The Oubliette: A Medieval Torture of Unspeakable Horror...

During the early medieval era imprisonment was not really a thing. It was more common to either fine, mutilate or execute criminals. But in turbulent times of war, it was often necessary to hold political prisoners who could be used for negotiation and inducement. Even so, only the most high-level captives would actually be held hostage for long periods of time. Incarcerating common criminals was just not worth the effort or the expense. Today, we're going to learn about The Oubliette, a medieval torture of unspeakable horror.
0:00 Introduction
2:10 The Dungeon
5:12 The Bottle
6:53 The Oubliette
🎶🎶 Music by CO.AG: / @co.agmusic
Narrated by James Wade
Edited by James Wade & Adam Longster
Thank you for watching.
DISCLAIMER: All materials in these videos are used for entertainment purposes and fall within the guidelines of fair use. No copyright infringement is intended. If you are, or represent the copyright owner of materials used in this video, and have an issue with the use of said material, please email us at [e-mail]
Copyright © 2022 Top5s All rights reserved. In this video, we've compiled information from a variety of sources, including documentaries, books, and websites, all with the aim of providing an engaging viewing experience. While we strive to ensure accuracy, we acknowledge that there may be variations in the authenticity of the content. We encourage viewers to delve deeper and conduct their own research to corroborate the information presented.

[@babylonian5]

People back then probably played a lot of video games to become so violent.

[@KatiTheButcher]

I would be pissed 24/7 due to putting up with my own stink and swamp a$$.

[@Asdf-mz3xx]

Lol

[@michaeldavies4692]

Ugh swamp ass!

[@leviblevins513]

That's pretty funny.

[@insectslayer1374]

The pause button probably hasn't been invented yet so I can't blame them

[@rolloxra670]

No phones around, just people living the moment

[@randyg.7940]

What do you care, you're just a cat

[@bullettime1116]

And also this which I am glad I wasn't there for

[@xx_purplecloud._.25]

​@@randyg.7940huh?

[@user-rz7vy7bh4i]

@@randyg.7940 excellence shines within thee

[@g.h.7661]

They drank water straight from the hose back then

[@jamescolbert1]

Based on the title, the video starts at 6:52

[@99wmac]

Much appreciated

[@virtuallyreal5849]

Thank you, sir

[@g-raff6107]

Thanks

[@SingularityMedia]

Thanks, the waffling got tedious.

[@its_lucky252]

thx

[@pedobear8071]

"Life is so cruel in these times, i wish i could go back in time and live in the old days" The old days:

[@me67galaxylife]

The old days : has this happen like 3 times Nowadays : Pedophiles don’t get arrested even in plain sight Normies : Huuughhh this was such a dark and cruel time !

[@rasmus6486]

​@@me67galaxylife Bro.... People back then would laugh about our problems. It was normal to marry a 12 year old so your argument is useless

[@SeanMichaelWesley]

What most people mean when they say that is, “Before the civil rights era” just to let you know.

[@me67galaxylife]

@@rasmus6486 Actually there are very few example of this happening if at all, and even if it did it would be the exception not the rule. Also they weren't different from us, they hated pedophilia, so if anything shady happened...

[@trosenthal3711]

@@me67galaxylife you’re absolutely right. This whole channel has made it its mission to paint the medieval age in a bad light. A lot of this mentality is probably just trying to make the modern age and its perversion seem like a utopia compared to Christian monarchy.

[@1977Futre]

When I am having a 'bad day' I watch stuff like this and realise that life isn't so bad after all.

[@robertfan332]

Same here. My mind eats me alive but if I had to spend 1 hour in the situation we see here or what Junko Furuta went through for 44 days or Sylvia Likens or Blanche Monnier trapped in an attic room with zero light for 25 years or the people in concentration camps in North Korea, it would shock me back to my senses.

[@ValoPlay724]

The crazy thing is that this kind of stuff wasn't even that long ago: roughly 10 lifetimes. Makes me wonder what kinds of everyday things we do now that people will be horrified of 800 years from now.

[@robertfan332]

@@ValoPlay724 good point. Not long ago. Only 10 lifetimes ago wow. They still necklace people in Africa for stealing a pillow or loaf of bred. It's awful. Maybe the burning tire is to help them die faster from the smoke. Women are set on fire by their family's in parts of the middle east and genital mutilation for women there is very common. In India they still stone women to death sometimes not long ago it happened because someone said they saw her speaking to another man in the market place. The men are buried up to their torso if they escape they are free the women are buried up to their necks with a cloth over their head. I'd be so scared that the cloth would be soaked in sweat. Then the towns people start throwing rocks. They found her, a big guy put her in a headlock and they dragged her to the site and dug a hole and put her in. Imagine that first rock hitting you and you truly realize then. Oh wow I'm going to die now by my head being crushed from big rocks being thrown by people I know because I spoke to someone. A girl in a middle eastern country ran away from home because she knew her mother and brother would kill her for having sex. When they spoke to her in phone they gave the phone her favorite uncle who talked her into coming back and that he would protect her. As soon as she got there they grabbed her tied her to the bed and set her on fire. In the future pitbulls will be banned. They're already banned in 40 countries but not the US. Every single week I read of a terrible attack mauls a child or baby to death or leaves a mother with 2 arms amputated or a man with both legs amputated then he dies or a 23 year old dogsitter lady getting her face ripped off by the dogs she went to dogsit before she even reached the door. I know the name, age location of the last 670 fatal pitbull attack victims. It's a loving breed in ideal conditions but incredibly violent when not trained and chidren pay the price for our stupidity. I believe in the future all of these things may be outlawed.

[@dirtybanana3]

exactly! or when you think your job sucks do a little research into the whaling industry in the 1800s and what those guys had to go through

[@mihailmilev9909]

@@dirtybanana3 exactly lol

[@Jose-xh5qb]

I knew about them from Crusader Kings II. I threw all my prisoners there because I found the word "Oubliette" fun to say.

[@jacobturner1490]

Haha, you go into funny pit! "O God, nooooooo!"

