The Tower of London The most popular instrument of torture in medieval England was the rack. It was introduced by the Duke of Exeter and even became known as the “Duke of Exeter’s Daughter.” This insidious device stretched the body “until the bones and joints were almost plucked asunder.” If they did not die of their injuries, they were often so injured that they could not take part in their public confessions. Most notorious prisnoners were kept in “Little Ease,” a small cell impossible in which to stand upright or lay down. They may stay crouched for a week before their torture began in earnest. Other means of torture used in the Tower included the thumbscrew, the boot, the caschie-laws, the langirnis, the narrow-bore, the iron collar, the pynebanis, the bilboes (which compressed the ankles), the pilliwinks (which squeezed the fingers), and the brakes, a device used to break the victims’ teeth. Victims were burned with fire, had gauze forced down into their stomach, and had water pou