Iron Masks Were Used To Discipline Erring Wives During The Medieval Era
The Scold’s bridle was a bizarre form of torture used to coerce women into submission
The Scold’s Bridle was first used in England and Scotland as a punishment for witches during the 16th century. However, since the society was male-dominated, some men started using it on supposedly “troublesome” women who nagged or were “running out of control”. Offenders that had transgressed in one way or the other were also not exempted from being punished with the scold’s bridle.
The Bridle had several names by which it was called; “the brank’s bridle”, “gossiping bridle” or “witch’s bridle”.
Who were scolds?
In a very loose definition, scolds referred to women who talked inappropriately or were libelous. However, in extreme cases, a scold was seen as:
“A troublesome and angry person who broke the public peace by habitually chastising, arguing and quarrelling with neighbours, or with a male authority figure.”
Sadly, women were the usual suspects.
