London history 3

• Engels
• MBO
• Studiejaar 2

London's Horrible History

In four lessons we'll be learning about the horrid things that have happened in London.

Goal:

By the end of the lesson you'll know more about 1 historical event + 1 important figure of London's past.

Today you'll be hearing more about Torture in the Middle Ages but first let's discuss a barber from Fleet Street: Sweeney Todd...

Task: 

Listen and watch + do the activities in class. 

Your homework can be 

found on the last slide(s)!

Sweeney Todd

Name: Benjamin Barker

Nicknames: 

Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Age: 32

Occupation: barber, serial killer

Trademark appearance:

white shirt & black waist-coat with a set of
stainless steel straight razors

Profile

Favourite hangouts:

Mrs Lovett's Pie Shop Basement, 186 Fleet Street London

Likes:

Razors, pies, trapdoors, basements

Dislikes:

Figures of the law, vegetarians, skinny people

Looking for:

Meaty gentlemen

Torture in the 

Middle Ages

Torture has been used for over 2000 years and so its origings have been lost in history. However, most of the world's civilizations have used torture as a way of punishing their victims or to find out information.

Many of the instruments of torture you will see in the Dungeons have been around for hundreds of yeards, 

and they still have the power to make you shiver.

Let's check out the video...

Instrument of Torture

Rate these medieval torture implements 

Which do you think is the most painful? 
(1 = painful, 5 = immenent death)

The Cage

Paying for torturers and equipment was expensive. Because of this, the basic metal cage was quite popular. The victim was simply locked inside, pulled up on a chain and left for as long as was required depending on the crime.

The Wheel

There were many different versions of this punishment. Often it involved a near-naked victim being tied across a large cart-wheel. The torturer, with a heavy hammer, then smashed the bones in every limb and joint of the victim, without causing death.

The Saw

Specialised instruments were expensive and not always available, so everyday tools were often used instead. The saw was an example of this. Victims would have various limbs or toes or fingers sawn off depending on what they had done.

The Heretics Fork

Religious men used this fiendish device to stop heretics (a person who held beliefs that were not thos of the Catholic church) from saying something they did not want to hear. This double fork, with two sharp prongs at each end, was placed between the victim's lower jaw and breastbone and held in place with a collar, so if they spoke, they would wound themselves badly.

The Head Crusher

This machine was made of metal and was helmet shaped and held the victim's head still. A cap on top was forced down by a powerful screw mechanism, shattering the bones of the skull. Unsurprisingly, it often caused death.

Write approximately 250 words (in Dutch) on Sweeney Todd +

write  job adversitement/poster for a medieval torturer. Check out the requirements on the next slide.

Hand it in next week
(print it out please)!!!

Show me next week!

(write this stuff down in your notebook)

Homework Exercise

Imagine that you have been asked to write a job advertisement for a medieval torturer. Write about 150-200 words (in English this time). You can turn this into a poster or billboard (with pictures and such). Make sure you include the following information:

- what the torturer's main responsibilitis will be

- who he will be working with

- what kind of personality might suit the role

- previous experience required