[@Kitsune-kun663]

good to kill them without losing piety

[@EQOAnostalgia]

lol

[@KQuinn672]

😂😂

[@Yea___]

Just like a real noble

[@ns123k9]

These videos are a reminder to be thankful for being born in this era

[@_6079SMITH]

But don't think for one second that this type of shit still doesn't happen somewhere and more importantly, couldn't happen again.

[@dsplodge86]

The 20th century was bloodier than the previous 19 centuries. The 21st century is proving no better.

[@Love-kc6yk]

​@@malcolmburn1113 It always seems like a distant possibility until a certain type of leader comes into power, whips people into a frenzy and finds a group to name as the cause of all the problem the nation is experiencing.

[@candide1065]

Deserves the award for the most stupid millenial-comment this year.

[@cordellscott]

@@Love-kc6yk Sounds like the democrats and "white supremacy"

[@PopTartNeko]

No wonder french revolutionaries called their guillotine as the most "humane form of execution"... The torture and execution methods the aristocracy came up with just don't compare in terms of cruelty.

[@matthewverostek5567]

The guillotine was created by a doctor of the same name who opposed the death penalty but knew it wouldn't be abolished he devised a method that would end it as quickly and painlessly as possible. He was horrified that people referred to his device with his own name. The first guillotine was constructed by a harpsicord maker.

[@onii-chandaisuki5710]

The French Revolutionaries, mainly Robespierre and Saint-Just, began the revolution being opposed to capital punishment altogether. Revolutionaries always seem to do this, say the current regime is bad because of their use of capital punishment, but then proceed to use capital punishment themselves once they have power. There was even supposed to be a vote on the execution of the King but Saint-Just knew people would vote against it and pushed the execution against the wishes of the people.

[@ChristineFisher123]

I suspect many prisoners who were thrown into these tiny pits would have lost their sanity and went mad before they actually starved or died.

[@krissyramsey3934]

We can only pray my

[@mwbright]

People sure do get vile.

[@dalemoss4684]

Indeed

[@veronicawilson7594]

Death from dehydration can take as few as 3 days with no water so if they were lucky and it was a dry hot summer they could pass relatively quickly.

[@toasteddingus6925]

@@veronicawilson7594 being so deep underground they would retain moisture thus ensuring the prisoners more often than not would lick the walls for some relief thus prolonging their demise

[@MagdaleneDivine]

Worst part is they don't let you make any contact to.let anyone know where you are. You just disappeared and everyone would just kind of wonder where you went.

[@golden.lights.twinkle2329]

No cellphones back then.

[@gashscumkar6909]

Fancy that

[@lostpony4885]

Probably you were tortured before they threw you in if they werent busy.

[@brianmincher716]

I dunno, I think maybe the torture and killing would be the worst part, but not getting to contact your family and friends would suck too.

[@kawaiicake8038]

I feel like that was just how it was back then. Like I feel people became numb to death very early on and a lot in general(hence so many horrible things of torture made probably) so if someone disappeared they’d be like, welp shit happens, or, it is what it iiiss

[@ratbagley]

Wife and I were in Prague and visited the medieval torture museum. It literally made me feel sick to my stomach and I left early.

[@cv507]

yör knött indjän like us swästüggär bärehrce -:-

[@JD-td6oh]

Softtttttttttttttttt

[@clementine5366]

@@JD-td6oh people handle things differently.

[@JD-td6oh]

@@clementine5366 true dat

[@psurrett1]

Its ok princess

[@Grinlathak]

Learned about the "Oubliette" from the movie Labyrinth. Also learned there are worse fates such as being submerged in the Bog of Eternal Stench.

[@helenaawdry8916]

I was looking for this comment!

[@Grinlathak]

@@helenaawdry8916 "So much as set one foot in the Bog of Eternal Stench and you'll stink forever" ~ Hoggle

[@EveryoneneedsaGary]

Magic dance

[@dhalsim-1]

I enter the bog of stench once a day

[@thear.363]

One of my fav movies of all time! I still say “‘Alo!” like the little worm critter in the labyrinth wall at the beginning. Lol! 🎵“Dance, dance magic dance….”🎵 🔮

[@johnbartholf777]

While torture was common over the years, most historians agree that 9 times out of 10, what some romantic types had identified as "oubliettes" were, in fact, septic tanks for the castle. Not to say they weren't later used to dispose of victims, but that was not their primary purpose.

[@paemonyes8299]

Your comment literally made me feel so much relief! So I presume they were just toilets that seldomly get repurposed into torture chambers? It’s still awful nevertheless to imagine being locked up in such a compact disgusting place. I’m just a teen girl ok so sorry if I sound overdramatic

[@TristandeRobillard]

@@paemonyes8299 You're not being overly dramatic, don't worry, it's a horrific fate. But just in general, you don't have to apologise for being a teenage girl. The real shame there is on the rest of us for making you feel like you need to.

[@sirsmokesalot730]

@@TristandeRobillard gross ass discord mod

[@Osama-Bon-Jovi-01]

That's even worse! Imagine being thrown into a septic tank to rot and die? 🤢

[@dantemeriere5890]

@@TristandeRobillard Rule #29 of the internet: *on the internet, men are men, women are also men and kids are undercover FBI agents*. A person who identifies as a female on the internet, especially when they find a way to broadcast they are women in a conversation that has nothing to do with gender, PARTICULARLY when they claim to be a young woman, are almost certainly not women at all. It's most likely a "role player" or someone looking for attention, as humans are far more sympathetic towards women, further proven by your reaction.

[@russellham2094]

Horrible fate. Realistically the smell, that will have permanently been present, in the lower floors of these dungeons, must have been stunning.

[@tristanober5383]

Rampant disease, as well. Especially in the underground ones, the constant moisture and decomposing remains, along with the body heat of the living victim would've been an absolute playground for micro organisms.

[@nunya3097]

I wonder what it would take to dry up the moisture and heal the disease & cast out the microorganisms if the people could be saved???

[@KajiCarson]

@@nunya3097 A biblical flood of boiling water.

