Tortured testimonies

Manuals of jurisprudence in early modern Europe stipulated that the notary record not only the words but also the grimaces and the screams of the defendant during interrogations under torture. This paper explores these "tortured testimonies" from the Roman Inquisition, problematizes them as historical sources, and offers suggestions about how historians might approach them. The article examines the documents under two lights: (1) in relation to the institutional structures and protocols which gave them their particular form; and (2) in relation to the cultural assumptions that shaped a ritual in which pain was seen as an index of the conscience of the accused.

Duke Scholars

Author John Jeffries Martin History