at the top of the bench. Then they attached her feet in a similar fashion to the bottom of the bench. Jane's arms were stretched out in front of her and her feet were tied to the other end of the bench. She was completely helpless to protect her exposed bottom, but her body was not immobilized and could twist and turn to amuse the onlookers.

"Let the music and dance begin!" sneered the guard.

The teachers stood aside and both felt a thrill of excitement. They have never, from such close quarters, seen men administer pain and agony to a naked helpless girl, and that with official approval. "Hit her, hit her" chanted the boys louder, with almost a frenzy. No mercy, no pity, just cruelty and justice would prevail.

Jane's face was now distorted with fear, her pretty eyes wide and brimming with tears. The guards would take turns hitting her. One wouldn't want the punishment to become less effective because a guard's arm became tired, would one?

The first guard took a five foot slender cane, lifted it high above his head and with a mighty swish landed it with great force across the middle of the two soft mounds. The teachers shuddered when they saw the violence of the stroke. They felt a moistness and swelling develop in their female parts. The punishment was more severe than they had expected. A shudder went through the girl's body, as the scorching red hot pain reached its pinnacle. She screamed at the top of her voice, and this was only the first lash of fifty to follow! There was load applause from the boys.

The guard waited until she stopped wailing, lifted the cane high up, and aiming for the same area, he brought the cane down with a tremendous crack. Soon the flesh would be deeply bruised! By repeatedly hitting the same contused areas, the agony would amplify immensely. Only fifty strokes, but by golly he was going to make certain that she would have the full benefit of her punishment. "Spare the rod and spoil the child." This was all for her own good and he was not going to "spoil" this young woman. The next six mighty strokes landed in quick succession, and the pain became so horrible that she lost control. She writhed and contorted and her high pitched howling cut through the air. She screamed and screamed and almost drowned out the jeering of the boys.

Her teachers were looking on with approval. This was excellent for her. She deserves it.

In the locked room in the school building the other girls heard the roar and applause of the boys and then the heartbreaking bawling of their best friend. They became more and more anxious and fearful. They were not exactly certain what awaited them, but they now knew it would be more than their worst nightmares.

Now the ninth and tenth strokes landed on the same tortured strip across the top of her buttocks. She no longer minded that everyone saw how she lost her composure. The pain was more than she could stand, much more. Her screams and violent movements were beyond her control and she no longer cared about her modesty. The burning was so fiery that her whole life seemed focused in her buttocks. Her skin was already broken and started bleeding. The whole bench shook with her agony. Her body glistened with sweat.

Now it was the other guard's turn to deliver the next ten. He waited five minutes for her to calm down and stop blubbering. If he pushed her too far she would go beyond feeling any pain. Furthermore, he intended to aim at the same broad band of wounded flesh. He waited for some swelling and internal bleeding to develop so that the pain would be even more extreme. He was a master of his craft and knew how to achieve the best results.

Jane was now lying motionless, only her chest heaving with sobs. The guard thought to himself that she was really a too sensitive girl, one who could not handle much pain. Only ten strokes so far and what a performance. He found it gratifying to discipline such a pretty girl, just a pity that her lovely bottom would never be the same again.

The boys were chanting "hit her, hit her" again. They have never seen such a exhibition before and wanted more of it.

The guard lifted his cane high and smacked it down on the bleeding and bruised area.

"O no, not there again! Right in the middle where it burns like hell. How could he be so cruel" she thought.

The next moment her body started jerking violently in all directions, without offering her any relief. As if it was coming from somebody else, she heard herself screaming and pleading. "NO NO PLEASE, I CAN'T TAKE IT! AAARGH HELP! HELP! TOO MUCH!." As the pain increased relentlessly, her words would no longer form, only her shrieks of anguish.

There was so much writhing that the guard had to aim carefully to remain on the beaten the track. But with years of practice, his aim was good and the bruised area only slightly widened in size. He was having a lot of fun. The shaking, writhing and shouting had a dreamlike quality, which he found most arousing. He could only imagine how much she must be suffering. He lashed out energetically and his turn ended with a crescendo of noise and shaking.

The other guard picked up his cane and took position. He swished the cane a number of times and she cringed as she waited for the next ten lashes to follow. But he let her wait. He wondered whether he should open a new area on her bottom, but decided he would carry on with the same good work on the same spot. Her well rounded buttocks should be able to take much more in the same place. He intended to make her repent her evil ways good and proper.

With a whistling sound, the cane lashed through the air and thundered down on her ass once more. The "song and dance" started all over, with more vigour. She started bleeding profusely, but this did not deter him. Her blistering pain was excruciating. He did not once pity her and aimed for the same spot over and over again. The other girls in the locked room heard the load cracks, the shouts of anguish and the laughing of the boys. The girls became more terrified, because they knew their punishment would be even worse. They wished they could die.

It was a pity that this girl's punishment would soon be over and the guard was enjoying himself. This was a change from the heavy torture and punishments that that he was used to.

He struck out with more force and the cane snapped in half. He shouted at the girl: "Look what you have done now! You have damaged government property and you'll have to pay for this." The girl looked at him with large pleading eyes and could not believe what was happening to her.

It was the other guard's turn now. He climbed off the stage and came back with two thicker canes, about six feet long. He took position and tapped her bottom a couple of times, to measure his distance. She started screaming.

"I haven't even started yet," he snarled. "If you want to yell, I'll really give you something to yell about!"

The cane came down with ghastly force, flattened her buttocks where it struck and recoiled up again. It was as if an electric shock convulsed through her body. Her shrieks made many boys pity her, but others gathered closer, to leer between her legs, where they could see her exposed parts clearly. As her head shook up and down, the ribbons came loose and her blond hair fell over her face in disarray.

The agony of the last ten strokes was more than she could endure and urine splashed on the bench. The other guard grabbed his cane and swished it.

"What was he doing?" She thought her ordeal was over. "For breaking the cane you will get ten more and for pissing also the same extra!"

Twenty extreme lashes found their mark. After that her nose was bleeding and her eyes were bloodshot.

The boys loved the encore. The beautiful blonde girl had given an excellent show!

The bawling girl was unable to stand or walk and had to be carried away. A guard noticed the concerned look on a teacher's face and replied "don't worry, she will soon get over it. She is such a baby!"

(It took more than two months before she could walk again.)

Allison's turn

After a short interval, everyone gathered around the stage once more. Allison was escorted between two the guards. She had light brown hair and wore a white dress made of thin material. The bodice fitted tightly across her chest and the boys could see brownish nipples shine through the thin material. She looked so petite, with the guards towering above her on each side. A hush of expectation changed into cheering as she was led up the steps of the platform. Her face distorted with fear and embarrassment as she stood in front of the boys. When she was ordered to strip, tears rolled down her cheeks, but she obediently pulled her dress over her head. She wore nothing underneath it. She stood there immobile in a trance like state and did not even try to cover herself. The guards turned her around to let the boys see her good-looking buttocks. They were nicely rounded, unblemished and never touched by a cane.

Soon those beautiful curves would suffer the full force of the rattan. Pain would be relentlessly administered to them - more pain than she could endure. The boys stared at her perfect feminine figure with anticipation. Soon she would explode into exciting contortions!