[@kw9849]

@@nunya3097 In an old stone structure like that? It would be nearly impossible with the technology of the time.

[@Fitz1993]

@@nunya3097 Considering they all fucking died about 3 centuries ago, Id say your chances of saving them are probably pretty slim...

[@muskelvand]

I got chills from your way of describing the Oubliette. We all know that daunting feeling of damp, cold humidity. At least I think it reminds me of the worst time ever… We also know the uncomfortable feeling of standing or sitting for a prolonged period of time until aching all over the body. I can’t imagine how that would have felt. I mean, they obviously only slept when they were completely exhausted. Standing there, amongst rats in what would be like maybe 7°C or less, cold, hungry, thirsty, standing on their bare feet in some corpse from another unfortunate victim and their own feces, piss and puke. Getting bit by rats, suffering illnesses and mental distress. In darkness. Only for scarce food and drink to be tossed down at you and all you can feel is just your food, your probably half rotten and uncooked meal hit the disgusting walls until it hits you and continue on down to the bottom for you to never be able to get it. And not to mention the spiders and other creepy crawlies. And some of these people did nothing to deserve it while they’re just trying to get by the best they can.

[@vicvega3614]

Holy shit, i felt your comment, id seriously find a way to unalive myself. You should be a writer ur descriptions are really good

[@muskelvand]

​@@vicvega3614Haha, thank you very much. I read a lot of Stephen King and Dean Koontz from time to time. I love immersive describtions.

[@may51973]

Thank you so much for your vivid description. I'm going to have nightmares

[@muskelvand]

@@may51973 You're welcome doesn't cut it here, but you are all the same! Hope you've recovered a bit 🥹

[@mr.merleb]

RIP to all the poor souls who passed away in such cruel and unforgiving ways...

[@dumpling3309]

Imagine how many falsely accused people were executed from erroneous orders.

[@BM-13_KATYUSHA]

Skill issue.

[@bobbyrayofthefamilysmith24]

Would be very funny to bring this back for peados with a Web cam so people can live stream them in terror ha

[@homynacuriel9453]

The Count De Monte Cristo has entered the chat

[@anthonyp.4734]

It wasn't illegal. These are just the laws of the times. That are basis for our current laws

[@bobbyrayofthefamilysmith24]

@@eldensquall6158 what's the problem?

[@garymcderp1146]

It’s truly horrifying what human beings could do to other human beings.

[@HumansAreShitFactories]

That assessment is entirely subjective.

[@ImSavedByGraceToo]

Right 😢

[@fowchiiiliedpuppiesdied]

Oh, it gets worse…

[@jaskiratsandhu5785]

*Can do to others. Never mistake material gains for evolution.

[@mrtimz7666]

It happens ever day

[@jimfraser1810]

Imagine the psychological terror...The Oubliette: such a cruel and horrible way to die!

[@martfildes9675]

Brilliant and ghastly at the same time. Thank you sir for you’re fantastic work.

[@dalemoss4684]

Mary queen of Scots' husband was imprisoned in an oubliette in Denmark after fleeing there. He was chained by the neck and put in a hole not big enough to stand. At first a political prisoner, he was eventually forgotten, and when someone eventually remembered him he was like an animal, snarling on all fours and tugging on his chain. He died soon after this sighting

[@Sawrattan]

Do you mean the husband who raped her?

[@taleandclawrock2606]

Poor man. A dreadful fate.

[@duartesimoes508]

How horrible.

[@peterenevoldsen7199]

He was the Earl of Bothwell, and he had it coming. His naked, mummified, body was on display in Faarevejle church for many years, until some imbecile put and end to that.

[@dalemoss4684]

@@davepowell7168 I remember reading what I wrote in a history book from the 1980s.

[@AndyWitmyer]

Serial killers in the middle ages didn't need to do their work in secret - in many cases, they were encouraged, paid well, and could afford to keep a retinue of lesser psychopaths to help with them with their hobby.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

Plus they got a lot of boots

[@Genius_at_Work]

Executioners were treated very poorly, there's a Video about that on this Channel.

[@Herr_Flick_of_ze_Gestapo]

what a load of utter bullshit. you make as if the medieval era executions happened all the time as a sort of entertainment. This is a modern day myth. no based on actual historical facts.

[@nathanblake5335]

@@Genius_at_Work torteruers on the same level as executioners? Imagine executioners have to be kept at a higher regard, although their work is more public so Maybe not.

[@Genius_at_Work]

@@nathanblake5335 IIRC, these Tasks where usually performed by the same Persons. Executioners were considered Murderers by Society, and I don't think it would have been much different if Torture was performed by someone else. Executioners were tasked with other ungrateful Jobs such as disposing Animal Carcasses or the Bodies of People who died from Diseases.

[@TheRealGuywithoutaMustache]

So this was torture back then? Just sounds like an average $3,500 a month single bedroom apartment in New York

[@jax9349]

I went with a friend to Prague. We went to a museum where they had many, many torture instruments and graphic descriptions on how they were used. The horror was somehow reduced by the sanitised surroundings, all clean and white walls! A few blood spatters would have enhanced the experience. We are very lucky.

[@49mrbassman]

I recall the story of an oubliette that was built into a great house on the same level as the great dining hall. Slits in the wall allowed the sounds and smells of the house at banquet just to add to the torture of the prisoner in the oubliette.

[@sinjin8576]

I'm sure the owner grew to regret these choices eventually when the south wall started to regularly hold the smell of shit, death and overall unpleasantness.

[@EQOAnostalgia]

@@sinjin8576 Nobody ever accused the evil of having a vision of the future. It's kind of a best life now mentality.

[@Aron-ru5zk]

The people at the banquet would also get the sounds and smells from the oubliette, so that’s not a great idea. Also goes against the whole idea of an oubliette being somewhere you throw someone to forget.

[@49mrbassman]

@@Aron-ru5zk well it was in Ireland after all. Unfortunately I just can't remember the name of the place but it was shown on a t.v. Programme I think it was one of the episodes of most haunted.

