The Middle Ages is considered one of the most violent periods in human history. Religion-obsessed people were afraid of appearing blasphemous, so they tried to adhere to the strict rules set by the church. Disobedience was punishable by shame and even death. Women of the Middle Ages suffered the most - they were obliged to fulfill the role of loving wives and unquestioningly obey the will of their spouses. To "pacify" the young ladies, cunning craftsmen came up with terrible devices. hotshow life talk about the most famous of them.

Iron mask for chatty ladies

chastity belt

Ideally, only the legal spouse had the key to the lock on the invention. If the court came to the decision that the belt should be removed, the jealous person was warned about this in advance, and the device itself was removed with a special device. True, cunning key makers did not miss the opportunity to earn extra money on the popularity of the device. Often they made several copies of the keys, sold duplicates to their wives or even their lovers for a fee.

Pear of suffering

Breast tear forceps

If you have a girlfriend who misses real knights, when men were real earners and protectors, and women only needed to dress feminine and light up their home with love, show her this text.

For addiction to a non-believer - a fire

The Spanish code of the 13th century called Seven Partides, compiled under King Alfonso X the Wise, strictly forbade women to have relations with non-Christians, specifically with Jews and Moors.

The wisdom of the king, apparently, was manifested in the fact that the punishment depended on the status of the woman. A widow or a maiden was simply deprived of half of her property for the first sin. For the second, they burned (along with a Moor or a Jew, of course). There was nothing to take away from a married Spanish woman, everything belonged to a man anyway, so the punishment was at the discretion of the husband. He could burn his wife himself if he wanted to. Finally, the prostitute was whipped the first time, and killed the second time.

For disputes with neighbors - a shame and a firebox in the water

In the Middle Ages in Europe, a special, specifically female offense was recognized, which was called communis rixatrix or quarrelsomeness.

If a woman swore loudly with her neighbors, she was sentenced to a shameful chair. People then loved to have fun, looking at the punishment, so the tied woman was dragged through the village to the delight of everyone. Then they began to abruptly drop into the water and pull it back out. Some died from shock. In English laws, this punishment was preserved until 1967! And the last time it was used was in 1817.

True, there the pond turned out to be small, and the woman had to be released. As an option, it was possible to put on a shameful cap - an iron mask with a pointed gag. Finding out relations with neighbors through the fence, think about what kind of happiness it is to be born in our time.

For treason - cut off the nose and take away the money

Thinking about punishing wives for treason, people of the past showed imagination. In some countries they drowned, in others they hung. An aristocrat could be sent to a monastery, and then ordered to suppress, for example.

Under Frederick II of Sicily, the noses of unfaithful wives were cut off (and, by the way, nothing was cut off for male traitors). And everywhere, everywhere they were deprived of all property and children. So if the death penalty was dispensed with, then the criminal usually had two roads: theft or prostitution.

For non-fulfillment of family duty - taking into custody

Zzvichay men followed the performance of their household duties by wives. But if the wife came across already very stubborn, the state hurried to help her husband. In Barcelona, ​​for example, in the XVIII century. there was a house of correction for bad wives.

It contained two groups of women. One included thieves and prostitutes, the other included wives whom the spouses could not set on the right path on their own. For example, they talked about one lady from high society who somehow got drunk and behaved indecently - the family handed her over for correction. In the house of correction, women fasted, prayed, worked from dawn to dusk, and were subjected to corporal punishment.

For disapproval of a husband's beard - beating with a club

Medieval Welsh law decreed that a husband had the right to beat his wife for subsequent heinous offenses: insulting his beard, wishing dirt on his teeth, and mishandling his property.
Moreover, according to the rules, it was possible to beat a wife only with a stick no thicker than a man’s middle finger and as long as his arm. It is necessary to inflict three blows on any place except the head. Last time a British judge referred to this common law rule in 1782. By the way, he was then called “Judge's finger” and ridiculed until his death.

For hunger strike - food violence

English suffragettes of the early 20th century. the government tried to scare the conclusion. In total, about a thousand women were imprisoned.

The activists fought to be considered not ordinary criminals, but political prisoners, and when they were denied this, they protested peacefully - arranging hunger strikes. At first, the authorities let them out, and then suddenly someone else dies. But then we decided to go the other way. The women were force-fed.