The guards picked her up and put her on the bench. She was fastened in a different way. A rope was tied around her middle, just above her hips, and around the bench. This would prevent her ass from moving and the target would be easier to strike. Her hands and feet were attached loosely to the ends of the bench, enabling movement of her upper body and legs. She could thrash around as much as she wished, but the target area would be completely helpless!

One of the teachers explained the number of lashes that Allison was going to receive - one hundred. Most boys were familiar with receiving punishment themselves - six of the best or so - but 100 lashes - many boys were horrified that this would be happening to such a stunning girl.

However, some of the boys started chanting "hit her, hit her.."

The first guard let her examine the cane and struck the bench in front of her, barely missing her fingers. Her eyes opened wide with horror, but she did not utter a sound. He then tapped the cane a couple of times on her butt, to focus her attention on the spot where the pain would commence. The next moment she heard a loud whistling noise, as the cane sliced through the air and struck home with a loud thud. The muscles in her buttocks and back went into involuntary spasm. Intense pain shot like lightning through her body. But she only whimpered softly. The pain was still throbbing when the next lash hit her, bruising the same spot. Her body jerked up form the bench and for an instant the boys could see her well developed breasts and puffy brown nipples hanging down. They could also see a grimace of agony on her face, but she only uttered a soft "ouch" and flopped down on the bench. She hid her face between her arms and cried softly.

The next eight lashes came in rapid succession, preventing the pain from subsiding between strokes. Her muscles tightened with each cut and her ass cheeks clenched, but she only whimpered softly.

"She is quite tough and we will have to break her", said the guard. The other one nodded, and took up position on her other side. They both started striking her alternatively at a fast rate. They did not count. This fast action would continue until they were certain that no less than 100 had been given. Soon the girl's head turned up, her eyes stared in horror and with her mouth open round, a low wolf like howl grew louder and higher pitched - like a continuous animal like cry. The guards were amused and liked this. They started hitting harder and faster and the blare became louder. They certainly did not stop or slacken for at least a hundred lashes.

At last they stopped and looked at her. Gradually her sweaty body stopped shuddering and howling. She lay sobbing. Blood trickled down her hips and on the bench.

One guard got a wicked leer on his face and said:

"One more time!".

Suddenly both guards flexed their strong arm muscles. With rapidity, cruel lashes landed on her injured parts. The girl's shrieks rose to heaven as another 20 ferocious lashes struck her naked bottom.

The boys cheered and whistled. And cheered.

"One more time?"

"Why not!" said the other guard.

Strong arms held canes high above their heads. With a rhythm of one-two, one-two, the cracks landed on the helpless girl. Once again her whole body sprang into action and writhed so much that the platform shook. The howling became somewhat hoarse, but nevertheless could be heard far away. Maybe she received more than 30 extra lashes this time - nobody counted!

Agnes, locked back in the classroom, became so petrified that she wet herself.

Agnes's punishment - most terrible of all?

A teacher explained that the next girl was extremely bad and promiscuous. This would not be tolerated under any circumstances and she was going to acquire 200 cuts, according to the art of the guard's profession. Agnes's imminent indecent exposure would also serve educational purposes to familiarize boys with the parts that girls normally keep hidden from them and in future their curiosity would not get the better of them and let them be tempted by vixens like her.

The guards yawned as the teacher delivered her naïve explanation.

With simple props and years of experience, they quickly got ready for the next part of the show. Two vertical posts were planted through pre-existing holes in the platform, about ten feet apart. The posts had slots in them at regular distances, where a cross beam could be attached. They fastened a beam high enough to allow a woman to hang and swing freely. Agnes was summoned and her hands tied with a rope in front of her. She wore a dress with straps on her shoulders and a belt around her slender waist. Her brown hair was fastened in a pony tail.

The guard threw the end of the rope over the beam and hoisted her up until her feet were off the ground. She cried and complained that the rope was hurting her wrists.

"We are going to hurt you much more" laughed the guard, and he put his arms around her and added his weight to hers. Her hands turned blue as the ropes cut deeper into her wrists while they supported the heavy weight of the guard. They swung to and fro.

Then he let go and to the boys delight, he groped the helpless girl. She squealed as he pinched her breasts and his fingers poked between her legs. Then he put his hand under her dress and triumphantly pulled her bloomers down and threw them to the boys. Next he removed her belt and untied the straps on her shoulders. She hung there with her dress loosely clinging to her body.

The preparations were ready for the fun to begin. Both guards stood behind her and two canes struck her armpits on both sides. More lashes followed rapidly and the girl screamed and thrashed about. Her dress started to slip down and exposed her breasts. The guards' attention wandered and couple of hard lashes struck her tender nipples. She gyrated more and her dress slid down on the floor. She looked so pretty and innocent, hanging there naked.

They now mostly worked on her buttocks. Over and over the canes landed on soft female flesh, without pity or remorse. Her kicking and writhing became so rapid and energetic, that the canes just lashed out blindly and cut into any body parts that came in their way. The guards it did mind where they stuck - it would hurt just as awful wherever. Nobody was counting the lashes and this did not seem to bother the guards (or the boys) either. The girl was in agony and that was the main object of the discipline.

After what seemed like ages, they stopped. A second beam was fastened in front of her abdomen. The top of the beam had a sharp wedge-shaped edge. The girl was still crying and sweating and a look of terror appeared on her face, as she wondered what was going to happen next. Two ropes were tied to her ankles. One was looped over the beam. The boys also wondered what was in store.

The guards thread the rope through two holes in the platform floor, one about four feet in front of the beam and the other the same distance behind it. They asked some boys to come and assist. There was no shortage of volunteers. One of the guards lifted Agnes over the beam and made her straddle it. She cried out loudly as the sharp edge cut into her private parts. The other guard crawled under the platform, pulled the ropes tight and tied a large bucket to each of them. Agnes's legs were pulled apart, as the weight of the buckets stretched them out. She could raise herself a little with her arms, but they rapidly got tired and then her tender parts had to support her. Almost immediately the pain became unbearable and the boys cheered as they witnessed her dilemma. Her arms were trembling, as she frequently made hopeless attempts to lift herself and she cried with frustration as the sharp beam cut into her genitals. The pain was excruciating.

The boys, who volunteered, were asked to fetch stones and place them into the buckets. All they could see were the two buckets hanging from ropes through holes in the wooden floor. As they dropped large stones into them, they heard howls and shrieks of anguish coming from above. They were astounded by the effect their stones producing. One boy grinned and jerked on a bucket. This had a remarkable effect - a really ear piercing shriek followed. He repeated this couple of times - to everyone's delight.

As the buckets filled with stones, her hoarse screams and lamentations became ever more frantic.

Above on the platform, the guards noticed how her legs becoming more strained and stretched, as she was forced down spread-eagle on the sharp edge. Maybe he heard a slight popping sound as her coccyx could no longer support the weight.

Between the screams, she pleaded frantically and desperately. Agony was written all over her face.

"Now she's ready to receive more lashes" said the guard. He took a short leather whip (the judge had not specifically prescribed a cane). Her breasts and nipples were protruding lewdly and she could do nothing to protect them.

The whip lashed right onto her sensitive nipples. How much more pain could she endure? Agnes was strong and there was no merciful relief by fainting. She suffered each and every one! The other guard started lashing her back with a heavy whip and the lashes rocked her body. The beam cut even deeper into her private parts. Never in her life had she felt so much pain.

