... Judas Cradle The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins? ---Edgar Allan Poe The Duke Sometimes called the Judas Chair, this instrument was another one of those dastardly devices of the Middle Ages---though unlike the Iron Maiden , this device actually belonged to the Middle Ages and wasn't just "accused" of belonging. Judas Cradle/Judas Chair with harness and ropes present The mechanism for the Judas Cradle or Judas Chair was simple. The victim/accused/heretic/whatever was lifted by a series of ropes, after being strapped into a leather waist-belt, then lifted above a pyramid-shaped block of wood. Once positioned appropriately, the victim/accused/heretic/whatever was then lowered until they were "sitting" atop the apex of the pyramid. Most often their legs were tied together and stretched forward, though there were some interrogators who ...