I don't believe that Machiavelli would've come exactly close to death; he was (allegedly) subjected to torture that wouldn't have caused any fatal wounds immediately; he is believed to have been put through strappado, a form of torture wherein the hands are bound behind the victim's back, who is then hung from a ceiling, thus causing the weight of the person's body to weigh down and dislocate the shoulders. Long term effects of this torture include nerve damage, paralysis, loss of sensation and, of course, a ton of pain.

Popular during the Medieval Inquisition, the torture was primarily used against heretics, traitors and criminals,