After what seemed like an eternity, Agnes was taken down.

The guards placed a wooden plank at 45 degrees inclination from the floor to the cross beam and fastened it in place.

Where they planning something next? Surely Agnes had received an adequate amount of punishment? The guards didn't seem to think so.

Agnes was put on her back on the plank, her hands tied to the beam above her head and both feet were tied to the beam, spreading her legs wide apart and above her head. She was shamelessly exposed.

Blood was washed off her exposed genitals, the damage examined and coarse salt was rubbed into those areas. (The idea behind salt is not to help in any way, but to generate more pain, and most certainly that is the general effect it has.) He then poked two fingers in her vagina and examined her coccyx. It was fractured and bent inward. He could feel it crepitating as he moved it. She groaned as he forced it back into position.

"Look teachers, the boys can now observe everything they need to know about a woman" he said sarcastically as he pointed to her soft inner thighs, her pussy lips, her brown arsehole and the slightly brown area around it.

The guards next applied the whip energetically to all those secret places. Agnes shrieked, writhed and bucked. As the whip cut into the most sensitive areas, all sphincters lost control. Yellow and brown flowed freely and mixed on the floor. For the first time the boys actually saw a woman excreting.

For her indecency, she received another fifty lashes on each foot. It was amazing how sensitive the soles of her feet were. In spite of all the aching of her body, this final punishment created enormous suffering. Her pelvis gyrated sensuously up and down and sideways, with her genitals and anus visible to all. The boys close by could even see her anus contracting in an attempt not to let go again.

Agnes was removed from her bondage, but for her this would not be the end of the story. Her wounds and broken coccyx (dislocated again by the whip) would cause agony and sleepless nights for a long time to come.

The teachers thanked the guards for their excellent work. In the name of Justice, good deeds had been done on that day.

To be continued…

Medieval Justice
Ivan Bulley

Chapter 2

It was now several years later. This was the time of year when days were getting shorter and trees were shedding their leaves. Darkness permeated the world and penetrated men's hearts.

The Inn:

In an inn near the market place three men sat eating oxtail soup and drinking ale. It was a dark and cold night and they were glad that they were comfortable in front of an open fire. They were in a pensive mood. As the gusts of wind rattled the door and rain lashed the window panes, they wondered how the young girl outside was doing.

She was standing locked in a pillory! In the cold and rain!

Two of the men were dressed in prison guard uniforms and had graying hair. How time had aged them! The third was a newcomer, a tall muscled Scott with red hair and a crimson beard. He wore a kilt and you would not guess that he was only twenty years old.

It was miserable outside and the rain was pelting down. At times the wind blew the raindrops almost horizontally. The girl stood shivering, secured in the pillory, in the middle of the deserted market square.

The young Scotsman, named Donald, had started his career as a school teacher. He was extremely strong – perhaps too much - and had built up a reputation that a rattan in his hands did not last for long. Parents decided that their children could do without enhanced education. Now he had joined the local prison staff of this town, far away from Scotland.

They sat and dipped their bread in their soup. A mongrel dog lay sleeping in front of the fire. Every so often one of the men found a piece of bone in his soup and threw it to the dog. He would sniff it, lick it momentarily and continue to sleep. Nothing seemed worth while, even to the dog. This was a cold night and the only sensible place was in front of the fire.

Donald mused about what had happened that day.

Events of the morning:

A young girl was summoned before the judge on a charge of prostitution. The villagers had not really noticed her before and they did not know anything about her. She alleged that her name was Mary, but she did not have any family and she did not know when she was born. He estimated her to be 18 years, but it could also have been as young as 16.

The judge did not take long to reach a decision and sentenced her to 24 hours locked in the pillory, starting that day at midday 12 o'clock and ending the next day at the same time.

He pronounced that she would remain in prison after completing this sentence.

They realized that the following day was market day and there would be a lot of people around. The severity of pillory punishment really depended on the public. This was people's justice – as long as the culprit was secured in the pillory, everybody was at liberty to do absolutely anything to that person.

Everything would work together to promote trading and to promote the girl's ordeal.

The previous culprit had suffered quite severely in the pillory. Objects had been thrown with such force at the girl's face that she was now blinded permanently.

In general, nobody really cared what the lasting effects of any punishment would be. There was no sympathy at all.

Mary was removed to a room next door, where her warm coat was taken from her. She was stripped naked and searched for hidden objects. She was then told to put on a flimsy sleeveless white gown, like the Romans used to wear, with nothing underneath.

The Pillory:

Without any further ado, she was taken to the market place. In the middle of the square was an elevated area with a flogging post and two pillories, one lower than the other. Mary was led to the lower one. She looked very nervous and her lower lip trembled. They lifted the heavy wooden plank and ordered her to place her neck in the groove. The pillory was lower than her shoulders and she had to stoop forward. The holes for her arms were too large and metal shackles were locked around her wrists to prevent her from freeing her hands. The top plank was secured in place.

Her head was hanging down and her long hair covered her face, and the hunched position was most uncomfortable. Donald looked on, as one guard grabbed her hair and pulled her head up. Fear distorted her pretty face when she noticed he was holding two long thick nails.

He explained to Donald that the culprit had to present her face to the public all times. Her face had to be motionless, so that it would be a stationary target.

He pulled one ear away from her head. With a twisting, drilling motion, he pushed a nail through her ear, close to her head at the height of her ear canal. A deep moaning cry escaped from her lips. He then perforated her other ear in a similar fashion. While the second guard held her head extended, he hammered the nails into the wooden boards of the pillory. Her ears were thus firmly impaled and this rendered her head immobile. (standard practice.)

She was left standing in this strained position. Very soon her neck muscles began cramping. Her skewered ears were hurting badly and caused a throbbing headache. Her neck muscles had to continuously hold her head up, because the pain in her ears prevented any movement. Her back started hurting. When she lowered her hips, her windpipe compressed against the lower edge of the board and made breathing difficult. Her misery was terrible.

That afternoon Donald visited the saddle and harness maker and purchased several whips and other leather implements. One of them was a beautifully crafted braided leather whip – quite heavy. He was also delighted with his purchase of a whip with ten thick braided strands. He cracked it through the air and was thrilled with the thought of what it would do to naked flesh. The effect of ten lashes simultaneously had to be so much more intense than only one. His powerful arm muscles would provide all the force that was required.

Meanwhile, it was quite deserted at the square. One elderly lady brought a bowl with stinking slimy rotten stuff in it – fish and what not. She cursed the girl and rubbed the rubbish on Mary's face and some went up her nose. (Actually Mary was a very prim and proper girl and this was most humiliating.) Then Mary was left to her own devices. The ghastly smell in her nose would not go away.

Little boys' torment:

Some small boys, 10 years old or so, came along. The little leader told the others that she must be a very bad woman and it was their duty to help and punish her. They saw flies crawling over her face. The flies tickled her and she pulled faces and tried to shoo them away, but nothing helped. This gave the little leader an idea and he found some dry straw and began tickling her face. He poked the straw up her nose and twisted it around and stuck some it into her ears. She cried and implored him to stop. The little brat laughed and kept on tormenting her.

