Wooden horse (device)

This article is about the punitive device. For the hollow wooden horse used in the legendary siege of Troy, see Trojan Horse. For the film, see The Wooden Horse. For the vault apparatus used in gymnastics, see Vault (gymnastics).
Cavalletto at the Inquisitor's Palace, in Birgu

A wooden horse, Chevalet (as it was called in Spain), Spanish donkey or cavalletto squarciapalle is a torture device, of which there exist two variations; both inflict pain by using the subject's own weight by keeping the legs open, tied with ropes from above, while lowering down the subject.[1] The French called this instrument the chevalet, from the French diminutive of cheval, horse.[2]

  1. ^ Bonello, Giovanni (2007). "Notes for a History of the Judiciary at the Time of the Order". judiciarymalta.gov.mt. p. 4. Archived from the original on 2020-02-21.
  2. ^ "chevalet". merriam-webster.com. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 20 May 2019.