Historical reference: Do not rely on this information. It is very old. About this collection
Boot, an instrument consisting of four long strips either of iron or of wood, fastened together, with space between, into a sort of case for the leg. Into the space wedges were inserted, and struck by the executioner with a hammer, so as to crush the leg. It was used in England in the 16th and part of the 17th century. In Scotland it was a familiar instrument in the persecution of the Covenanters by James II., but was finally made illegal on the union with England. It was used to extort confessions or other evidence.