[@debbylou5729]

What about the stench?

[@simonosborne3047]

On the positive side, there weren't many repeat offenders.

[@craigclemens986]

Sad for the democrats

[@ionutbalta6607]

@@craigclemens986 ?

[@jonjacobjingleheimerschmid3798]

@@ionutbalta6607 Dems like to release offenders.....

[@ionutbalta6607]

@@jonjacobjingleheimerschmid3798 I meam i support the Nordic model of punishment so its not that bad. Though i doubt american prison is any better.

[@lostpony4885]

@@ionutbalta6607 maga extremism.

[@daryl9905]

This channel is AMAZING! THANK YOU! :)

[@hansofaxalia]

Peasant: maybe we shouldn’t be living in absolute squalor? King: “to the pit with him!”

[@magiv4205]

An old castle ruin near where I live had a giant oubliette that was basically just an ominous pit in the ground. Today, the ruin is a much loved picnic spot for everything from school children to boy/girlscouts. I distinctly remember asking about the purpose of the strange hole in the ground on one of these primary school trips. It was far too large to be a well and had no logical entry or exit, more like an inverted tower. That was the day I learned about oubliettes, and it only fuelled my fascination with the middle ages.

[@magiv4205]

@illicitlitmisfit Oh absolutely! It's a very beautiful place, a peaceful ruin up on a forested hill with a wonderful view across the villages down below. Juuust maybe, they could install a set of stairs or a ladder in the oubliette in case anyone ever falls down there.

[@margaretr5701]

@@magiv4205 I'm surprised there isn't a grill across the top!

[@GuukanKitsune]

@@magiv4205 Not smart. Anyone who died in it are probably still down there, spiritually speaking. They will be full of blind hate and rage. Best not to give them a permanent way up. Better to have a rope ladder you can put up and take down as needed. Better still to grate it across the top and not have anyone end up down there at all.

[@olliehe9972]

it makes me feel kind of relieved, that humans have moved on from these horrible things being commonplace, and now a place where many people suffered is now a relaxing and serene place

[@dannymoneywell]

@@magiv4205 are you sure the pit has no access in the bottom? If it's bigger than a well it's far more likely that it is a pit for burning lime, they don't need big accesses in the bottom, so it's easy to mistake them for huge wells

[@ohsnapitsanne6520]

In Amsterdam you would pay 700 euros a month to live in an oubliette

[@sarahdumby]

in california you’d get it for 1k a month

[@alleynealisleem9777]

😓🤪😅🤣🤣🤣

[@eileenlocke7877]

Can I ask why pls

[@frederickmuhlbauer9477]

Who would want to live there anyway Surely not me at any price

[@amandamorgan2802]

@@frederickmuhlbauer9477 Absolutely not,yes.

[@BooktownBoy]

Superb video, thank you. Refreshing to have information presented at a pace that you can absorb, Subbed.

[@syourke3]

Human nature is sadistic. The more power someone has over others, the more sadistic he gets.

[@LiquidLight1111]

I would do you if I could ❤

[@Barnekkid]

I'm amazed at the degrees of cruelty that people so wilfully wreak on one another. It seems to transcend any political affiliation or religious conviction, and in the end appears to be nothing more than unrestrained evil.

[@jackiereynolds2888]

Yes, think about what you mentioned, - it means a GREAT DEAL more than what you may realize ! " ... it seems to transcend ... " If only people would ply their sincerest of efforts to investigate and accept the meaning and the 'why' - this is true. I believe that the idea regarding 'transcendence' is rooted not in perplexity, - but in 'denial' ! Just think about it, - you nailed it !

[@tfan2222]

@@jackiereynolds2888 Please use proper English grammar, I assure you that you will seem much less like a nut-job when people can read what you’re saying as a coherent idea and train of thought instead of a loosely connected string of words.

[@via_negativa6183]

Also when you realise people really haven't changed all that much.

[@ImSavedByGraceToo]

Yep, nothing but Satanic influence, workers of iniquity 😞

[@ImSavedByGraceToo]

@@via_negativa6183 😢

[@stevenreyngold1166]

The only thing worse than living in those times is dying in those times. Or maybe it's the other way around. All I know is that the evil that men do knows no bounds.

[@Babyluthi]

Not much has changed.

[@peeper2070]

@@Babyluthi😂😂😂😂😂 that’s a joke right?

[@NeonAstralOfficial]

@@peeper2070 Today its death of mind and moral decay on mass scale, tousands of degenerates running around much worse than few people physically tortured. Since it leads to collapse of modern civilization

[@MarlboroughBlenheim1]

You reckon the human race has got any better? You might want to see what is happening in ukraine or happened in the twentieth century alone

[@Babyluthi]

@@peeper2070 no.

[@anarchywon4170]

Very informative. Great production. Cheers

[@Szederp]

1:47 "Today we are going to be traveling back in time" oh boy I knew it was possible, I just never thought I wound find it on KZbin 🙂Excellent upload, Europe's Might is beyond words.

[@bob23301]

Ironically now these Oubliettes are now sold to first time house buyers.

[@johngrepo9976]

Especially in New York

[@ernestonaranjo8354]

Fuckin fr dude

[@KokoBWary]

Yeah, IF they're lucky..

[@PicassosCat]

The most spacious New York home

[@johnnydoe00]

Affordable Sustainable Oubliette Housing

[@cydkriletich6538]

It is amazing and sad how humans can come up with ways in which to torture and take the lives of other humans. No doubt many of these tortured souls were innocent of any genuine wrong doing.

[@sninctbur3726]

@Flicks I'll tell this to anyone who says Japan didn't deserve the nukes.

[@Babyluthi]

@@sninctbur3726 my mom was in a japanese concentration camp. She thought they deserved it.

[@XVRMEDIA]

@@sninctbur3726 Japan never had a real trial for their crimes like we had in Europe. This is the reason for which Japan remained fascist and is a fascist society even today.

[@cydkriletich6538]

@Antonio Sender Yes. One of the worst. It should never be forgotten.

