WTW for something outdated that is cruel and barbaric?

it's on the tip of my tongue and it's so frustrating. it's like a word for an old tradition or something old that's like cruel and unusual... i had a flash of it when a friend in a game got their arm cut off as punishment for escaping prison. and i thought "thats some ___ punishment". i feel like it's maybe a word based on someone's name or a time period or some other proper noun, in the same vein as machiavellian or pyrrhic (though not the same meaning of course)

i think you could use this word to describe things like the salem witch trials or like human sacrifices. and also modern happenings that are so cruel in an ancient way. does that make any sense?! please help!