Foot roasting is a method of

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

used since ancient times. The torture takes advantage of the extreme sensitivity of the sole of the foot to heat. The

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

immobilized the prisoner and pressed red-hot iron plates to the soles of his feet. The

Spanish Inquisition The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition ( es, Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition ( es, Inquisición española), was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand ...

bound the prisoner face-upward to the rack with his bare feet secured in a

stocks Stocks are feet restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law describing ...

. The soles of the feet were basted with

lard Lard is a semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of a pig.Lard
entry in the o ...

or oil and slowly barbecued over a

brazier A brazier () is a container used to burn charcoal or other solid fuel for cooking, heating or cultural rituals. It often takes the form of a metal box or bowl with feet. Its elevation helps circulate air, feeding oxygen to the fire. Braziers h ...

of burning coals. A screen could be interposed between the feet and the coals to modulate the exposure, while a

bellows A bellows or pair of bellows is a device constructed to furnish a strong blast of air. The simplest type consists of a flexible bag comprising a pair of rigid boards with handles joined by flexible leather sides enclosing an approximately airtigh ...

controlled the intensity of the flame. A version that consisted of a chair with an integrated foot stocks was referred to as the Spanish chair, but this is readily confused with the Iron chair. By way of contrast, in the Brittany chair, the coals were held in a movable iron tray which could be cranked upward until it actually made contact with the feet. Added diversions included placing slivers of hot coals between the toes, or suspending the prisoner head-downward and placing hot coals directly on the soles. The destruction of the Order of the

Knights Templars , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

is credited largely to foot roasting, which was committed with savagery sufficient to, literally, drive the sufferers to insanity; to add to the hideous cruelty, many Knights also had their toes denailed. Foot roasting remains a popular technique of torture to this day. During the Cold War, KGB torturers made use of metal

clothes iron A clothes iron (also flatiron, smoothing iron, or simply iron) is a small appliance that, when heated, is used to press clothes to remove wrinkles and unwanted creases. Domestic irons generally range in operating temperature from between to . ...

s heated red-hot and applied directly to the naked soles or explored the delicate webbing between the prisoner's toes using either a

soldering iron A soldering iron is a hand tool used in soldering. It supplies heat to melt solder so that it can flow into the joint between two workpieces. A soldering iron is composed of a heated metal tip (the ''bit'') and an insulated handle. Heating i ...

or an electric wood-burning pencil.

Knights Templar

Foot roasting was one of the principal tortures used to extract supposed confessions of

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

and other accusations made against the

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

after their arrest in October 1307. It is recorded that one Templar's feet were so savagely tortured that—as he was being carried back to his cell—various pieces of charred bone fell from his feet to the floor. Prisoners could also be suspended head-downwards from stocks, with hot coals placed directly on the soles of the feet—held in place by gravity—while thin slivers of burning embers were slid between pairs of adjacent toes.

Roman Empire

The litany of ancient Roman tortures included the use of iron slippers, heated red-hot, into which a prisoner's bare foot was thrust and which was left in place while the prisoner was forced to dance.

Brittany

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

, an enhanced interrogation chair was used that immobilized the feet and provided a movable tray of coals that could be cranked up and down, eventually making physical contact with the soles of the feet.

Star kicking

A form of torture called "star kicking" supposedly began with Countess Elizabeth Bathory, who derived sadistic pleasure from placing oiled bits of paper or string between her prisoners’ toes and lighting the material on fire, inflicting savage burns. The name of the torture is presumably reflective of its victims' pathetic efforts to kick the offending material loose, showering the vicinity with sparks. As recently as 1982, five inmates in an Idaho jail tortured a younger boy in their cell for over four hours by winding toilet paper around and between his toes and setting it on fire, muffling his screams and hiding their activities when patrolling deputies walked past.

References

{{Reflist Torture Ancient instruments of torture