It was real torture (in fact, the UN now recognizes this as torture). The food probe was usually inserted through the nose. Women were held, they resisted, the tubes got in the wrong place, they peeled off the mucous membranes, many later acquired pneumonia or pleurisy. This continued until 1913, when Parliament passed a law allowing a woman to be released from prison and brought back when she began to eat again. This law was called by the people "The game of cat and mouse."

For the love of your children - torment with your husband

The idea that children are better with their own mother is historically quite fresh.

Previously, people thought not about the welfare of the child, but about who should own valuable property in the form of a child. Of course, father! For a very long time, women, no matter how scoundrel a person was, having received a church divorce, lost their children. In the UK, a man not only took children to himself, but also could forbid ex-wife approach them.

So many women were kept at home by this prospect, even if the husband fought, drank, took her money and took her mistresses. Only in 1839, Englishwomen were allowed to keep children under 7 years old, and to visit older ones. And then, if the woman received special permission from the Lord Chancellor and had “good luck”. The tradition of separating mothers from children has moved into New world, and there, too, then it was necessary to pass laws protecting women.

For an out-of-wedlock pregnancy - separation from a child, a madhouse

The British and Americans, not in some kind of gloomy Middle Ages, but 60-70 years ago punished women for extramarital pregnancy. Such unfortunates, as if for their own good, in order to hide the “shame”, were sent to special maternity hospitals.

No need to imagine a modern maternity hospital. In these establishments, pregnant women, for example, daily scrubbed the floors and stairs, washed all the linen, and defended prayers on their knees. If women were taken to church, they could be given cheap rings to pretend they were married. But, of course, everyone around knew and pointed the finger: here they are, the bad girls. Children were taken away and sent for adoption. If lucky.

If unlucky, the baby could die due to poor care. Poor patients were often stuck in the maternity hospital for a long time, because they were obliged to work out his valuable services. And some moved from there to a psychiatric hospital for decades, as psychiatrists of those times declared unmarried mothers to be asocial individuals who require radical treatment.

For men's work - a fine

Not surprisingly, from such a life, many women looked with envy at men. And not for some rich people or nobles, but even for porters, soldiers or frog pickers. From time to time, some Jane or Juliet would come up with the idea of ​​dressing up as a man and enlisting, for example, in the Navy.

And, of course, it was forbidden. Such women were punished for obscene behavior, for deceit, for putting on menswear. But the punishments were relatively mild: women were fined and required to dress decently. Most likely, the point was that they made good workers, soldiers and sailors. They were hardworking, did not drink and were full of working enthusiasm.

For the birth of a child with vices - separation from a child, the stigma of a fascist

The punishment of women for various crimes in Russia and in the countries of Europe and Asia varied greatly. At the same time, the medieval laws of all countries fixed the loyal attitude of society towards corporal punishment of the female population. Both in "enlightened" Europe and in "wild" Asia beating a wife was something taken for granted. In Russia, this ancient tradition is reflected in the code of laws family life, known as "Domostroy".

Punishment of wives in families

Domostroy "instruction" of the wife with the help of corporal punishment is presented as mandatory. At the same time, a woman is practically equated with livestock. The latter is supposed to be beaten hard, because neither the donkey nor the horse understands the meaning of human speech and is able to obey only physical strength.

A woman, as a creature naturally prone to sin, but at the same time endowed with an understanding of the language, according to the author of Domostroy, can only be subjected to minor blows for minor offenses. A wife could be beaten with a hand or a whip. During the punishment, it was forbidden to use traumatic metal objects and inflict blows that could lead to disability (for example, to beat in the eyes).

Despite this reservation, Russian families often experienced the most severe beatings of wives, which led to death. Moreover, if the woman herself raised her hand to her husband, she had to pay a fine to the treasury in the amount of 3 hryvnias (Yaroslav's Decree).

For a serious misconduct or simply “under a hot hand”, a woman was supposed to be severely whipped with a whip. Similar laws existed (and still exist) in the countries of the East. First of all, this concerns the Muslim powers, where the husband also has the right, at his own discretion, to punish his wife for a misconduct or simply as a warning.

In European countries there were no specific laws on this matter, but not a single husband in the Middle Ages was punished for beating a woman in the family. Corporal punishment wife in the family was something taken for granted, as if "in the order of things."

Punishment for treason

Cheating a wife was considered a serious crime in almost all cultures. At the same time, both in Russia and in Europe they looked through their fingers for a long time. In the case of proven infidelity, the wife, along with her lover, had to bear the punishment at the hands of the deceived husband. The latter could, at his discretion, flog with a whip or otherwise punish both criminals. Punishment was almost always corporal.

