The Spanish Donkey: Medieval History’s Most Horrific Torture Method

Throughout history, two things have remained constant. First, the intermingling of cultures has produced countless local variations of original ideas, be it cuisine, or language, or fashion. Second, human history is an unending tale of brutality and heinous torture, with most places in Europe celebrating the public dismembering of “apparently” unsociable members of society in the Middle Ages. 


Human society has seemed to enjoy the visual spectacle of the pain and suffering experienced by other human beings since time immemorial. And many will claim that the most horrible medieval torture device of all time was the Spanish Donkey or the Wooden Horse.

The Wooden Horse, chevalet, or Spanish Donkey was an extremely painful and horrific medieval torture device. It was first used by the Holy Inquisition in France and then in Spain and Germany, and then it migrated to the Americas, gaining prominence there during the colonial period . The principle design was the same wherever it was used. It was a triangular wooden box with a very sharp top end (i.e., where the horse’s spine would be).

The appliance was constructed of wood, with planks nailed together to form an elongated sharp ridge, which would serve as the horse’s back. These were supported by four legs fixed to a stand, some 6 or 7 feet (1.8-2.1 meters) high, with wheels fitted to the bottom of the legs so the entire device could be rolled across the floor or ground. A head and tail would be attached to make the torture device look like a huge almost “fun” wooden horse.

The offender would be mounted upon the horse, with weights on their ankles, and their hands tied behind their back. They were expected to maintain this position for hours, sometimes days.

On the Wooden Horse, with the chains applied, the victim’s or prisoner’s full weight was on their vulva or pelvis. Ankle weights were added to either side to make the skin tear apart. Severe pain would be caused to the victim in their crotch and bottom area, but if the punishment was intended to be even more brutal, the victim would be split into two halves. This made the Wooden Horse one of the most brutal torture devices in history, ever (and that’s saying something!).

In his monumental work, Torture and Democracy , Professor Darius Rejali writes that “The Wooden Horse was a large trestle with a sharp ridge or angle eight or nine feet long. Sometimes it was customary to add wheels, a wooden horse’s head, and a tail. The handcuffed prisoner straddled the ridge that dug into the cleft between his legs. Guards tied muskets to the legs to strain the thighs, or “as was jocularly said, [to keep] their horse from kicking them off.” It was reserved for infantry men, since these soldiers were unaccustomed to riding horses

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