The woman in this photo colorized by Duriez is wearing a device called a Scold’s Bridle or Branks as a form of punishment, although nothing is known about her specific crimes to warrant this punishment. The Scold’s Bridle had an iron muzzle, surrounded by several strips of iron. The muzzle itself was wrapped around a woman’s face, similar to a mask. The bridle also had a small piece of iron which went inside the woman’s mouth, pressing down her tongue, and preventing speech; this piece was known as the “bridle bit.” The bridle was both a form of public punishment, as the man would lead her around town, occasionally attaching a bell to the top of the bridle to attract even more attention, as well as a physical punishment, as the wearer was unable to speak, eat or drink, and it could cause pain.
The original photo bears the caption 'Scold's bridle from Armagh Jail.' Colored by Duriez, flickr.com/photos/105862585@N04/
The origins of the Scold’s Bridle are not clear, but it is believed to have come out of the Middle Ages as part of the penal system. The first recorded use of the bridle for scolds was in the 17th Century. The photo of a woman wearing one in the Armagh Jail in Northern Ireland shows that the practice survived long after that. The punishable crime of being a “common scold” or communis rixatrix which was part of common law of England and Wales until it was abolished by section 13(1)(a) of the Criminal Law Act 1967.
Designed To Silence
Scold's bridle photo colored by Duriez, flickr.com/photos/105862585@N04/
The medieval definition of a scold was a woman who had a “vicious tongue,” or one who quarreled with the neighbors or the authorities. The scold could also be a gossip, or a woman who was “running out of control,” meaning that they might defy their husbands, riot, or challenge priests, just in general disturbing the peace and not behaving as women were expected to behave; in other words, the woman was not behaving in a quiet, virtuous manner. The barrator, a male equivalent, was a “common wrangler who setteth men at odds, and is himself never quiet but at brawl with one another” went out of use around the time the bridle began to be used in the early 17th Century. Another punishment for gossip, as well as telling off her husband was the ducking stool. The offending woman was strapped to a chair and dunked in the closest body of water repeatedly.
It Was Used To Punish Witches
The Scold’s Bridle was a punishment for witches in Scotland during the 16th century. Occasionally the bridle had a spike in the bit, and there were two particularly cruel ones: the “Forfar Bridle” and the “Stockport Bridle.” These had two spikes, one on the top and one on the bottom to pierce both the tongue and the palate. The intention of the bridle bit was to stop the scold from talking, but it could be sharpened to cut the tongue of the victim. In Newcastle, an officer of the Magistrates Court drove one woman through the streets by “holding a rope in his hand, the other end fastned to an Engine called the Branks, which is like a Crown, it being of Iron, which was musled over the head and face, with a great gap or tongue of Iron forced into her mouth, which forced the blood out.”
Not Just For Gossiping, Nagging Women
Scold's Bridles with bells. Source: (Vintage Everyday).
In England, the use of the bridle coincided with the arrival of James I. When he was King of Scotland, he was fearful of witches and encouraged the harsh punishment of female offenders. In some cases in England, the victims of the bridle were participating in social protests, and in one case, that of Dorothy Waugh, a Quaker from Westmorland, was put in it after preaching in the marketplace. The Mayor may have utilized this punishment to discourage other Quaker preachers. Many of the women who were punished with the bridle were older or poor and did not have a man to control them. There were instances when the bridle was used to punish men as well, such as an example from Nottingham in the 1700s, when a blind beggar who was about to be hanged for murder was put in one to silence him. The Royal Navy also used gags which were similar to the bridle to punish sailors for a variety of offences.
Other Cruel Punishments
Source: (Medievalists.net).
The Scold’s Bridle was, of course, not the only inhuman punishment from the past, including the better known rack, and stocks, as well as the man cage, a person sized cage, in which one who had received a death sentence was left to hang as they slowly died. During the Middle Ages, in the Burgundy area of France, a woman who left her husband could be suffocated in mud. Drunkenness became a crime in England with the Ale Houses Act 1551, and offenders had to wear a barrel with holes cut out for their heads and legs.
The image at the top of this post was colorized by Frederic Duriez, a French collector and colorizer of historical photos. You can see more of his work on his Flickr page.