After a while he had enough of this. One of the boys giggled and looked under her gown. They then took turns poking their heads under her dress and making lewd remarks. She blushed and begged them to stop. Somehow they found this hilarious. They were supposed to do anything to her and they knew it.

Then the little leader had another idea. He found a stick and sharpened the point on the cobble stones. "A bee is going to sting your bum", he gleefully exclaimed and gave her a sharp jab under her gown, right between her legs. The boys laughed as she cried out. She was so utterly helpless and could do nothing to protect herself. The other boys also gathered sticks and sharpened them. They competed with each other to see who could make her yelp the loudest. One boy showed his stick to the others. It had blood on the point. Now they competed to see who could draw the most blood.

Cold rainy night:

The boys went home when it darkness fell. Cold rain started pouring down and the wind picked up. Mary was stiff and sore and it was agony to hold her position. How would she endure the whole night?

A man in a thick overcoat walked past. Mary cried and begged for help and pleaded with him. He stopped and stared at her womanly figure. The wet material clung provocatively to her sexy bottom and he could clearly see all her feminine features. He slapped her hard on her bum with his open hand. He pulled his coat over his head and walked away.

The Inn later that night:

The three men were still slurping their soup. The warmth of the fire made them sleepy. It was becoming late and the elderly guards said they were going to bed. Donald replied that he was going to comfort the girl at the pillory. It was almost midnight and there was a lull in the rain. He took a lantern and strolled to the square.

Mary looked so feminine and helpless. He felt lust growing in his loins. He pulled her soggy gown off her body, lifted his kilt and pressed his pelvis against her bottom. Her skin was cold and wet to touch. With his strong hands he parted her buttocks and tried to ram his huge manhood home. She was dry and sore inside. She squeezed her legs together as hard as she could and lowered her hips to avoid him. With a hoarse voice, but with a distinctive Scottish accent, she cried "Stop it, Donald you oaf, stop it." He turned in disgust and walked away. Her gown was left down around her ankles. The rain started again and torrents poured down on her naked body.

The following morning a cleaning lady walked past and covered Mary's body with her soggy garment.

Market Day:

The weather improved and traders arrived with their tables and goods. Soon many people swarmed to the market place. An old lady kept a stall near the pillory. She was selling bowls with putrid objects. Many men, and even women, purchased decaying goods from her – rotten eggs, tomatoes, fruit, meat and other revolting stuff.

The public took position a short distance in front of Mary and hurled their objects at her face. One woman threw unripe pears at her. They were hard as stones and one struck her nose and made it bleed. Mary was wailing hysterically and was totally unable to move. Some projectiles struck her eyes and soon they were so swollen that she could not open them. Thereafter she could no longer see the object coming and this made matters worse.

At 11 o'clock, one hour before the end of her ordeal, Donald came swaggering along. He was carrying a leather bag and the people made way for this huge Scotsman. He ripped her gown off her body and shamelessly exposed her in front of all the people. Men stared at her pale nakedness, her firm breasts and sexy buttocks. Donald took his new whip out of the bag. The leather was stiff and he flexed it a couple of times. A hush fell over the crowd and they gathered closer.

Donald raised the whip and with unbelievable fury and vehemence he attacked her exposed body. Pandemonium broke loose and her shrieks reverberated through the town. People came running to see what was happening. He struck every part of her body with a vengeance, almost as if he had a personal vendetta. Her body shook and contorted with each blow.

Next he removed his prize instrument from the bag – the whip with ten thick braided strands. People gasped as they saw this fearsome apparatus.

Ten strands made a loud whistling noise as they sliced through the air and then ten almost simultaneous cracks resounded as they slammed into naked skin. Repeatedly! The effect this had on the wretched lass was horrific. Her agony was so enormous that she tore her ears loose from the nails. Blood streamed down her cheeks, and even more blood flowed down her body.

A huge cheer went up.

That afternoon the mayor summoned Donald to his office. He gave Donald a bag with gold coins and praised him for the good work that he had done.

He also praised him for producing information that had led to the prostitute's arrest.

Prison

Mary's stay in the prison was a miserable experience. It would take a long time before the swelling of her eyelids subsided enough for her to see again. Her bed at night was made of wooden boards, without a mattress or blankets. Every night she was tied naked on her back, with her legs spread and her hands above her head. She was kept like this for the convenience of the guards and they came at any time in the dark of night. In the beginning she could not discern who visited her, but gradually she recognized some guards' style and smell. There was one person whom she dreaded most, and she knew it had to be Donald. His rough and insensitive groping of her private areas was especially revolting. Then his huge penis tried to penetrate her dry vagina. He seemed to get pleasure from rough dry friction. It hurt her terribly and she prayed every time that it would end. However, he was unable to climax and just carried on. His heavy body buffeted her slender figure with his thumping - and hurt the unhealed wounds on her bottom. Eventually he would leave frustrated and dissatisfied. After every visit her vagina felt raw and chafed.

The female inmates were released from their cells during the day and had to do manual work – washing, cleaning cooking and much more. A brutal corpulent matron supervised them and made their life miserable. Everyone lived in constant fear and the matron made certain that they were reminded daily that they were there for punishment and nothing else. She constantly found fault with what they were doing. Talking too loudly, giving the wrong answers, anything whatsoever, was reason enough for corporal punishment. If she could find no fault, she invented something. Every day at least some women would experience pain administered to them. They did not know when to expect it or who was going to get it.

There was one large room, where the prisoners congregated to eat, to listen to new rules and regulations and of course to receive punishment in front of everyone else. The dreaded punishment device stood in the middle of the room. It was simple, but effective. Two vertical wooden posts were planted in holes in the floor, four feet apart, and they were topped by a horizontal pole, about hip height. There were metal rings at the bottom of each post, in front and back.

The matron would point to a wrongdoer, snarl "bottom up" and the poor creature had to bend over the horizontal pole. Her hands and feet were quickly tied to the rings and her dress lifted to expose her bottom. The prisoners never had anything to wear underneath their prison attire and naked buttocks were frequently presented, in anticipation of the pain they were to receive. This sometimes happened several times per day and the matron varied her methods of producing injuries.

Mary's first spanking:

Mary got her first turn only the second day after she had arrived. Her eyes were still swollen shut and she did not quite appreciate what was going happening to her. She felt how strangers' hands picked her up and placed her over the beam. Her arms and legs were pulled towards the floor and she felt how her wrists and ankles ware fastened with rope. Next she noticed a cool breeze on her naked bottom as her dress was lifted. The matron mumbled and cursed when she saw the nasty wounds of Mary's previous flogging. Her face turned red. The other female inmates were surprised when they saw this.

Nevertheless, pain was going to be administered. The matron ordered two women to separate Mary's buttocks. The insides of her cheeks were still untouched by a whip. Right there, between them, the matron knew she had discovered the ideal spot - the narrow bridge of flesh between pussy and anus. She had the perfect instrument for it. She took a large wooden spoon and with the round side of it, struck Mary on the designated area. The first sensation produced, was a sharp stinging pain. Quickly she hit the same spot again. The second blow hurt twice as much. The third blow was even worse. The spoon hit the same spot over and over again, - amazing how the pain increased each time! The pain became more than Mary could possibly endure. She jerked, she writhed and her hands tried desperately to free themselves and cover the spot of unspeakable agony. The cruelty was made worse by her utter helplessness to do anything about it. All she could do was shriek louder. What else could she do when she could absolutely stand no more and still it continued!

