Stephenson:Neal:Quicksilver:449:wedges-and-sledgehammers trick (Professorbikeybike)

From the Quicksilver Metaweb.

Question: What is 'the old wedges-and-sledgehammers trick'?

Answer: Unless somebody else knows better, or more specifically*, I will hazard a guess. By the fact that the witch cannot stand, it is implied that some sort of brutal damage is done to the legs and feet with wedges and sledgehammers, most likely to extract a confession.

Additional Information I believe the reference would be to the use of the "iron boot", as described here: The Inquisition — Inquisition and Witch Trials . Simply put, the legs are secured in an iron boot, and wedges are hammered thereinto, crushing the bones.

additional suggestion Read the malleus maleficarum (latin for "the hammer of the witches")- you can read the whole of the 1928 edition on line. Appropriate use of torture and interrogation regarding suspected witches was clearly prescribed in this manual.