Torture: Knotting
This
form of torture was specific to women. It involved tying a stick into
a woman's hair and twisting it tighter and tighter. When the Inquisitor
no
longer had the strength to twist, he would hold the victim's head
or fasten it in a holding device until burly men could take over the
chore.
Not only would the hair be ripped out, but the scalp would often be
torn open, exposing the skull-cap.
As expected, only women with thick or long hair were chosen for this
torture. Reports exist of this torture being used in Germany against
Gypsies
(1740s-1750s) and in Russia as late as the Bolshevik Revolution in
1917-1918.