Quite often, society itself could come up with some kind of sophisticated, shameful punishment for both a dishonorable wife and her cuckold husband. Sometimes whole shameful processions were arranged: the woman walked in front and led the donkey on which her deceived husband was sitting. This procession was followed by a herald, at regular intervals announcing to everyone about the crime of the woman and the disgrace of her husband.

Such public executions were very much loved in Western Europe. In Russia, neither women nor men were subjected to public ridicule. Usually a fine was imposed on the criminal or sent to serve her sentence in a spinning house. A man in such cases had the right to divorce an unfaithful woman and subsequently enter into another marriage. This road was ordered for a woman: she did not have the right to remarry.

But Russian laws regarding the punishment of traitors were constantly changing. In most cases, a fine was nevertheless imposed, and the husband could already deal with his wife at his own discretion.

In Byzantium, a much more severe punishment was applied to traitors - their noses were cut off so that the “stigma” of shame would remain for life. The punishment for a traitor in Muslim countries is stoning to death. The execution was carried out large quantity of people. The accusers and at the same time the executioners were all the relatives of the deceived husband, the elders of the village and, in general, anyone who felt righteous anger in his chest for violating the laws of Allah.

Punishments for more serious crimes

For abortions and the murder of newborn children in Russia, women were impaled. In Europe, for the "expulsion of the fetus" was called a witch with all the ensuing consequences of this definition. Both the failed mother herself and the woman who had an abortion were punished. Usually the case ended with burning alive at a huge fire.

The main crimes for which the execution was supposed to have been determined in the Russkaya Pravda (about the 10th-11th centuries). For particularly serious crimes, women were punished in the same way as men. It was the same in Europe in this regard. A woman who killed a person of a higher social status or committed some act against the sovereign was executed. At best, they could be whipped and exiled to some remote place.

In Russia, women were treated in a similar way. Only mothers of small children, pregnant women and daughters of noble parents could count on leniency and mitigation of the sentence. For the murder of an equal to oneself or a person lower in position, only a fine was due.

The instruments of torture are so sophisticated in places that the cruelty of their inventors is simply amazing.

Pear of suffering

This “pear” was used to punish women who had an abortion. And also - liars and homosexuals. The executioner inserted the tool into the right hole of the offender, untwisted the petals, but what's next - you guessed it. Sometimes the victims survived, but not for long: then they died anyway - from blood poisoning.

Source: wikipedia.org

spanish donkey

A wooden log in the form of a triangle was mounted on a scabbard. He was “decorated” with thorns, and a naked person was put on this business. To make torture more “pleasurable”, weights were put on the legs of the penalty box.

Source: wikipedia.org

Cradle of Judas

The tool is also known under the name “Chair of Judas“. The penalty box was lowered onto a point that stuck into his genitals. Under the martyr's own weight and gravity, everything was torn there. Well, then everything is according to the scenario, that is, death.

Source: wikipedia.org

Breast claws

Specifically: for the chest unfaithful wife. If one was caught hot, then these claws were taken, heated, and stuck into what is usually covered with a bra. Sometimes, after such torture, the ladies remained alive, but with terribly mutilated female beauty.

Source: wikipedia.org

Pectoral

In ancient times, this word was used to call a breast decoration in the form of a pair of carved gold or silver cups. Often, the accessory was decorated with precious stones, and worn like a modern bra, fixing it on the chest with chains.

When people enter marital relations, according to the traditions of most countries, it is understood that partners voluntarily give up sexual partners on the side, outside of marriage. It is unfortunate that these traditions are not always accepted. modern people as a guide to action. And often the so-called leftists for many become an insignificant phenomenon, humiliating a partner and devaluing the connection, which is already so fragile between people. Previously, adultery was always considered worthy of severe punishment, however, only for girls, for men it was not so reprehensible.

AT different countries the punishment of women for treason has always been quite harsh. It was supposed to be a shame for the female sex, a strong humiliation of her in front of her neighbors so that henceforth it would be repulsive for both her and others, looking at her. After this, the unfortunate woman did not always manage to survive - for example, in eastern countries, beating for treason with the help of various objects could kill the unfortunate woman.

Usually, the further north the region, the softer the punishment, probably due to the fact that there were more men in these parts. For female adultery, the wicked could pay with her ears, lips or nose - as it was in medieval Europe, therefore imprisonment in a monastery could not be the worst punishment. But more about the features of the relationship and punishment for adultery in different times and in different countries - a little further.

