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231:. Then, the ritual humiliation would take place, with the convict on public show. Displaying the branks in public was intended to remind the populace of the consequences of any rash action or slander. Whether the person was paraded or simply taken to the point of punishment, the process of humiliation and expected repentance was the same. Time spent in the bridle was normally allocated by the kirk session, in Scotland, or a local magistrate.
132:-bit (or curb-plate), about 5 cm Ă— 2.5 cm (2 in Ă— 1 in) in size, was slid into the mouth and pressed down on top of the tongue, often with a spike on the tongue, as a compress. It functioned to silence the wearer from speaking entirely, to prevent the women from nagging. The scold's bridle was used on women. This prevented speaking and resulted in many unpleasant side effects for the wearer, including excessive
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prevented any talking since any movement of the mouth could cause a severe piercing of the tongue. When wearing the device, it was impossible for the person either to eat or speak. Other branks included an adjustable gag with a sharp edge, causing any movement of the mouth to result in laceration of
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Burgh
Records record a typical example of the punishment being used: "Iff evir the said Elizabeth salbe fund scolding or railling ... scho salbe sett upone the trone in the brankis and be banishit the toun thaireftir " (1653 Lanark B. Rec. 151).
345:. The bridle was donated by the parish to Big Heritage CIC, an organisation based in Chester, for use in their museum displays, as it was felt to be inappropriate to continue to display it in a church building.
351:(1906) named six instances "of branks preserved, I believe, to this day ... at Worcester, Ludlow, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Oxford, Shrewsbury ... Lichfield ... and many other places".
341:
is this
Chester lost a fortune due to a woman's gossip, and presented the instrument of restraint or torture out of anger and spite. The church states it came to the parish in 1723 from
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When the branks was installed, the wearer could be led through town to show that they had committed an offence or scolded too often. This was intended to
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and fatigue in the mouth. For extra humiliation, a bell could also be attached to draw in crowds. The wearer was then led around town by a leash.
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247:, but did not restrain the sufferer from speaking. They were generally used in both England and Scotland in the 16th and 17th centuries.
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A scold's bridle, having a hinged iron framework to enclose the head and a bit or gag to fit into the mouth and compress the tongue
128:. It was an iron muzzle in an iron framework that enclosed the head (although some bridles were masks that depicted suffering). A
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women were sometimes punished with the branks by non-Quaker authorities for preaching their religious doctrine in public places.
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and barony courts in
Scotland inflicted the contraption mostly on female transgressors and women considered to be rude, nags,
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of the church, with the inscription "Chester presents Walton with a bridle, to curb women's tongues that talk too idle."
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398:(1889), the iron scold's bridle at Walton Church in Walton on Thames, Surrey, is mentioned as a local item of interest.
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inmates. The person to be punished was placed in a public place for additional humiliation and sometimes beaten. The
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in the 17th century, but it is not clear what happened to them or whether they were ever used. The Quaker preacher
306:, saying that he was using false measures. She was sentenced to be "brankit" and fixed to the cross for one hour.
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In
Scotland, branks could also be permanently displayed in public by attaching them, for example, to the
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333:, a replica of a scold's bridle from 1633 that was stolen in 1965, was in a dedicated cabinet in the
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846:. Vol. 1. Cornell University Library. London: Adam & Charles Black. pp. 356–357.
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or troublesome—by preventing them from speaking. This also gives it its other name, the
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776:(online ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. ref:odnb/69140.
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533:. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 430–431.
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Bygone
Punishments of Scotland by William Andrews 1899 on electricscotland
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Domestic annals of
Scotland, from the reformation ... v.0001. – Full View
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them into repenting their alleged offensive actions. A spike inside the
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767:"Dorothy Waugh in The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography"
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In 1567, Bessie
Tailiefeir (pronounced Telfer) allegedly
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by Joel Dorman Steele and Esther Baker Steele from 1885
633:"Victorian workhouse punishments – the scold's bridle"
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376:, where a scold's bridle is a key element in the plot.
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Two bridles were bought for use by the magistrates of
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Matthew, H. C. G.; Harrison, B., eds. (2004-09-23).
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436:"Dictionary of the Scots Language: SND: branks n1"
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124:, was an instrument of punishment, as a form of
859:Three Men in a Boat *To Say Nothing of the Dog)
255:The scold's bridle did not see much use in the
273:('Anastacia the female slave') is a Brazilian
263:recorded seeing it used to control a Virginia
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575:. Edinburgh : W & R Chambers. p. 90.
