Squassation

Squassation one of the three kinds of torture commonly used by the Inquisition to extort confession. It consisted in tying back the arms of the victim by a cord, fastening weights to his feet, and drawing him up to the full height of the place by means of a pulley. He was then suddenly let down to within a short distance of the floor, and by the repeated shocks all his joints were dislocated. This torture was continued for an hour or longer, according to the pleasure of the inquisitors present and to what, the strength of the sufferer seemed capable of enduring. See Barnum, Romanism as It Is, p. 383.