In the old days, our Slavic ancestors entered into marriages not for love, but at the will of their parents. Therefore, it often happened that the spouses were together not only without sympathy, but also with brighter negative feelings. As a result, spouses often made connections on the side, although this was very condemned by public morality.

Moreover, male infidelity was not actually infidelity, but female infidelity was persecuted by all the rigidity of morality of that time. The Charter of Prince Yaroslav the Wise mentions that a man is not an adulterer if his mistress has children from him. For adultery, a fine was supposed, the amount of which was determined by the prince himself. But in general, there was a principle “not caught - not a thief”: if no one talks about it and pretends not to know, then nothing terrible happens.

Oddly enough, the strong half was punished for treason in Ancient Russia: a husband who forgave his wife who betrayed him received a tangible reprimand himself, because he let her side.

In order to avoid shame and punishment, he should have divorced his wife, and done it immediately so as not to aggravate the situation.

In pre-Petrine times, the wife was punished many times stronger than the spouse. The unfaithful after a divorce (inevitable in this case) was obliged to join the spinning yard, she was forbidden to remarry. They reacted especially harshly to infidelity among the peasantry (the nobles were more tolerant in this matter, allowing themselves such pranks). Despite the inevitability and severity of punishment, those who wished nevertheless remained, which was reflected in the folklore of that time, recorded in proverbs and sayings.

In other countries

How in different countries women were punished for cheating on their husbands - you can write dissertations about this, this topic is so wide. Punishment in different countries was based on the traditions and values ​​of the culture of a particular country, reflecting its social structure and matrimonial relations. Therefore, the methods of punishment for infidelity were and are so diverse that the hair moves on the head.

Among the Danes in antiquity, death was due for adultery, while murder was fraught with only the usual fine. This showed how seriously this offense was taken in the Danish kingdom. There was no talk of male infidelity.

The Mongols cut the stumbled into two parts.

The ancient Bretons flogged her until she died.

The Gauls smeared her body in mud, slops and dragged it along the ground through the whole city. As a sign of censure, local residents could throw anything at her, insult and beat her.

The Goths did not wait for a trial or permission from external authorities: the spouse could independently pass the sentence on the offender with his own hands.

In China, the offender was smeared with bacon and thrown to hungry dogs.

The aborigines of Canada used their characteristic tradition of scalping: they also dealt with infidels there.

Greece made revenge for such a sin available to any citizen, and he could commit it in any way. But in Sparta, going to the left was not a sin and was not even worthy of blame.

In Islamic states, a caught beauty can be stoned to death.

Among the ancient Mongols, the punishment for treason was very cruel: only by cutting the sinner into several parts, you can adequately punish her for her misconduct. For such a person, a worthy death was impossible - her guilt was too unworthy.

The punishment for treason in ancient times in the East of the Roman Empire assumed a somewhat commercial approach: the sinner was put up for sale on the market, and anyone could buy her. But if the product was not interesting to any of the buyers, then things were really bad ...

It is especially painful to hear how women were punished for treason in the East. The delinquent inhabitants of the harem suffered especially subtly: they cut their body in the thinnest sensitive places, melted lead and poured it into the resulting wounds and holes in the body. They could stick wooden nails soaked in sulfur into the body, which were then set on fire, and the flame was kept for a long time due to the subcutaneous fat of the unfortunate victim.

In Singapore, treason was punished with sticks, and this method is still used today.

The inhabitants of Diarberkir executed the criminal with the whole family: each member of the family had to stab her with a dagger.

It is interesting how the Germans punished women for treason in antiquity. Punishment itself was uncomplicated against the background of previous options - they quartered. But the prevention was unusual: before a military campaign, the husband put on a chastity belt forged from iron on his lady of the heart, and took it off after returning from the campaign.

If we recall how crimes were punished in Babylon, then the Talmud speaks of four ways to do this most painfully for the guilty and indicative for others: strangulation, beheading, burning, in addition, they could be thrown from a height onto stones.

The so-called Middle Assyrian laws gave the right to a husband who found his wife with another, to kill both her and her lover on the spot. If he did not do this himself, then the court punished the adulterer in the same way that the husband punished his soul mate.

The punishment for treason in different countries is very diverse and indicative in terms of how significant and important family values ​​are in the culture of a particular country and how they relate to human life.

