Stocks and Pillories

Stocks and Pillories

Long ago, in the time known as the Middle Ages life was harsh and uncertain. In the Middle Ages small communities were formed for the well-being and safety of the people. These cities were built around a "master". Each community was called a manor, and consisted of a castle, a church, a village, and the lots of farmland. There were many cruel and unusual ways to punish the rule breakers and troublemakers of the community. Perhaps the most popular punishment used in the Middle Ages, and the punishment that most people today are familiar with are stocks and pillories.

What are Stocks and Pillories?

Most people have seen stocks or pillories, but chances are they didn't know what they were called. PÐ"Ґ Svenska described what a stock is on his website Stocks and Pillories:

"In their simplest form, these are a pair of stocks hinged together at one end and, at the other end, a hasp and staple for a padlock. The lower stock is fixed to the ground. The stocks confine the victim's ankles, who is obliged to sit in that position, either on the ground or on a wooden bench. Some stocks have posts at each end, with runners in which the upper stock can slide up and down."

PÐ"Ґ Svenska also explained pillories:

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"A set of stocks with three holes, one in the center for the neck, and two each side for the wrists. These stocks are fixed to the top of a central post (or posts at each end), obliging the occupant to stand with his or her head and hands thus confined. Like the stocks, the upper stock can be either hinged or in side runners."

There were many other types of stocks that were not as common as the basic stocks and pillories. One was called the drunkards cloak. This was shaped like an upside-down barrel and put with a hole on top. The victim's head went through the hole and was forced to wear the barrel shaped stock like a cloak. Another kind of stock was a yoke. This was a stock for the victim's wrists and head. The weight of it was supported on the victim's shoulders. Another kind of stock was called the shrew's fiddle. It was made to punish quarrelsome women. It was shaped like a two violins connected by the neck. On each side there were holes for the women's head and wrists. The women were forced to face each other until their problem was resolved. (The Stocks or Pillories)

History

Stocks have been used in parts of Europe and Asia for over at least 1000 years. They were mostly used in the Middle Ages, and were most popular and widely used during the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. When the 19th century came around they started declining in use, and were abolished in most European countries; remarkably, records show they were used in Delaware until 1905.

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