Breaking wheel
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The breaking wheel, also known as the execution wheel, the Wheel of Catherine or the Catherine Wheel, was a torture method used for public execution primarily in Europe from antiquity through the Midd
Execution wheel (German: Richtrad) with underlays, 18th century; on display at the Märkisches Museum, Berlin
An execution wheel exhibited in the Museum of Cultural History Franziskanerkloster in Zittau, Saxony, Germany, dated 1775; bolted to the lower rim edge is an iron blade-like thrust attachment
Breaking-wheel machine used to execute Matthias Klostermayr, Bavaria, 1772
Illustration of an execution by wheel, Switzerland, 1513
Catherine of Alexandria
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Catherine of Alexandria, also spelled Katherine, was, according to tradition, a Christian virgin and martyr, who suffered martyrdom in the early 4th century at the hands of the emperor Maxentius. Acco
Breaking wheel
…referring to putting great effort into achieving something minor or unimportant. Medieval hagiographies, such as the Legenda sanctorum, record that St. Catherine of Alexandria was sentenced to be executed on one of these devices for refusing to renounce her Christian belief, which thereafter became known as the Catherine…
Caravaggio, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, 1598–99, Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
Icon of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, with scenes from her martyrdom
Saint Catherine of Alexandria by Artemisia Gentileschi, c. 1619
The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherina by Anthony van Dyck, 1618-20.