The matron loved to prolong castigations, especially when they had such a pronounced effect. Mary hollered her head off and perspiration glistened on her body. The matron remained unperturbed by this. With a smirk on her face (and these were the only occasions when she smiled) she continued to administer insufferable pain. Over and over again – never wavering from the same spot! First redness, then purple bruises and then broken skin. Finally there was bleeding. Would the anguish ever stop? The matron was undeterred by the amount of damage she was doing. She grinned at the squirming bottom, the deafening noise and just carried on regardless.

When it was finally over, Mary appeared to be in shock.

Next Linda's ordeal:

Unbelievably, it was not even an hour later when the matron pointed to a petite brunette, Linda, and barked: "Bottom up" The attractive girl was slender and had shapely rounded buttocks. She got such a fright that she pissed and a puddle formed on the floor. This pleased the matron.

Soon her buttocks were nude, immobilized and their eye-catching round parts were extremely vulnerable in their upturned position. Linda was sobbing heartbrokenly. She had gone through this several times before and she knew there would be no mercy. Her exposed bottom waited fearfully for the agony to start, but the matron was still deciding on what to use.

The matron found it hard to reach a decision. She was in an ugly mood and felt like using something more potent, something that would cause more grief than usual. A cane, tawse, strap, spoon or the usual instruments did not match her mood. The sight of Mary's nude bottom aroused a yearning to do something dreadful.

At the back of the room was a heavy wooden door, which was kept locked. Behind it were the torture chambers. The older inmates remembered hearing muffled screams of agony coming from behind them. The matron unlocked the door and returned with a three pronged braided whip. When Linda saw it, the poor girl's eyes opened wide with fright and her whole body started shaking. She pleaded and begged the matron to spare her. Only some things in life gave the matron real pleasure – one was futile pleading and begging. The matron found pleasure in making sadistic remarks that would enhance the victim's fear. She held the whip close to the girl's face and showed her the old crusted blood on its leather. She told Linda that her own blood would soon color the whole whip a crimson red. The whip would slice her deeply and make her bleed profusely. The wretched girl was petrified.

Linda felt the matron's cold hands squeeze and stoke her defenseless bottom. The matron snarled: "You have superior upholstery here. This is going to be a prolonged session – no need to stop too soon. I can assure you that you won't be able to endure it, but your flesh will. You will receive as much pain as you can possibly put up with and then much much more! It will be entirely my pleasure."

"Hmmm", said the matron with a far away look, as her cold fingers slowly stroked Linda's pussy and anus. Linda realized that her most private parts were vulnerable and exposed. They would certainly be targeted.

The matron swung the whip several times in front of the cringing girl. The other prisoners were horrified. Poor thing – she was always so modest and endearing. Why did the matron have to pick on her?

The matron was determined to vent all her sadistic cravings. The inmates gasped as the matron took two steps backward, rushed forward and swung the whip in a wide arc and struck with all her might. She had strong arms. Three thick leather strands crashed down with appalling force on the girl's ass.

The girl shook and screamed with agony.

"Ah, that's how I like it "thought the matron and the next three bloody welts were delivered at an angle, crossing the previous ones.

The ingenuity of the punishment apparatus was that you could deliver the chastisement from any direction. The flogging went on from all sides and did not miss any nook or cranny. The screaming girl's bottom slowly turned into a bloody battered mass. This was a flogging such as the inmates had never seen before. It just continued relentlessly and the more the poor girl screamed and squirmed, the harder the matron struck her. It was as if Linda's suffering was fuel on the matron's fire.

Eventually the matron's flogging frenzy abated.

She rubbed hands full of salt onto the girl's bottom until it formed a crimson crust. As expected, this produce renewed howling.

Linda was then kept bound in this upturned position until the next morning. The whole night her cries and moans prevented the others from sleeping.

For a long time afterwards the cane hardly crossed any bottoms any more and the atmosphere became somewhat relaxed.

Nobody understood what had triggered the matron to turn into a monster. Nobody knew that she had once been a sweet schoolgirl named Agnes.

Mary and Linda's wounds gradually healed. They became friends and and in a whispering voice communicated when the matron was not looking. Mary explained how she was tied up every night and how dry and sore her vagina was.

Linda told her that there was a large dungeon under the building. She was locked up there for the first month of her incarceration. In the dungeon there was a woman who had been chained to the wall, without any worldly comforts. She could not tell who this woman was and what her crimes had been. She had been there for years and the clothes in which she was had arrived, had long since disintegrated. She was permanently kept there in one spot on the cold floor, naked, in filth, urine and year's excreta. The poor woman had lost her mind and was totally incoherent.

One day there was a buzz of excitement. First an older woman of around 30 years was taken to the torture chambers and later that day also a young woman – almost still a child. The matron rarely explained events, but this time she said the first woman was suspected of murdering her husband and she was there for the revealing of the truth. The second girl was there because a lot of cattle had died and they suspect that she was a witch. This was a matter for the church and the clergy would soon arrive and enter through the main gates, to witness her confessions.

In their private conversations, Linda suggested to Mary that it might help if she gave the guards special favors. If her vagina was so dry, what then about her mouth?

Donald visited her that night. Casually she mentioned that she had a soft wet tongue and could pleasure him in other ways. This worked - for the first time Donald was pleased with the results.

Thereafter things slowly changed for the better. She was no longer bound and naked at night. She received a mattress and blankets. Also many other favours!

One day she had disappeared. Nobody saw her again.

Whipping Post

From the market place, one could hear the sounds of a proper flogging. Loud cracks and an animal like howl echoed through the streets. People rushed to witness the event.

A naked man stood at the post with his hands tied above his head. Ten thick leather strands sliced his body simultaneously and made him roar. The instrument seemed familiar. It struck repeatedly and caused indescribable agony.

A couple of young girls came for a closer look and giggled. They stared immodestly.

A woman whispered that it was alleged that he was the person, who was responsible for the escape of a prisoner.

The punishment continued without respite…

He howled and his red hair wafted in the wind.

Medieval Justice

By Ivan Bulley

Chapter 3

The construction workers and stone masons had been working for a considerable time and the new large additions to the building finally reached completion.

Darker deeds would henceforth take place unhindered inside the new building – no longer in public.

A large dungeon complex had been built, allowing more varied and extreme procedures. The top floors contained interrogation rooms, lounge, sleeping quarters for the staff and other amenities.

New holding cells had been built, down in the dungeon, taking into account that the discomfort of the miscreants should be maximized. Some cells were fitted with iron rings and bars. Prisoners could be secured in uncomfortable and painful positions for extended periods. Other cells were extremely small and had uneven floors with sharp embedded stones. Prisoners could be squeezed into them for as long as it took to ‘soften’ them. Sanitation was not an issue – intentionally.

A smaller rectangular version of a Roman Arena had been built, encircled by tall walls. On certain days the public would be allowed to enter through a Iron Gate, to witness lesser punishments, such as floggings. The latest addition to the building was a tower with a large bronze bell. The tolling of the bell would echo through the town and invite the inhabitants to come and witness the activity. Usually large crowds arrived for these events and unfortunately many could not be accommodated.

