thumb|A branked [[scold in Colonial New England, from a lithograph in A Brief History of the United States by Joel Dorman Steele and Esther Baker Steele from 1885]]

A scold's bridle, sometimes called a witch's bridle, a gossip's bridle, a brank's bridle, or simply branks, was an instrument of punishment used as a form of public humiliation.

It consisted of an iron muzzle in an iron framework that enclosed the head (although some bridles were masks that depicted suffering). A bridle-bit (or curb-plate), about in size, was slid into the mouth and pressed down on top of the tongue, often with a spike, used as a compress. This prevented speaking and resulted in many unpleasant side effects for the wearer, including excessive salivation and fatigue of the mouth.

The scold's bridle was used on women, the counterpart of the stocks and pillory used to punish men.

Branking (in Scotland and the North of England)—by preventing them from speaking. This also gives it its other name, the Gossip's Bridle.

It was also used as corporal punishment for other offences, notably on female workhouse inmates. The person to be punished was placed in a public place for additional humiliation and sometimes beaten. The Lanark Burgh Records record a typical example of the punishment being used: "Iff evir the said Elizabeth salbe fund [shall be found] scolding or railling ... scho salbe sett [she shall be set] upone the trone in the brankis and be banishit [banished of] the toun thaireftir [thereafter]" (1653 Lanark B. Rec. 151).

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 humiliate them into repenting their alleged offensive actions. A spike inside the gag prevented any talking since any movement of the mouth could cause a severe piercing of the tongue. Other branks included an adjustable gag with a sharp edge, causing any movement of the mouth to result in laceration of the tongue.

In Scotland, branks could also be permanently displayed in public by attaching them, for example, to the town cross, tron, or tolbooth. 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 or a local magistrate.

Jougs were similar in their effect to a pillory, but did not restrain the sufferer from speaking. They were generally used in both England and Scotland in the 16th and 17th centuries.

England

Two bridles were bought for use by the magistrates of Walsall in the 17th century, but it is not clear what happened to them or whether they were ever used.

In Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, a replica of a scold's bridle from 1633 that was stolen in 1965, was in a dedicated cabinet in the vestry of the church, with the inscription "Chester presents Walton with a bridle, to curb women's tongues that talk too idle." Oral tradition 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 Chester.

Escrava Anastacia ("Anastacia the slave") is a Brazilian folk saint said to have died from wearing a punitive slave iron bit.

<gallery widths="200" heights="200">

File:17XX Schandmaske anagoria.JPG|18th century scold's bridle in the Märkisches Museum Berlin

File:Chambers 1908 Branks.png|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

File:St. Andrews branks, Holy Trinity Church.JPG|The "Bishop's branks" of St. Andrews

File:Scottish branks (scold's bridles), Abbot House Dunfermline.jpg|17th century Dunfermline branks

</gallery>

In fiction

  • In Three Men in a Boat (1889), the iron scold's bridle at Walton Church in Walton on Thames, Surrey, is mentioned as a local item of interest.
  • The Scold's Bridle (1994) is the title of a novel by Minette Walters, in which a scold's bridle is a key element in the plot.
  • In Brimstone (2016) actress Carice van Houten is wearing a scold's bridle in some scenes.
  • In the 2021 mini-series Ragdoll, a victim is seen wearing a scold’s bridle in some scenes.

See also

  • Blinding (punishment)
  • Shrew's fiddle
  • Stool of repentance

References

  • Bygone Punishments of Scotland by William Andrews 1899 on Electric Scotland