[@colonel1003]

@@sninctbur3726 two wasn’t enough

[@martinheath5947]

Superbly well put together,:very informative (I now know more interesting facts) and good choice of background music. Well done!

[@karengreenwell8842]

I used to live close to Pontefract and have visited the castle grounds. Very little remains of the castle structure, but the dungeon is still very much intact. They do guided tours into the dungeon which are well worth taking.

[@toko_ribbon]

I had never heard of a oubliette outside of the Labyrinth movie where it was mentioned by one of the characters. Listening to your narration about them with the photos and artwork gave me chills! That has to be one of the worst ways to die right next to fire and vivisection. 😵😵😵😵

[@mwbright]

It's a real nightmare, for us just hearing about it. Imagine living in a time where that was a possibility. God. But I recently saw a guy in a prison in Louisiana, in a filthy, black cell that was so goddamn tiny it was approaching Oubliette dimensions. And this guy was living in it. If I was stuck in that box, I'd smash my head against the walls until I was out cold, and I'd do it again and again until I was dead.

[@legscoll3296]

LeapCastle in Ireland has one

[@danzig159]

Search on KZbin, "The Oubliette Of Dachau."

[@golden.lights.twinkle2329]

Crucifixion and Impaling are pretty bad too.

[@v00n2000]

@@golden.lights.twinkle2329 Scaphism.

[@SquirrelASMR]

*unspeakable horror exists* This guy: *speaks it*

[@2stepsforward4stepsback]

I subscribed just for your channel name, then watched the video glad I did, great video

[@trissometv3068]

The term oubliette was first introduced to me by the game Enter the Gungeon. I thought it was just something that resembled a sewer but knowing that it is some sort of a torture prison does make a lot more sense.

[@Gomez1915]

Damn! Our ancestors took solitary confinement to a whole new level

[@mymothersdiva]

Your ancestors, not mine.

[@billynomates920]

@@mymothersdiva how do you know? to be sure, you would have to ask every one of them. that means you convene with the dead; that's witchcraft. or you have no ancestors and so you are claiming divine birth? either way, it's a hole in the ground for you! 😉

[@jonathanmancill5845]

No. Your ancestors too. We all eventually go back to one man and one woman. Whether you believe the Bible or not, we all still had to come from a single man and a single woman for this whole thing known as mankind to start.

[@jonathanmancill5845]

You may not be related to those particular ancestors, but I can guarantee you 100% fact that your ancestors did horrible vicious things also in the name of Justice. Haha

[@jellydoughnut9779]

@@jonathanmancill5845 sounds like cope from you and your ancestors lol

[@marcofecteau]

When the Dufferin Terasse was restaured in Québec City, they found the remains of 9 English men who had been forgotten in the Castle's oubliette for 300 years.

[@naomisherred166]

That's so sad...

[@curtiswong7280]

Good grief, that implies these oubliettes were built in the 1700s when Quebec started phasing out old wooden structures with stone ones. That's not too long ago...

[@cameleonfleuri]

@ marc fecteau : Wow! Fascinant! Je suis guide touristique à Québec et je ne le savais même pas! Alors merci pour l'info. Fait intéressant, j'ai aussi remarqué que sous la terrasse, sous la section avec les fenêtres et les ruines des forts et châteaux St-Louis, il y a un autre étage avec des meurtrières (on ne peut le voir qu'au printemps ou à l'automne quand il n'y a pas de feuilles qui cachent le tout). J'ai demandé au personnel qui fait les visites sous la terrasse de quoi il s'agissait et ils n'en avait aucune idée, ils n'étaient même pas au courant de son existence !?!?!?! As-tu plus d'informations sur le sujet? Je pense que c'est relié à la citadelle donc encore militarisé, d'où le secret.

[@joannaedssay5988]

How did they know they were English? Genuinely asking as I don't know much history of Québec at all.

[@adidascap9441]

@@joannaedssay5988 propably from their crooked teeth 😂

[@jaredevildog6343]

Very inspirational. Thank you!

[@rafd3593]

Chillingham Castle in Northumberland has a large room full of medieval torture instruments from places like Nuremberg Castle in Germany, and Carcassone Castle in France has a gruesome Torture Museum. The inventors of these instruments had cruel sick minds.

[@economicerudite4924]

As fascinating as the human imagination is, much like most medieval torture devices there is minimal evidence that oubliettes were actually used in such a manner. In most cases, historians and archaeologists conclude that what the imaginative think are oubliettes were, in-actuality, septic tanks or water cisterns. There was a big push to create the idea that the middle-ages were a barbaric time whilst the renaissance was a time of enlightenment, but in actuality far more people were tortured during the renaissance than the middle-ages from the evidence we have. Most medieval torture devices you’ll see weren’t actually used as torture devices. We know for a fact that execution in the middle-ages was something they wanted to be very public. As such, it makes little sense to just shove someone in a hole and leave them. Of course, channels like this (who are looking for clicks and feeding on the naivety of those who aren’t familiar with the prior) don’t help. Using the scary music and such and peddling myths without the disclaimer that most of this is likely untrue.

[@hawaiisidecar]

Oubliettes were total fiction?

[@DarthMohammedRules]

Yes, absolutely. I've seen books of countless horrific torture devices and methods, and historians do, in fact, conclude that there is no evidence those those devices/methods were in common/widespread usage, and most were essentially just medieval imaginary torture fantasies. Like, they conceived of the ideas (and documented them), but rarely, if ever, put them into practice, according the historical evidence (or lack thereof). That's not to say nothing like this ever happened or brutally sadistic methods were never used, but some of these more *imaginative* things were just that... imaginative. It was factually far more common to just execute or whip/rack/burn at the stake more than any of these other elaborate/creative/devious means of torture.

[@justintrevino2341]

You saying the video being most likely untrue. Can also be said about a random guy on the internet talking about medieval septic tanks so.

[@faithpearlgenied-a5517]

And you somehow think anything you have to say about it is more reliable than this video. Sweet.