Certain special events would still be held at the village square, like the burning of witches. This would always be in the public’s interest.

Arrival of the special foreign expert:

One evening, a group of men were sitting in a large room on the top floor of the building, in front of a struggling fire. Smoke was billowing into the room and eventually the flames died out. They had to open windows. Something was apparently wrong with the newly constructed hearth and chimney.

One of the men was a foreign expert - Klaus the ‘terrible’ - from a country called Prussia or something like that. He was a specialist in all matters of torture and had been appointed for a limited time to help them to improve their skills. His team of blacksmiths, carpenters and leather craftsmen had already started making new creations and ingenious torture implements. He was coughing and shook his head – the bungling English!

Higher officials had decided that it would be a good idea to invite the ‘expert’ for the inauguration of their new building.

One of the guards opened a couple of bottles wine. Klaus took a sip and tried to be polite. He smiled and drank to their health, but secretly thought: “how could they drink such awful stuff?”

Klaus explained with a heavy accent that four aspects were of cardinal importance:

1. FEAR    2. HUMILIATION   3. DISCOMFORT   4. PAIN

These, he explained, were the cornerstones of all tortures. Sufficient attention had to be given to each of them. The older guards nodded and some yawned – they already knew all of this. Could he really teach them anything new?

“Your prisoners must have enough to eat and drink, especially drink!” he explained. “If you do not force them to drink enough, they will faint too readily during torture. Not good!”

After his pompous ‘lecture’, they reminisced about the day’s events.  To start with, the older woman, the ‘murderess’ had been taken to the ‘examination’ room. They found it unusual that she did not cry when she was ordered to strip. She was strikingly pretty in spite of her ‘old age’ of 30 years - a firm body, no sagging or stretch marks. (In those days life expectancy was not much longer than this.) When they tied her to the table flat her on her back and fastened her feet spread-eagled to an overhead beam, they were astonished to see her whole bottom crisscrossed with old scars. (This was the second woman with such scars.) They shaved her pubic hair and thoroughly examined her secret places for any hidden objects. They discovered nothing.

One of the older guards stood staring at her bottom. Unlike the others, he was looking at two circular brown birthmarks on her pale white hip. Strange – he could swear that he had seen those marks before, long-long ago. Then he dismissed the thought and turned away.

Next the young ‘witch’ underwent her examination. She was much shyer than the other woman and was extremely distressed by her forceful disrobing. She struggled when they tied her feet spread-eagled overhead, and she futilely tried to squeeze her legs together. After a thorough shave and a couple of nicks (she squirmed too much) they saw it - her intact hymen -obstructing the entrance to her innards. The men laughed, but a young apprentice guard’s arousal was obvious. William was new and eager. The others encouraged him to conquer her.

Ah, the energy and vigor of youth! His battering ram hammered at the portals of her innards, until, with a distressed scream, all resistance fell away.

A good night’s rest:

The women were escorted down to a dark dungeon. In the faint flickering light of a guard’s lamp, they could only faintly discern the glimmering of newly wrought iron. These were the bars of small doors. The women were pressed into miniscule cells, iron clanged shut and then they were left in total darkness. The older woman discovered that her cell had been occupied shortly before. The floor was wet and mushy and the smell was utterly disagreeable. The sharp stones of the floors made it impossible to remain in one position for long, but the cells were too tiny to allow much movement, causing unrelenting discomfort. Time would drag by painfully slow.

In the middle of the night, the older woman developed stomach cramps and diarrhea. Maybe she had eaten spoilt food or maybe it was stress, but she was extremely embarrassed by this.  She had always been a neat and a prim and proper person. She called to the guards to let her out. She pleaded that she had to go. Nobody answered. Nobody came.

The young girl started crying and moaning. The older woman spoke to her, in spite of her own predicament, and asked what the matter was.

“They put me on my back in the cell. The stones are hurting like hell and I do not have room to turn over. I can’t take it any longer.”

The older woman enquired what her name was.

“Vanessa”

“Listen Vanessa, you have to hold out, no matter what.

  If you confess, you die.

  Just remember that!”

Later that night some time later footsteps could be heard. Metal clinked softly. Vanessa’s crying stopped.

Much later returning footsteps sounded on the flagstones.  Vanessa’s cries were heard again.

FIRST DAY OF TORTURE:

The Wishing Well:

When you opened one of many heavy wooden doors, you would suddenly come upon a scene of tranquility – a secret garden with many flowers, shrubs and cobbled walkways, surrounded by high stone walls, ,. A path led to a rustic old well and there were benches placed strategically amongst the shrubs. Birds chirped cheerfully. A nanny sat on a bench, watching two small children play - a little boy and girl. They were chasing a white butterfly as it fluttered from one flower to another. They laughed when they missed and then ran after it.

The wooden door creaked open. Three angry looking officials walked down the path towards the well and one signaled to the nanny to leave.

“Come on children”, she called “its time for official business.”

Little children’s voices protested, but she gathered the toddlers and departed hastily.

Next two more officials arrived, dragging a slender naked woman between them. This was the ‘older’ woman and she was covered in filth. In spite of this, she was still attractive, if you did not stand close enough to smell her. The German Expert held his finger under his nose in disgust and mumbled something like “Schwine”.

The birds suddenly stopped chirping.

Just then a strong Scottish guard with a red beard came staggering along, carrying a heavy leaden weight in his arms. (Donald, where have you been?) This weight was disk shaped with a hole in the middle. One could put a stick through the hole and roll it like a wheel, but he preferred to carry it.

The well did not have a bucket, and the rope was hanging freely. They tied the end  of the rope to the woman’s wrists.

Another short piece of rope was tied to one ankle, and the rope was threaded through the hole in the centre of the heavy weight and then tied to her other ankle.  Her feet were tied close to each other with the weight in-between.

She did not cry nor plead, but only stared at them with a shocked disbelief.

Without any mercy, they threw her over the side, weight and feet first. The handle whirred as it turned with great speed. Far down in the well there was a loud splash. The handle continued spinning for a couple of seconds more. When it stopped, two men started to hoist the woman up again. After half a minute, deep down in the well, they heard a gasp and coughing. At last they saw two wet arms appear, then a terrified face with wet hair.

Her eyes filled with horror when one guard ordered the others to stand back and they let go of the handle again. The handle spun wildly, followed by a loud splash.

They said to the German Expert: “we’ll make her nice and clean for you.”

He expressed his concern because the rope was so frayed. What would happen if it snapped?

They replied that it had happened some time ago. Unfortunately they hadn’t been able to recover their weight. Afterwards, the water wasn’t too fresh either.

“We better hurry. We still have to do a lot with her and we don’t want her to miss any of it.”  They winched her up. 

Later she would regret that she had not drowned then.

They were not quite satisfied that she was clean enough and they  dropped her several times again. After all, one should not disappoint the German.

Two small children stared through a first floor window, with a distraught look on their faces.

Time for breakfast:

The meddlesome foreigner, Klaus, had insisted that the prisoners had to be fed - to give them strength for the day. They were taken to a room on the first floor and were made to sit on the floor with their feet locked in heavy wooden stocks, which were bolted to the floor. A wooden bench was placed over their legs and served as a table.

Their hands were free, allowing them to eat. Large jugs of milk and bread ware placed in front of them.

