The Scold's Bridle

 

The Scold's Bridle was also called a Branks. It was a torture device used from the Tudor through at least the Georgian era. It was for women who were mouthy or gossipy and needed to be curbed or corrected. It was a metal cage strapped to the head. The mouth cover had a piece that projected inward, filling the mouth with a tongue-plate which was sometimes spiked. If the woman moved her tongue at all she would risk great injury. Sometimes the Scold's Bridle was affixed with animal ears or bells to call attention to her great humiliation.