As far as I know the wheel is in Katherine's legend from the beginning.
It was supposed to be a wheel covered in knives (or sharp studs) on
which she was to be torn apart. I don't know the history of torture too
well, but it's an interesting question. I have one idea, however. One of
the many ways that Katherine's image gets confused with others is in her
depiction - crowned, with a wheel, with a crowned man (the emperor) near
her, and sometimes other men (the philosophers she debates, converts,
who are martyred) in various position (including upside down). This is
an image which can be almost idetical to that of Lady Fortune (e.g.
Boethius)with the wheel of fortune. That is one of many threads I am
attempting to follow.
Regards, Terry
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