8:
663:"occasional hell – infernal device – Branks"
552:"History talk sheds light on Scold's Bridle"
430:
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389:is wearing a scold's bridle in some scenes.
326:and wrote an account of her imprisonment.
277:said to have died from wearing a punitive
354:As late as 1856 such an item was used at
27:16th-century punishment or torture device
861:. Bristol: J. W. Arrowsmith. p. 87.
754:. Eddinburgh: W & R Chambers. p. 37.
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773:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
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322:was subjected to the bridle in 1655 in
732:from the original on 30 September 2015
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195:for other offences, notably on female
153:in 1567, the branks were also used in
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706:from the original on 12 October 2015
696:"Scold's bridle, Germany, 1550–1800"
496:from the original on 10 January 2018
44:A Brief History of the United States
492:. National Education Network, U.K.
54:18th century scold's bridle in the
673:from the original on 28 April 2018
467:from the original on 29 April 2019
243:were similar in their effect to a
176:for shrews or scolds—women of the
67:Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
25:
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912:European instruments of torture
819:from the original on 2020-02-07
643:from the original on 5 May 2018
594:from the original on 2021-09-20
442:from the original on 2019-03-09
571:Chambers, Robert (1859–1861).
168:Branking (in Scotland and the
65:16th-century Scottish branks,
1:
902:Modern instruments of torture
796:UK public library membership
752:Domestic Annals of Scotland
573:Domestic Annals of Scotland
372:is the title of a novel by
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857:Jerome, Jerome K. (1889).
813:"Tour of St Mary's Church"
750:Chambers, Robert (1885).
267:in the mid-18th century.
85:The "Bishop's branks" of
700:www.sciencemuseum.org.uk
331:Walton-on-Thames, Surrey
180:whose speech was deemed
56:Märkisches Museum Berlin
840:Besant, Walter (1906).
530:Encyclopædia Britannica
42:, from a lithograph in
917:Violence against women
782:10.1093/ref:odnb/69140
667:www.occasionalhell.com
461:"Definition of branks"
157:and its colonies. The
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108:, sometimes called a
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883:at Wikimedia Commons
637:history.powys.org.uk
191:It was also used as
172:) was designed as a
145:England and Scotland
932:Torture in Scotland
463:. Free Dictionary.
414:Stool of repentance
395:Three Men in a Boat
285:Historical examples
193:corporal punishment
69:, Glasgow, Scotland
937:Torture in England
907:Physical restraint
369:The Scold's Bridle
149:First recorded in
140:Origin and purpose
126:public humiliation
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942:Women in Scotland
879:Media related to
815:. Walton Parish.
794:(Subscription or
387:Carice van Houten
302:Thomas Hunter in
271:Escrava Anastacia
174:mirror punishment
16:(Redirected from
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590:. 2010-04-29.
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521:, ed. (1911).
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165:, or drunken.
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38:in Colonial
98:Dunfermline
87:St. Andrews
40:New England
896:Categories
823:2020-04-04
798:required.)
787:2023-04-29
598:2020-04-04
446:2020-04-04
420:References
362:In fiction
275:folk saint
221:town cross
134:salivation
34:A branked
726:"Quakers"
617:ignored (
607:cite book
382:Brimstone
304:Edinburgh
296:slandered
259:, though
257:New World
209:humiliate
197:workhouse
817:Archived
736:27 April
730:Archived
710:27 April
704:Archived
677:27 April
671:Archived
647:27 April
641:Archived
592:Archived
557:7 August
500:7 August
494:Archived
471:7 August
465:Archived
440:Archived
403:See also
324:Carlisle
290:Scotland
229:tolbooth
151:Scotland
343:Chester
316:Walsall
310:England
300:baillie
245:pillory
182:riotous
155:England
792:
335:vestry
235:Quaker
201:Lanark
130:bridle
122:branks
100:branks
265:slave
241:Jougs
36:scold
18:Brank
738:2018
712:2018
679:2018
649:2018
619:help
559:2012
502:2012
473:2012
298:the
225:tron
116:, a
112:, a
778:doi
392:In
379:In
329:In
227:or
213:gag
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
