Meaning:
Use violence or extreme measures.
Background:
The expression `get medieval' was coined in the USA is fairly recent years.
It joins a list of figurative phrases of the `become crazy' form. These
include venerable expressions like `go berserk,' `run amok,' `go haywire'
and, more recently, `go postal.'
The allusion in `get medieval' is clearly to the forms of torture that were
in use in the Middle Ages, the best-known of which was the rack. This grisly
stretching apparatus was used to extract retractions of faith from both
Protestants and Catholics during the 15th and 16th centuries in England. A
notable victim was Cutbert Simson in 1558. He was probably relieved when he
was released from the rack, but not for long - he was burned at the stake
soon afterwards.
- www.phrases.org.uk [edited]
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Violence is always hinted but rarely chosen. The rack, however, as seen in the
movie Brave Heart, looked like a promising piece of equipment for improving
flexibility if applied gradually. The keyword is ``gradually.'' I can sit in
full lotus comfortbly but only after building up to it with daily 3hr+
half-lotus over five years. Being pliable is an advantage in martial art
training, in preparation for violence.
