John Coustos was accused of the crime of freemasonry and in 1743 was imprisoned by the Inquisition of Lisbon, surviving the ordeal he documented what occurred. Refusing to divulge the secrets of his order, Coustos was taken to the torture chamber. Stripped of everything but his underpants, he was fixed on his back on the rack, his neck enclosed in an iron collar, and his feet attached to two rings. Two ropes the size of a man's little finger were wound around each arm and leg and passed through holes made for the purpose in the rack. The ropes were drawn tight by the executioners, cutting through the flesh to the bone, and causing blood to gush out from the wounds made. According to Coustos the 'executioners bent their strength to the task four different times' and at the fourth time their victim fainted through the loss of blood and pain.
After he was allowed to recuperate for six weeks, Coustos was again brought to the torture chamber. This time the procedure was somewhat different. He was made to stretch out his arms with the palms of his hands turned outwards. His wrists were tied, and then a machine gradually drew his hands together behind him until the backs of them touched. This was repeated twice more, and in the process his shoulders were dislocated and blood gushed from his mouth. He was taken back to his dungeon, and his bones were set by surgeons. Two months later Coustos was back in the torture chamber. This time a thick iron chain was passed twice around his body, crossing over his stomach. The chain terminated in rings which were fastened to his wrists. He was then placed against a thick wooden partition, at each end of which was a pulley. Ropes were fastened to the rings on his wrists and run through the pulleys, the other ends being fixed to a roller. This roller being set in motion, the ropes gradually tightened, pulling the chain tighter across his stomach until it bit into his flesh and pulled his wrists out of joint and dislocated his shoulders. The surgeons again set his bones, and after the wounds had healed Coustos was tortured the same way again. Through it all Coustos remained silent. Failing to get answers from him, the Inquisition sentenced Coustos to four years service as a galley- slave and banished him from the country. Research Torture of John Coustos
The rack was an apparatus of torture employed by the Inquisition, varying somewhat in its construction in different countries, though its principle was the same in all. The rack stood about one metre from the ground and consisted of a stout wooden framework with sticks across it in the manner of a ladder. The victim was stretched upon this frame, his wrists and ankles being attached with strong cords to two rollers, one at each end of the rack. These rollers were operated by levers which moved in opposite directions to each other. When the victim was securely fastened on the rack, the questions to which answers were desired were put to him.
Failure to reply satisfactorily was the signal for the two executioners to commence operating the levers. The result was the stretching of the victim's limbs and body. If persisted in, this was bound to cause dislocation of the joints or to drag off the members. In some cases the limbs were stretched in much the same manner as on the rack but by means of ropes and pulleys attached to rings or staples in the walls. Occasionally the tortures of the rack were varied or increased by the use of cords in addition to the stretching mechanism. The arms and legs were bound to the sides of the rack with thin but strong cords. These cords were wound around each limb three times, and a stick was inserted in each. When all was ready for the torture to commence, the executioners twisted these sticks, thus gradually tightening the cords and causing them to cut into the flesh until the bones were reached, inflicting terrible wounds. Research Torture of the Rack
Anne Askew was an English victim of religious persecution. She was born in 1521 and died in 1546. She was a daughter of Sir William Askew of Lincolnshire, and was married to a wealthy neighbour named Kyme, who, irritated by her Protestantism, drove her from his house. In London, whither she went probably to procure a divorce, she spoke against the dogmas of the old faith, and being tried was condemned to death as a heretic. Being put to the rack to extort a confession concerning those with whom she corresponded, she continued firm, and was then taken to Smithfield, chained to a stake, and burned. Research Anne Askew
Robert Southwell was an English Jesuit priest and poet. He was born in 1561 at Horsham St Faith, Norwich and died in 1595. Educated at Dousai and Paris, in 1577 he was received into the Society of Jesus at Rome where he became prefect of the English college. He was ordained as a priest in 1584, and returned to England in 1587 to minister his col-religionists in defiance of the Act excluding English-born Roman Catholic priests from the kingdom. He became chaplain to the countess of Arundel, but in 1592 was betrayed and was imprisoned in the Tower of London where he was tortured, including suffering thirteen separate sessions on the rack, before being hanged at Tyburn on February the 21st 1595. Research Robert Southwell
A sphygmograph or pulsometer was an old medical instrument for recording the movements of the arterial wall during and between the pulse beats. One of the earliest forms was invented by Marey, and consists of a lever with an elastic spring. One end of the spring is placed on the radial artery, and has above it a rack and pinion attached to a lever. The other end of the lever carries a style, which records on a moving smoked plate the movements of the vessel wall. The smoked plate is moved at a known rate by clockwork, and the pressure of the spring upon the artery can be regulated by a screw. Research Sphygmograph
The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle of the Great War. On May the 30th 1916, in response to low morale in Germany, the newly appointed commander-in- chief of the navy, Admiral von Scheer, ordered the High Seas Fleet to leave the Kielcanal in force with the objective of attacking British cruisers and merchant ships in and outside the Skager-Rack. The German fleet sailed in two divisions: in the van was von Hipper's battle-cruiser squadron of five ships with attendant cruisers and destroyers; and some sixty miles astern, the battle fleet of some nineteen or twenty battleships, twenty light cruisers. The British were alerted by unusual radio traffic over the North Sea and Jellicoe's Grand Fleet and Beatty's battle-cruiser squadron sailed on the night of the 30th of May and took up position the next morning and engaged the enemy. Although the British losses were greater than the German, the German fleet retreated back to its harbours. Research Battle of Jutland
The Gaucher Carbine RA is a French, semi-automaticcarbine produced in .22 Long Rifle calibre. The Gaucher Carbine RA takes a 9-round cartridgeholder and has a 50 cm barrel threaded to take an optional silencer. The Gaucher Carbine RA is fitted with a rack sight and bead tunnel sight and has a mounting for a telescopic sight. Research Gaucher Carbine RA
The Gaucher Gazelle is a range of French bolt-actionhunting and sporting rifles produced in .22 Long Rifle calibre. The Gaucher Gazelle takes a 9-round cartridgeholder and has a 55 cm long barrel threaded to take a silencer. It is fitted with a rack sight and bead tunnel and has a mounting for a telescopic sight. Research Gaucher Gazelle
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Duke of Exeter's Daughter