[@MountainFisher]

@@faithpearlgenied-a5517 If you look at titles to his videos exaggeration of death in the Middle Ages seems to be a theme, like a daily horror fest and it wasn't like that.

[@stevemchadd]

How brutal the human species, seems like nothing has changed.

[@felixproulxrousseau140]

"Nothing"

[@mikepastor.k6233]

Far worse back then. Don't kid yourself.

[@jasonrobbins4227]

@@mikepastor.k6233 worse or did methods simply become easier? One could argue nothing changed other then method.

[@SC-jh9qp]

When War comes, like now, mankind's eternal potential to act with savage barbarism always reveals itself.

[@stevemchadd]

@Edel Tamayo I would agree with your comment if the arena was used to allow the polititions to fight it out amongst themselves when they decide to go to war.

[@divingdays]

I love that you showed Karlstejn. One of my favorite castles of the Czech Republic

[@OldMovieRob]

Very well done research. What a morbid and disturbing topic

[@drumunism3781]

Video begins at 7:35, ends at 8:50

[@prime5991]

Thank you

[@weirttrashpanda]

Ily 😭😭😭

[@reebi1031]

THANK YOU 😭👍

[@yummyyum4626]

Thanks, saved me time.

[@gab9433]

i appreciatte you

[@bdawg3942]

I work in a blast crew, where drillers drill holes up to 15 mtrs deep for us too load. I often imagine being lowered down , even head first with no chance of ever getting out. Scary 😧

[@happylucky7354]

Aww, 😔, god bless, stay safe🙏

[@DJ-pp4mt]

Be safe broski! Falling in one of those would be more than terrifying

[@naomisherred166]

Do take care - that sounds pretty dangerous.

[@Meekmillan]

Pulling a John Jones, terrifying

[@RB-bd5tz]

Sometimes cave divers get stuck in tight spots. On the bright side, no one can repeat their mistake because their body plugs the hole.

[@markpearce5793]

I came across an oubliette in Warwick castle dungeon on a visit there. That version is horizontal, and only large enough for the prisoners to lay on their back with their arms by their sides. The grill was over their face. Although the various tortures are disgustingly inhumane it is interesting that people had such a good understanding of how to inflict maximum physical and psychological damage to their prisoners when so many other aspects of life were so undeveloped.

[@Tenchi707]

Inspirational, modern society should learn from this beauty

[@mariedesabres1727]

I visited a lot of castles in France and most say that those pits were used to keep food fresh (the pit would stay at about 12°c whatever the temperature in the castle that was not well regulated because of lack of real windows). They may have been repurposed later, but while building the castle, keeping prisonners was not the main issue in the middle ages. Of course there are always exceptions.

[@Herr_Flick_of_ze_Gestapo]

Indeed. obliettes (modern word, not used in medieval era) were not prisons. this stupid idea has already been debunked as a total myth. Just like the idea that medieval ppl stank becuse they never bathed. While in fact medieval people were exremely keen on cleanliness and bathed a LOT. just like the romans. In medieval paris alone there were over 500 public bath houses.

[@_Coffee4Closers]

Personally, I think dying in a few days from starvation and dehydration, sounds like a pretty good deal, compared to many of the other torture options of the day.

[@michellesilva5381]

I thought I was the only one that thought this 😂 I’m like this is a vacation in comparison to other forms of torture lol

[@hunterkyle7259]

Starvation and isolation isn’t the torture it’s the way these conditions affect your mind

[@_Coffee4Closers]

@@hunterkyle7259 What you are suggesting would only be true if you are kept ALIVE in isolation for long periods... The entire premise of the "Oubliette" is that they drop you in , shut the hatch, and forget about you. You would die in only a few days. I am pretty sure that's a bit better than the "wheel" or having your arms and legs pulled in and out of the sockets every day for months on the "Rack", or perhaps being skinned alive and left hanging in the public square until you die from exposure.

[@ev6564]

@@hunterkyle7259 I don't know...I still feel like brutal, violent tortures would affect the mind much worse😖

[@essandera9499]

Solitude is one of the worst mind melting state of being. Humans are pack beings, they need interactions with other people. Your brain can partially block out pain but it cannot deal with isolation. Also if you haven't listened, some of these people were fed and hydrated (at least enough to keep them alive) so they were dying of starvation and dehydration but it didn't last a couple of days like it would normally, but some people were there for years! There is also the added effect of the claustrophobic conditions. That must've affected them not only mentally but physically as well. They most probably couldn't sleep well enough so you can add sleep deprivation, their bodies must've contorted (in case of the very narrow oubliette's where you could only stand) over time from the weight that the muscles simply weren't meant to carry (at least not for that long without any rest). They probably lost their sight and perhaps other senses as well due to sensory deprivation... All in all, I can't tell you which torture is worse, I haven't been through any of them (thankfully). For me what especially terrifies me about this one more than any other more painfull one is the innability to move (probably cuz I'm a slight claustrophobic). So I guess the worst torture (as stated in 1984) is by realising your worst fears.

[@Pfisiar22]

the fourth common punishment for criminals in the middle ages was declaring them outlaw. This basically meant that anyone could kill you and take your things without punishment and anyone who assisted you would be subject to punishment.

[@Sidewinder627]

What were the first 3?

[@matthewgraham7002]

Dude we’re 5 minutes in 😩 I just want to hear the torture methods!

[@skottlee8959]

zoom zoom

[@Ironsmiler]

I'd never heard of a Oubliette until Jaime Lannister threatened to imprison Edmure Tully and his wife in Oubliettes "that fit a man tighter than a suit of armour" in ASoIaF. The stuff of absolute nightmares. Subbed mate, great clip.

[@joxidearmageddonator882]

that's how i heard about them too! literally the word oubliette makes me think of Jaime and Edmure

[@A_Z_A_T_H_O_T_H]

Which book and page?

[@Ironsmiler]

@@A_Z_A_T_H_O_T_H It is 'A Dance with Dragons' and obviously a 'Jaime' chapter, but I do not know the page number. Its the siege of Riverrun, that should assist locating it.

