īranking (in Scotland and the North of England) was designed as a mirror punishment for shrews or scolds-women of the lower classes whose speech was deemed ' riotous' or 'troublesome' -by preventing them from speaking. The kirk-sessions and barony courts in Scotland inflicted the contraption mostly on female transgressors and women considered to be rude, nags, common scolds, or drunken. Origin and purpose England and Scotland įirst recorded in Scotland in 1567, the branks were also used in England and its colonies. The wearer was then led around town by a leash. For extra humiliation, a bell could also be attached to draw in crowds. This prevented speaking and resulted in many unpleasant side effects for the wearer, including excessive salivation and fatigue in the mouth. The scold's bridle was used on men and women. It functioned to silence the wearer from speaking entirely, and caused extreme pain and physiological trauma to scare and intimidate the wearer into submission. A bridle-bit (or curb-plate), about 5 cm × 2.5 cm (2 in × 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 was an iron muzzle in an iron framework that enclosed the head (although some bridles were masks that depicted suffering). 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, as a form of public humiliation.

Metal cage muzzle