La fede al tempo della Peste

Nun wearing a plague doctor's mask while praying
TWS

(nun vector from www.freevector.com ; mask from www-eblanken.wordpress.com - grazie)

X-Shaped Cross

X-Shaped Cross (and Phi)
- the Phi in the corner was not included in the original drawing -

picture from I. Thompson, The A to Z of Punishment and Torture, Book Guild Publishing, Brighton 2008, p. 126

Riding the Wooden Horse

The military, it seems, were impressively inventive when it came to devising punishments for their men. Though imposed for relatively minor offences, such as drinking or rioting, the wooden horse was nonetheless extremely painful and, on occasions, fatal.

A board with a narrow, or even sharpened, edge was mounted on four legs to which a rudely-fashioned head ad tail were attached. The soldier being punished was set astride the 'horse' with his hands tied behind his back and heavy weights tied to each foot. 

Garret Segersen, a Dutch soldier in the American army, was made to ride the wooden horse for three days with 50 lb on each foot, for the crime of stealing chickens.

Connecticut horse thief James Brown was sentenced to 15 lashes and an hour riding the wooden horse for each week of his eight-week jail sentence.

The wooden horse was eventually abandoned in the English army because of the permanent injury it caused to the user.

I. Thompson, The A to Z of Punishment and Torture, 

Book Guild Publishing, Brighton 2008

pp. 163; pp. 165-166

Scena della Crocifissione

Crucifixion Scene

TWS

[posizionamento del corpo da Cabinet de Vivant Denon - The Crucifixion of the Christians (Laurent de La Hire or Laurent de La Hyre) - merci]

Kidnapped Pascal

Pascal sotto tortura
TWS

(grazie mille P)

Jack di Spade / Fante di Picche

Miscuglio linguistico e gioco di parole

TWS
(v. sotto)

Re di Spade

Gioco di parole tra spades (eng.) e spade (it.)

TWS

(la carta del re viene da www.en.wikipedia.org - thanks)

Regina di picche

Gioco di parole tra "picca" (seme delle carte da gioco) e "picca" (arma)

TWS

(le carte da gioco da cui sono partita per il collage vengono da www.sourceforge.net - grazie)