Torture dungeon – White Tower, The Tower of London

White Tower: Torture in the Dungeon

Within a castle complex the "dungeon" serves as the prison area. A dungeon (a term that evolved from the Norman word donjon) was located in the basement, or lowest level, of a keep and was normally used as a prison. In architecture, the most fortified area and the heart of a medieval castle was referred to as a "keep." Gundolf, Bishop of Rochester (d. 1108), is thought to be the original architect for this layout when he had the White Tower (Tower of London) built. Gundolf, Bishop of Rochester (d. 1108), is thought to be the original architect for this layout when he had the White Tower (Tower of London) built. A Norman keep is typically a very large square tower. Wells were often cleverly concealed within the medieval keep in a thick pillar or wall. Besides the White Tower in London, some of the most famous keeps from the Norman era in England are: Castle Hedingham, Arundel, Newcastle, and those at Rochester. A "shell keep," like the ones found at Conisborough and Windsor, is a circular shaped keep. The verb "to keep" seems to have been in use in the 11th century and was originally defined as to seize or lay hold of something–one can clearly see how our modern usage (to guard, retain possession of, and to observe) has developed.

The Tower of London was primarily used as a fortified royal palace and as a prison where high ranking prisoners–princes and queens–could be kept. The Tower was also known to be a place where criminals were tortured and executed. During the religious unrest that was prevalent in the 1500s and the 1600s, the Tower was used to torture people who had heterodox beliefs. Torture was not just a means of punishing criminals, but was also one of the primary methods for gathering information about dissident groups. Prisoners were already presumed to be guilty if they were in the Tower–torture was merely used to glean more information about other group members and possible threats to the Crown. There were particular instruments used to torture prisoners, such as "the rack," a device where the victim, whose arms and legs were tied to either end, would be stretched until their joints were dislocated, prisoners could also be hung up by their wrists with manacles, or they could have their body crushed with "Skeffington Irons" By the 17th century, critics proclaimed that torture was cruel and it was abandoned.