[@A_Z_A_T_H_O_T_H]

@@Ironsmiler ok thanks

[@SoulCrapper]

I thought he threatened to have Edmur'es children used as Trebuchet ammunition.

[@salvatormundi5184]

Oubliette is actually a French word taking its root into the verb « oublier » which means « to forget »; « oublié » means « to be forgotten », therefore, to English speakers we could make up the word « the forgotter », meaning « the place that makes one to be forgotten ». Edit : as Maëlle notified below, oubli-« ette » also gives the idea of a tiny place.

[@Galm02]

Yikes 😨

[@dantemeriere5890]

Which is a corruption of Latin's deponent verb obliviscor through participle oblitus into Vulgar Latin's oblisco, which form the origins of the word oblivion, which means "the place of the forgotten". The place could be called oblivion. Obliviscor is also the origin of the Latin verb oblittero/oblitterare(to obliterate/to destroy/to send to oblivion) through the perfect passive participle oblitus from the verb oblino(to smear over), hence "to obliterate" is to make forgotten which ultimately means to destroy. Obliterator is another possibility. It closely matches the Latin form oblitterator, "one who obliterates".

[@salvatormundi5184]

Extremely interesting ! My comment is giving the idea of what a French native speaker would understand about this word, but it’s not made to be a real etymological comment. Therefore your comment is very welcomed, thanks !

[@maellebardet1351]

Adding that the -ette at the end point something little, small. Like maison : house, maisonette : little house

[@holliswilliams8426]

A native French speaker would immediately assume it to be a kind of dark joke playing off of ''oublier'', but it might have a different etymology.

[@precyoncall]

How horrible fates, I'll probably have a nightmare tonight. Subscribing.

[@nickmonk7945]

Just found your channel.. your voice reminds me very much of the narrator from the channel “fascinating horror” Cheers

[@talleywa5772]

Everyone else: "Deep hole." The Irish: "Add spikes."

[@Subparfat]

That would be scary thrown down there alone in the dark, imagine the spirits still yelling for help today

[@admiralbenbow5083]

Suggest you find a video on Leap Castle in Ireland on here...

[@Subparfat]

@@admiralbenbow5083 I may have seen it, shits scary, idc who you are, after awhile that will break anyone

[@bradleywinter5721]

The ghosts down there would make you quickly pee yourself and that's just the beginning

[@wilfridwibblesworth2613]

After a while the ghosts would beat you up!

[@kawaiicake8038]

I think there’s a song (a rock song I forgot the name of) but the theme/topic was about the slaves/people in the pyramid who were buried with the pharaoh in it being trapped and slowly going insane. Pretty cool and this reminded me of it I’ll try and ge the name

[@MVProfits]

Strangely not mentioned in the video, is that the unfortunate prisoner's piss and feces stayed right there with him. A damp pit below ground must smell bad enough, add this... What makes it seem extra cruel is that if they just left people to rot, it served no information gathering purpose nor even a lesson to others. It was cruelty for its own sake.

[@tanto20]

Fascinating thank you

[@impofstpete727]

I recall another type of oubliette where the person was placed on a small outcropping over a pit around 20 feet deep. The area was barely enough to stand on so sleep was nearly impossible. It excelled at extracting information from people as they would say anything just to get back to safe ground. All without shedding a drop of blood or breaking anything.

[@cmdrTremyss]

My palms are sweaty by just reading this.

[@umey3445]

Extracting many a false confession too I’m sure

[@Stoney47]

Torture goes on even today. Out of sight out of mind. It's unbelievable how evil humans can be. It will never stop until Humans no longer exists.

[@Gameprojordan]

It's moreso psychological torture now. On the outside the people look find, but their mind is as broken and mangled as a medieval prisoners body would be from torture

[@siiluviilu]

@@Gameprojordan theres definitely plenty of physical torture still aswell, snuff films :/

[@HumanPhilosopherPatriot]

Education of good morals, ethics, and raising humans with loving families can stop it. Then you have the humans who are born sick/evil. I guess it can only be limited.

[@Keeki549]

@@Gameprojordan have you not seen the cartel videos lmao that type of stuff happens on the daily.

[@Gameprojordan]

@@Keeki549 I moreso meant by government forces in europe and such. Yeah cartel isis etc still do it for sure

[@julianwaugh8221]

A very good piece well narrated I. Did not know this particular kind of brutality existed We did learn about trail by combat and carrying a red hot iron bar 10 steps to prove ones innocence. Please please do one about witches!

[@roccodoesmusic1820]

I always wondered what they meant in The Labyrinth when the Goblin King made Sarah go to the Oubliette

[@rolloxra670]

Lol I also thought of that, haven’t heard the word obliette since I watched that movie

[@bagelofenlightenment8291]

this medieval torture is so unspeakably horrific we're about to speak about it

[@Herr_Flick_of_ze_Gestapo]

yeah well 99% of it is a total myth. All surviving so called "medieval torture devices" were made in the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th century. THe first iron maiden ever was made in the 1800s. Most ideas you hear about the medieval era are myths.

[@snager80]

Medieval dungeon Masters: I got a great new idea for torture, let's force them to stand up Contemporary retail corporations:

[@lanpingpug]

Not a phone in sight, people just living their day to day life. Those were great times.

[@user-rp7yf8xu8h]

Provided you survived birth and to age 12. I sure don't envy dentistry then. An abscess is awful. Just imagine dealing with that many times in your life.

[@sethnaffziger1402]

the first picture you displayed was in Warwick castle, recognized it instantly, i know because I have a similar picture and will never forget how appalling it was when they told us some guy spent over a year in there... it was also just the most tiny, cramped space imaginable. Horrifying.

[@80sMetalHead]

BEST upload so far! You’re passed the ‘getting better’ stage and are now an official real-deal uploader!! Great Work !!

[@Anonymity038]

Never knew anything about what this was and in the game crusader kings I kept putting people in it and now I'm a little more merciful

[@timheller8475]

I like this video, thank you

[@SingleMost]

just imagine the smell of a horror machine like a medieval castle

[@suspiciouswatermelon7639]

We built an oubliette at our house to keep burglars and home invaders. Once you throw someone in there you have to scoop a handful of lime on top of the body to keep it from stinking.

