The pillory was a device used for punishment and public humiliation in the Middle Ages. Prisoners were pinned in an upright position and subjected to insults and missiles. The severity of punishment varied and could include physical harm. Today, the term “pilloried” is used metaphorically to describe public humiliation.
The pillory is a device used historically for the control and punishment of prisoners. People pilloried had their heads and hands pinned in place and their bodies forced into an upright position. The pillory enjoyed great popularity in the Middle Ages and was in use in parts of the world until the 1800s. This device is similar in design to the stocks, although the stocks were used to kneel prisoners and were somewhat more comfortable.
Typically, the pillory was used for enforced public humiliation. Individuals who committed certain types of crimes were placed in the device in a highly trafficked area such as a town square. Traditionally, a sign stating the reasons why the person was pilloried was placed nearby. People were welcome to shout insults and epithets at the prisoner and these were sometimes accompanied by missiles such as rotten fruit or dung. At the end of a prescribed period of time, usually a few hours, the prisoner was taken out and re-incarcerated or released, if the punishment was considered over after a session in the pillory.
The use of the pillory could also be accompanied by other methods of punishment. While pulled upright and unable to escape, the prisoner could be whipped or branded. Physical punishments such as the removal of an ear or tongue were also possible. The severity of the punishment was determined by the degree of the crime, and people were sometimes punished quite severely for relatively minor transgressions.
Physical compulsion in the pillory could be potentially dangerous to the prisoner, forcing the body into an awkward position for a sometimes extended period of time. Sometimes people were killed by members of the public too zealous to punish them, or due to deprivation of food and water, combined with stress. Medieval jurisprudence was much harsher than the modern legal system, and these deaths were considered an acceptable, if unfortunate, accident.
Today the sense of the pillory persists as a form of public humiliation. People presented for mockery or punishment in a metaphorical sense, such as a politician heavily criticized in an opinion piece, are said to be “pilloried”. Such individuals are not restrained and are not physically harmed, but may experience psychological distress as a result of their public exposure and ridicule.
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