The most terrible punishments for treason existed in dark times. The sophisticated minds of the Jesuits tortured and punished women in the Middle Ages for such offenses with a deep understanding of physiology. And in any case, the victim was deprived of property and children, so that the road remained for her either to steal or engage in prostitution. Interestingly, even if the sufferer was faithful to her husband, but was in no hurry to repay her marital debt, the state could help the destitute spouse to collect it forcibly. In Barcelona, ​​for example, there was a House of Correction where one could turn in a wife for re-education: there she fasted, prayed, worked tirelessly for days on end and, of course, was subjected to very painful bodily punishments.

The Spanish code "Seven Partidas" (XIII century) forbade the female sex to copulate with non-Christians - Moors and Jews. True, the status (and how wealthy she was, among other things) greatly influenced the degree of censure. A widow or a maiden was deprived of the property that was at her disposal, repeated adultery was threatened with a fire, on which both participants in the process were burned. A married Spaniard received her portion of revenge from her husband, since she had nothing of her own, to the point that her husband, in his anger, could burn her in revenge.

In medieval Europe, the punishment for adultery was also severe. Moreover, imprisonment in a monastery was not the most terrible, although there she could be ordered and strangled. And even cutting off lips, noses and ears was inferior to another measure of struggle with sinners. Young and not very ladies were burned at the stake like witches, believing that only fire can save the soul of the wicked from witchcraft that takes her away from the family. Such a fate awaited only the female. The UK created a law under which a deceived husband was entitled to a one-time monetary compensation. Moreover, the amount was supposed to cover not only the material costs of the husband, which he incurred throughout his married life for the maintenance of his wife, but also include payment for the moral damage that was caused to his pride due to his wife's infidelity.

Among the most terrible practices, one can name female castration - in some African tribes, that person who did not take care of herself was subjected to just such an operation.

As scary as it all sounds, there are a dozen more difficult ways to raise a spouse, even if she does not survive after.

Top 10 worst punishments for women

• In Turkey, when such a wicked woman was discovered, a terrible fate awaited her: they put her in a bag, put a cat there, and beat the bag with chains so as to hurt the animal as much as possible. The procedure was performed until the unfaithful in torment died.
• In Korea, they forced to drink vinegar until the unfortunate woman swelled up, and then she was beaten with sticks to death.
• Some tribes of America, when a traitor was discovered, threw her at the feet of the leader, beat her, crushed all the bones in the body, then chopped them into pieces and ate them with the whole tribe.
• According to Sharia, Pakistani women were sentenced to death by hanging.
• In the small kingdom of Luango in Africa, according to long-standing customs, lovers are thrown off a cliff.
• In ancient times, one of the most cruel executions existed in Siam - by an elephant: the offender was put in a cage of a special design and an animal was brought to her. The elephant, confident that it was a female of its own species, killed her in the process.
• In northern Burma, female infidelity was dealt with in a very peculiar way. girls from the very early childhood rings are put on the neck, and under their number the neck gradually stretches strongly. When the girl entered puberty, her neck was so long that she could not hold her head on her own - all the muscles were so atrophied. If a wife cheated on her husband, these hoops were removed from her neck, and she died as a result of a broken neck, or remained crippled for life.
• Afghanistan, in the form of a transitional government, has restored the moral police that once operated under the Taliban. Adultery was punishable by 100 lashes and imprisonment.
• In Papua New Guinea, they were punished in the most unusual way, and not even the mistress herself, she just remained alive. But a man who had the courage to seduce someone else's wife was cut off his head. But at the same time, before his death, he had to eat the finger of his mistress. The surviving mistress remained with her flaw, the whole tribe knew about her guilt and it was impossible for her to find a mate after that. This was her payback.
• In Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Nigeria, women were stoned to death for adultery.

Of course, the way in which treason is punished in different countries now differs significantly from the terrible methods of punishment of past centuries. Now adultery in China, for example, is punishable by two years in prison and confiscation of half of the property. Undoubtedly, this is a much more humane way than being eaten alive by wild dogs, as was the case before. Punishment with stones in many countries is no longer relevant. Luckily.

For example, Indonesia punishes women for treason with up to 15 years in prison.

10 states in the US today also punish lady walkers with jail time. In Minnesota, for example, a wife who goes on a spree can be imprisoned for 5 years or fined $1,000. Or you can get both at the same time.

One can rejoice at the tolerance of European countries, which, as a reprimand for infidelity, choose the main property field.