[@wreckastow6575]

I love your opening it's a true work of art. Very informative and very calming voice. Love the channel.

[@Demux84]

You can’t make an Oubliette without breaking some eggs…

[@chrisf1600]

That's un oeouf with the bad puns

[@HamsterSport]

2:19 I live within walking distance of the once great Pontefract Castle. Not much of it left sadly. You can see the remains of the area near the gatehouse sticking out of vegetation as you make your way down Baghill especially in the winter. In fact the family home would be somewhere around where this painting's perspective is! I must say it is a strange feeling to be watching a random suggestion on KZbin and see your doorstep appear 😂

[@jptaylor]

Incredibly sad how cruel humans have been to each other over the centuries. Our species doesn’t deserve this planet. Despicable species.

[@AnantTripathionline]

Not a cellphone in sight , people living in the moment

[@shonaangus7876]

Your channel is an absolute gem! Thank you! 😁

[@Herr_Flick_of_ze_Gestapo]

Actually this channel is pretty bad. Most things peddled on this channel have already been debunked as total myths. just like this "obliette myth". It makes great thrilling videos.... however historically very very inaccurate

[@themilkman6969]

@@Herr_Flick_of_ze_Gestapo cool, could you give me some citations on how the *oubliette isn’t real? a study or two?

[@user-fo5gk9ir7n]

The capability for treating others really badly, never ceases to amaze me.

[@Dr_b_]

cheery and uplifting

[@fizzie6902]

The fact that they probably did this shit to children makes me want to go back in time and erase a shit load of bloodlines from the time stream.

[@JBinFL]

Careful you don't clip your own line.

[@derfunkhaus]

It's just one more example of how a great many humans in history had miserable, horrible, and short lives. If you were a soul floating around in space and God said, "Do you want to be randomly assigned a human life in history to live?" I'd probably say no because the odds would be high that you'd end up having a horrible life.

[@laurenwegner6634]

@@derfunkhaus This is the thought that haunts me! I try to be grateful because I know how BAD I could have it….but I feel like I’m always paranoid because I KNOW how twisted humanity can be. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow. My greatest fear is somebody else cutting my life short because THEY see fit…

[@NotSoSerious69420]

I know this channel showed this all as fact but don’t forget the Middle Ages are INCREDIBLY well documented and have pretty much no evidence this ever happened on any real meaningful scale. Way more likely the pits were to store water, or act as a drain, or store food at a lower temperature. Not saying it didn’t happen but MANY one off cruel things happened and happen. Doesn’t mean it was common. Also you do REALLY believe a society that executed people in public for doing basically nothing wrong would waste an opportunity to execute someone in favor of building a hole in the bottom of a castle where few, if any, people saw them? Remember these would’ve happened in the time were burning people at the stake was not a uncommon occurrence.

[@Herr_Flick_of_ze_Gestapo]

absolute bullshit! the modern idea that obliettes were used as prison has already been debunked as a totally fabricated myth. just as the myth that medieval people tortured all the time left and right and even children. most so called medieval torture devices were made in the 18th 19th and 20th century. the first iron maiden ever made was from the 1800s. Medieval era is definitely not as grim and gloomy as is thought of by modern day ignorant uninformed people. Most old wives tales about the medieval era are myths. one other example is the idea that medieval people stank because they never bathed. ........It couldnt be more wrong. Medieval people actually were VERY clean and bathed a lot and had a bathing culture similar to the romans. in fact that whole bathing culture never went away after the roman empire collapsed. In medieval Paris alone there were over 500 public bath houses. The medieval era was largely an era of economic and agricultural prosperity. It was this era when mankinds biggest architectural achievements, the gothic cathedrals, were build

[@Apegabe]

I watch your videos every Friday… Very good channel 👍🏽.

[@Free_Palestine_75]

I would prefer this over some of the other medieval tortuous execution, they were insane

[@me67galaxylife]

And could you name a single one that was real ? Yeah don’t try you’ll probably fail

[@loganleatherman7647]

@swǝƃ Well we know for a fact that the Bronze Bull and scaphism were both very real means of torture

[@me67galaxylife]

@@loganleatherman7647 not medieval, and also the bronze bull hasn't been proven to have ever been used

[@notboblowski0624]

you're so smart @@me67galaxylife

[@arturobelano6243]

​@@me67galaxylifecarthago!

[@HtttpsPaige]

Thanks!

[@Inconvenient_NPC]

Brilliantly narrated, very interesting, you have earned a sub!

[@lc3069]

Really loving this channel!

[@jimjam_games5783]

"She's in the oubliette" - line from Labyrinth movie. Always wondered what this meant!

[@shanior2837]

God, i think the chokey from Matilda was a form of Oubliette. Roald Dahl went dark sometimes but damn

[@automnejoy5308]

Yes! I think it was.

[@MrHellelement]

Wow, the start of the video just dives right in to the etymology.

[@kidzbop38isstraightfire92]

It's so twisted and pathetic how cruel ppl could be...I don't care what someone does, it takes a Sick & Evil person to want to torture others for extended periods of time. Even if someone murdered my family member, there's only so long I could torture that person who did it...and only so severely. I just don't get it.

[@Beginnerreadsthebible]

You must not have children

[@kidzbop38isstraightfire92]

@@Beginnerreadsthebible I have a wife and 15-yr old son... Again, I didn't say I wouldn't kill the person who murdered my family... But torturing them is a whole different level of sadistic evil...if you're able to torture someone for long periods for any reason at all, you're a cruel person

[@apocratos0174]

Great!!! We need to bring it back

[@kingofmemes5017]

I've seen one of these in Normandy. Really harrowing to see in person knowing it was actually used... I don't remember exactly where it was though sadly.

[@weemac4645]

It was in France.

[@Nick-qc7wm]

@@weemac4645 almost like that’s where normandy is…