what was the iron maiden for in the olden days ?

An iron maiden is an iron cabinet built to torture or kill a person by piercing the body with sharp objects (such as knives, spikes, or nails), while he or she is forced to remain standing. The condemned bleeds profusely and is weakened slowly, eventually dying because of blood loss, or perhaps asphyxiation. It is often associated with the Middle Ages, but in fact was not invented until the 19th Century[1].

The most famous device was the iron maiden of Nuremberg. Historians have ascertained that Johann Philipp Siebenkees created the history of it as a hoax in 1793. According to Siebenkees' colportage, it was first used on August 14, 1515, to execute a coin forger[2]. The Nuremberg iron maiden was actually built in the 19th century as a probable misinterpretation of a medieval "Schandmantel" ("cloak of shame"), which was made of wood and tin but without spikes. Accounts of the iron maiden cannot be found from any period older than 1793, although most other medieval torture devices were extensively cataloged.[citation needed]

The iron maiden of Nuremberg was anthropomorphic. It was probably styled after Mary, the mother of Jesus, with a carved likeness of her on the face. The "maiden" was about 7 feet (2.1m) tall and 3 feet (0.9m) wide, had double doors, and was big enough to contain an adult man. Inside the tomb-sized container, the iron maiden was fitted with dozens of sharp spikes. Several nineteenth century iron maidens are on display in museums around the world, but it is unlikely that they were ever employed. The iron maiden probably was not used until the twentieth century.

The iron maiden was a box shaped generally in the shape of a person, with a hinge on one side, and lined with spikes. The person was places standing into the device, which was closed around them. To increase the torture, the closure was tightened, driving the spikes into the person.

I'm not sure that use of the device would constitute very effective torture as it would quickly lead to death, but the THREAT of the device was probably quiet effective.

Okay, so the poor shmuck would bet thrown in. Then, the gaoler (a fancy word for the person in charge of torture and the jail) would point out all the spines, and ask the person questions. If they didn't answer (or didn't say what the gaoler wanted to hear), they would start closing the doors (or the arms, if it was really high quality). They would stop one final time right before the spines punctured the flesh.

You can guess what happened if they said the wrong thing.

A few kinds even had a trap door for easy cleaning. Next!

It was a coffin-like contraption standing upright and kinda shaped like a woman, some even had faces on them (Just saw something about them the other day on the History Channel) all laced with sharp spikes. The victim would be placed inside and the Iron Maiden was closed, piercing them from all sides and angles. Some had traps at bottom to dispose of blood and pieces of flesh.

An iron maiden is an iron cabinet built to torture or kill a person by piercing the body with sharp objects (such as knives, spikes, or nails), while he or she is forced to remain standing. The condemned bleeds profusely and is weakened slowly, eventually dying because of blood loss, or perhaps asphyxiation. It is often associated with the Middle Ages, but in fact was not invented until the 19th Century

A medieval instrument of torture consisting of an iron frame in the form of a (female) person in which the victim was enclosed and impaled on interior spikes. Some versions also were heated with the victim inside.

iron maiden was a box shaped generally in the shape of a person, with a hinge on one side, and lined with spikes...

The iron maiden was used to insure a man that his wife/daughter/mistress was not going to cheat on him while he was away on business, or away from home for other reasons. It was a metal belt with a crotch piece. There was a dull metal spike in the crotch piece that fitted into the woman's vagina, essentially plugging it so that no other man could enter her. The iron maiden fit snugly, and was locked into place. Only the man who put it on his woman was able to take it off.

It was in the shape of a women ,inside had many spikes when closed it would puncture your body.

IRON MAIDEN WAS MADE FOR REAL MUSIC FOR PEOPLE TO KNOW HOW PLAY REAL MUSIC AND WHAT REAL MUSIC SOUNDS LIKE. (I KNOW YOU ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT THE BAND BUT I DONT CARE)

UP THE IRONS.