Strange how milk remains remarkably fresh while still inside a cow. However, this milk had departed from its udder quite some time ago. The young girl flatly refused to eat or drink.

A guard asked “What is wrong? Is the bread too dry and the milk not tasty enough? I’ll fix that.” Thereupon he pissed over the young girl’s bread and into her jug. “Now eat and drink!”

A short leather whip successfully restored her appetite, when forcefully applied to the soles of her feet.

Meanwhile in the arena:

It was still early morning when the bell started tolling. The gates to the arena opened and it did not take long before the first villagers arrived. An hour later, three culprits were led into the arena, two young girls dressed in servant’s uniforms and a young man. The arena was packed. People were pushing outside the gates to get in. 

The servant girls had been accused of stealing and would each receive 30 lashes. Nothing was mentioned about the young man.

In the middle of the arena, a sturdy spanking bench stood ready for its first customer.

The first girl was pleading and crying, when they tied her to the bench. Thick rough hemp rope was used, hurting her soft skin. Then the guards raised her maid’s dress and exposed her white knickers. The crowd voiced their disappointed that she would not receive it on her bare bottom. A guard poured a bucket of water over her bottom and smoothed her knickers so that her cheeks were clearly visible. He lewdly touched and stroked her.

A muscular guard held a bull’s pizzle in his hand – a fearful instrument that could cause an awful lot of injury. He struck the first blow with great force. Her face distorted with pain, followed by her first screams. Then more blows followed at regular intervals. She screamed, cursed and occasionally found enough breath to plead. The blows kept on raining down. How could such a pretty girl use such foul language? For that he hit her extra hard. Her performance made up for the fact that her bottom was not naked. The people loved the show and cheered. Thin cotton did not offer much protection, anyway. Her knickers started to turn light red. She was bleeding. However, this did not deter the guard.

Her punishment ended at last. Her legs were shaky and they had to support her.

By now the second girl was completely hysterical. She kicked and cried when they dragged her to the bench and pinned her down. She was quickly tied and her dress pulled up. It served her right, when they also pulled her knickers down! The crowd cheered. Now they would truly perceive what a bull’s pizzle could do to a maiden’s bottom. And they would not be disappointed. Her screams and writhing was so much more interesting than the previous girl’s! Thirty lashes and her bottom was livid red and purple all over. Numerous bruises were oozing. The people cheered, and clapped. The guard bowed and decided to give her an encore of ten lashes more. The villagers really appreciated this gesture.

Next, it was the young man’s turn. A sturdy woman took the bull’s pizzle and strode to the bench – the Matron. The young man’s pants had a hole in them, right in the middle of one buttock and his white flesh was visible. The Matron knew her job and aimed at that one spot – over and over again. White turned into crimson. He roared and squirmed. The matron kept on relentlessly, without even counting the strokes. She only stopped after a very long time,  when her arm eventually got tired.

The foreign Torturer, Klaus, and some guards were watching the spectacle from the balcony. Klaus enquired whether the young man wasn’t the new apprentice William.  One guard whispered that William had taken the young girl to his room during the night. Someone had heard her muffled cries. William’s hand had carelessly slipped from her mouth when he had climaxed.

The German remarked, ”What an amazing woman – such a strong arm!” 

One of the guards nodded in agreement. “What would you know – she was once a …” Then he decided to keep quit. He knew too many of her dark secrets.

Hanging out to dry:

They had to hurry. They had to be on time for the arrival of the clergy for the interrogation of the ‘witch’. However, they first had to get the ‘older woman’ out of the way.

The German, Klaus, excused himself and said he had to fetch things from the workshop.

Two guards led the still wet woman to the clerk’s office so that she could sign her confession.

When the clerk saw the wet naked woman standing in front of his desk, he swallowed hard and stared rudely. He regained his composure and placed the written confession in front of her. She refused to sign and cried that she had loved her husband. She would never have murdered him. He had become ill and she had done her best to nurse him.

It was clear to everyone that she had not been softened enough. They took her away.

The German caught up with them down in the dungeons. It was a vast underground complex, stretching almost under the whole building. They stopped between two pillars which formed a high archway.

Klaus took two beautifully crafted thumbscrews from a bag and triumphantly showed what his blacksmith had made.

“We have something better” retorted a guard. He fetched a well used implement that had proven its efficacy many times.

It was a wooden plank with a hole at the top where a rope could be attached. Two metal gauntlets were fixed on the plank, each consisting of two halves with wing nuts on four corners. Two guards pinned the woman down on her face, with her arms outstretched in front of her.  One of them sat on her shoulders, and the other (Donald) lowered himself onto her firm round buttocks. Under his kilt, his bare flesh came into contact with her smooth naked skin. Nobody took any notice of what Donald did next and the woman’s rights were irrelevant.

The top halves of the metal gauntlets were removed. The insides were corrugated. Her hands were put flat on the bottom halves and the top parts were screwed back on.

Slowly they screwed the metal gauntlets tighter, with more pressure on the finger tips. Her eyes bulged with fear and she started screaming and writhing. Without mercy they continued to tighten the screws.

Donald’s ride became rougher. Her muscle spasms and contortions stimulated him. Somehow his blind passion found an available entrance and went the wrong way. Nobody noticed. The woman was screaming and could not object to the added insult.

Eventually they decided that the gloves were tight enough. Just for good measure they turned each screw another half turn.

A rope was lowered from a pulley at the top of the archway. They tied it to the board and hoisted her up.

When only the top half of her body would lift off from the floor, an annoyed guard snarled:

   “Get off her, Donald!”

She screamed when her hands began to support her full weight. As if this was not enough they fastened a disc shaped lead weight with a hole in the middle to her feet – to prevent her legs from kicking.

Now that she had been taken care of, they were free to attend to the other girl.

Every now and then a guard walked past the hanging woman. Most of them could not keep their hands off her. Some only touched and groped, but it was really bad when they pushed and swung her. This made the agony unbearable.

The witch interrogated:

A number of clergymen were seated behind a long desk in the examination room. The young girl sat in front of them, clothed in a black gown. (They had dressed her for the occasion.) Vanessa looked disheveled and tired.

An official read a long boring list of accusations. It all boiled down to her supposed personal relationship with Satan. Did she have sex with him? Did she attend his mass? How did she get there – fly?

When she denied everything, she was stripped and tied spread-eagled on the examination table. They had to search for Satan’s mark. Nobody knew what it looked like and why the Satan would leave one, but it was common knowledge that you could find it where no decent men would look. They searched thoroughly.

The clergymen eagerly leant forward to get a better look. They soon discovered that she was no longer a virgin. On closer examination they noticed redness and some small blood clots. So, her intercourse with Satan must have happened very recently.

The next thing was to search for Satan’s invisible marks. This could only be done by pricking with needles – the invisible marks were insensitive to pain. Everyone knew that! They pricked everywhere, especially the more sensitive areas, but could not find any numb spots. She squirmed and cried with every prick.

The clergymen were disappointed and departed. They said that they would return after further interrogation.  She was then taken away.

Target practice:

Later that afternoon, the guards and Klaus felt bored. The foreigner was so tiresome and had to be kept busy. They decided to do some practicing with rattan canes and improve their aim.

