Scold's bridle

Scold's bridle

A scold's bridle (also the brank or branks) was a torture device for women, resembling an iron muzzle or cage for the head with an iron curb projecting into the mouth and resting precariously atop the tongue. The curb was frequently studded with spikes so as to cruelly torture the tongue if it dared stir: with the tongue lying calmly in place, it inflicted a minimum of pain.

It was designed as a mirror punishment for "scolds" — women whose speech was "riotous" or "troublesome" — by preventing them from speaking; however, it was also used as corporal punishment for other offences, notably on female workhouse inmates. There are no records of it being used on men; however, a similar punishment, where a cleft stick was placed on the tongue, was used on men. Records exist for such a punishment in the town of Boston, England. The scold's bridle did not see much use in the New World.

In Walton on Thames, also in England, a scold's bridle is displayed in the vestry of the church, dated 1633, with the inscription "Chester presents Walton with a bridle, To curb women's tongues that talk too idle." The story is that one Chester lost a fortune due to a woman's gossip, and presented the town with the instrument of torture out of anger and spite.

The tongue curb could be as gentle as a flat iron plate that passively discouraged tongue movement or as painful as a spike-festooned iron bit that punished it rather more painfully. Other variants are shaped like an animal's head, such as a donkey or a pig.

Modern variants of the scold's bridle designed not to be injurious are used in BDSM play on both genders as a form of gag.

"The Scold's Bridle" is the title of a novel by Minette Walters, where a scold's bridle is a key element in the plot.

External links

*cite web |url=http://www.torture-museum.com/branks.htm |title=The Branks |accessdate=2007-11-29 |work=The Torture Museum


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • scold's bridle — noun : brank 1a * * * scold s bridle see ↑branks • • • Main Entry: ↑scold * * * scold s bit or scold s bridle, = branks. (Cf. ↑branks) …   Useful english dictionary

  • scold's bridle — noun another term for branks …   English new terms dictionary

  • The Scold's Bridle — infobox Book | name = The Scold s Bridle title orig = translator = image caption = author = Minette Walters cover artist = country = United Kingdom language = English series = genre = Crime / Mystery novel publisher = Pan Books release date = 6… …   Wikipedia

  • scold's bit — or scold s bridle, = branks. (Cf. ↑branks) …   Useful english dictionary

  • scold — [13] Scold was originally a noun, denoting an argumentative or nagging woman – the sort who had a ‘scold’s bridle’ fitted to keep her tongue quiet. It appears to have been borrowed from Old Norse skáld ‘poet’, the semantic link perhaps being the… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • scold — [13] Scold was originally a noun, denoting an argumentative or nagging woman – the sort who had a ‘scold’s bridle’ fitted to keep her tongue quiet. It appears to have been borrowed from Old Norse skáld ‘poet’, the semantic link perhaps being the… …   Word origins

  • scold — verb To rebuke. A week elapsed before she could see Elizabeth without scolding her mdash; Syn: objurgate, rebuke See Also: scolds bridle …   Wiktionary

  • Common scold — Punishing a common scold in the dunking stool In the common law of crime in England and Wales, a common scold was a species of public nuisance a troublesome and angry woman who broke the public peace by habitually arguing and quarreling with her… …   Wikipedia

  • scolding bridle — Brit. Dial. branks. Also called scold s bridle /skohldz/. * * * …   Universalium

  • scolding bridle — Brit. Dial. branks. Also called scold s bridle /skohldz/ …   Useful english dictionary

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