Four guards and Klaus went down to the dungeon where the woman was still hanging in agony. William wasn’t among them. He was in his room, feeling hurt and lying on his stomach.

They lowered the woman until the weight rested on the floor - her breasts where then just the right height. The target was her well developed nipples. Each one of them would strike ten times and they would count who hit the “bull’s eye”  most often.

The left breast would be targeted first.

A hefty guard pulled the cane far back and hit hard. The cane landed with a dull thud and a red stripe appeared just below the nipple. He shook his head and moved his arm back for the next strike. This time the sound was different – a plop – as the cane struck something more solid. The woman shrieked and instinctively tried to pull her arms down to protect herself. One hand started to slip out of the gauntlet. The guards noticed this and tightened the screws. She screamed as she felt a bone crunch her hand. They were now satisfied that she had been secured properly and resumed their practice.

It was easy to tell when the cane hit a nipple. The sound was distinctive and she screamed louder.

The first guard only found the mark three times. The other guards then tried their luck – the best result was five times.

Klaus laughed and shook his head in disbelief.  The bungling English!

The arrogant Prussian would show them how to do it.

He stripped his upper body naked. They stared in amazement – his strong muscles rippled – what a well developed torso!

He grabbed a cane and at a leisurely pace took aim, and hit her ferociously. Ten times they heard a loud plop and her hysterical shrieks confirmed how accurate his aim had been.

Of course they had to try again. Her other breast was now the target. The four guards fared slightly better the second time. They felt frustrated and challenged Klaus to show them again.

With a smirk on his face, he took position and with even more force, landed the cane on top of her nipple, time and again. Her screams echoed through the dungeons. Every time Klaus’s aim was spot on.

Eventually they took her down and placed her in a cell – fortunately a clean one this time. During the night her agony and discomfort was almost unbearable. Her hands were grossly swollen and felt on fire. Her breasts were aching all the time and she was cold and wretched.

She called Vanessa’s name several times, but there was no answer. Vanessa had been taken to the prison, under the Matron’s supervision, where the guards could use her as their plaything.

SECOND DAY OF TORTURE:

She was cold and stiff when they took her out of her cell. They dragged her to an upstairs room. A fire was burning in the hearth (in this room, the chimney worked). It was pleasantly warm and soon the chill left her body. In the middle of the room, bolted to the wooden floor planks, heavy wooden stocks waited for her legs. They did not wait long. A guard lifted the top beam, inserted her legs and locked the beam back in place. Next they placed a heavy bench over her legs and also bolted it to the floor. They helped her to sit up and placed a written confession in front of her, with a bottle of ink and a quill. She shook her head and refused to sign. She reiterated that she had not murdered her husband.

Klaus took a frying pan, and with tongs he placed glowing embers into it. He put it on the floor, a short distance in front of her feet. She stared in shock and horror. Although only her feet were immobilized and the rest of her body could move freely, there was absolutely nothing she could do to protect herself.

She felt the heat building up in her feet, getting hotter and hotter and then it started to hurt. She wriggled her feet from side to side, but nothing stopped the slowly escalating pain. The guards laughed at her predicament. She pleaded and begged and started thrashing about. They removed the pot of ink before her frantic movements could knock it over.

As the agony got worse, a howl escaped from her lips and increased to a loud high-pitched wail. Klaus took the pan away and splashed cold water over her feet. He explained that it was better to administer the torture intermittently. That way you could prolong the agony and it would intensify the outcome.

After she had stopped screaming, he filled the pan with more glowing embers and placed the frying pan slightly closer to her feet. Her screams and writhing started more rapidly. She became absolutely frantic and the guards laughed. Her feet became red as beetroot. The pain was more than she could possibly endure, but nevertheless they left the pan there even longer.

Once again Klaus removed the pan and sponged her feet with cold water. This soothed her hurt feet only slightly. He hardly gave her enough time to recover before he placed the glowing embers back, this time almost under her heels. Soon her hysterical screaming and writhing resumed.

One guard thought that she was overreacting. After all, it was only her feet. When they burnt witches, it would include all body parts.

When steam (or was it smoke?) started rising from her feet, she screamed that they must stop, she would sign. Just to make certain, they left the embers there a bit longer and made her repeat her request a couple of times. She could hardly utter the words between her screams.

They removed the embers, but did not help her by sponging her feet with cold water again. Nasty blisters had formed on the soles of her feet.

Her hands were too swollen for her to hold the quill. They tied it to her index finger and helped her to scribble her name under the confession.

A guard rushed off with her confession to the courtroom.

The sentence:

Very soon the guard returned with a court official and her execution order. She lay with her head on her arms on the bench. The official read the prescribed punishment – death by flogging. The guards looked surprised, but Klaus seemed delighted. He reminded them that this was an old, reliable technique, dating from Roman times. He knew just how to do it and would gladly assist them.

With a hoarse voice she asked: “what is going to happen to my two children?”  They shrugged and showed no interest.

They unlocked her. She could not stand on her blistered feet and Klaus threw her over his shoulder and carried her down to the dungeons.

The process:

Under the same arch, they forced her swollen hands into the gauntlets and tightened them with all their might – no chance that her hands would dislodge. Two extra heavy weights were tied to her legs. When they hoisted her up, her body was stretched out tight and immobile.

Klaus walked around her and examined her from all sides.  He opened his bag and took out a whip with a heavy wooden handle and three metal chains attached to it. All the links had sharp and jagged edges – specially made for the job.

He said you should hit here and stroked the back of her thighs and buttocks. He squeezed the middle of her upper legs and said a good nerve ran there - when you sliced into it, it would cause an exquisite reaction. (Somehow he knew of the sciatic nerve.)

He stoked the front of her legs and said you should not strike there – it would cause too much bleeding. (Experience had taught him of the presence of the femoral artery.) Next his fingers slid between her pussy lips and said “Pity that nobody is going to use this again.”

Then he also stroked her chest and upper back and said that this was a good area, with ribs protecting the vital organs.

Klaus took position and everyone stood back. Young William stood in a corner. He was still hurting from his own thrashing. When the chains whip start slicing and shredding her flesh, it was as if he could actually physically feel every stroke. Maybe it was also the sight and smell of blood, but he felt nauseous and could stand it no longer. He rushed away.

The metal whip continued to strike her thighs and buttocks with inhumane cruelty. Her screams were deafening. When the whip severed the sciatic nerves, it was as if lightning struck her and flashed through her body. Her torment became appalling.

He started lashing her back and chest, slicing into her breasts. When her ribs were exposed, it was obvious that survival would no longer be possible. His strong arm kept on wielding the murderous instrument, without mercy or pause.

Her cries stopped suddenly.

“She has fainted!” and they threw water over her to revive her. This did not help. Just to make certain, Klaus gave her a couple of vicious lashes, but there was no reaction.

They left her body hanging there until after dark. Then they buried her, under the glow of a full moon, in a shallow grave.

Nobody even knew her name.

For many years to come, in one small area in the walled garden, the plants grew lusher, plants flowered more profusely, and the large flowers were more sweet-smelling. It was an amazing sight - large numbers of butterflies flew to that one small area. A new type flew around -never seen before – with pure white wings and two circular brown spots.

Whenever the two lean children walked to the woods to pick berries, a white butterfly with brown spots would circle around them and then lead them to the best areas.