It does not just seem a long time since my paper about the use of the horrible branks or ‘scold’s bridle’ in Stirling was published; (John G Harrison, 1998. Women and the Branks in Stirling, c. 1600- c. 1730. Scottish Social and Economic History, volume 18(2), p;114-131). It is, indeed, a long time!
Up to that time, whilst many historians mention the instrument, whether in Scotland or England, they were aware of only a few instances of actual use and there was a good deal of assumption in the accounts. The Stirling records revealed 44 branks-related punishments and 106 incidents where women were threatened or punished with the branks. Strikingly, the detail revealed that both accused and accusers (particularly before about 1670) were mainly women married to artisan-burgesses – so they were not ‘the poor’ and would continue to live in the town after their punishment.
Salient findings were that the punishments were often for disputes with other women of similar status and social profile, not for disputes with their husbands, albeit after about 1670 the cases sometimes involved other high status men. The punishment was graded – from the threat of the branks, through having to carry the instrument through the town, to having to wear it in a procession through the streets, perhaps to the house of the complainer. And, most striking of all, their neighbours would remember their punishment and, perhaps, ‘cast it up’ later = on one occasion 19 years after the event! Reputation was central to these cases – the accused were, indeed, women with disputatious reputations who now gained a reputation for being branked.
A few later publications cited the paper (particularly noting the comparison between the branked women and women accused of witchcraft). However, interest later seemed to fade and it has received little attention online. Only recently have enquiries and citations begun to bubble up again. So, I thought it worthwhile to raise it again here. I think it is a substantial piece of work, vividly illustrating several aspects of the social life of the Scotland of the period.
It does not just seem a long time since my paper about the use of the horrible branks or ‘scold’s bridle’ in Stirling was published; (John G Harrison, 1998. Women and the Branks in Stirling, c. 1600- c. 1730. Scottish Social and Economic History, volume 18(2), p;114-131). It is, indeed, a long time!
Up to that time, whilst many historians mention the instrument, whether in Scotland or England, they were aware of only a few instances of actual use and there was a good deal of assumption in the accounts. The Stirling records revealed 44 branks-related punishments and 106 incidents where women were threatened or punished with the branks. Strikingly, the detail revealed that both accused and accusers (particularly before about 1670) were mainly women married to artisan-burgesses – so they were not ‘the poor’ and would continue to live in the town after their punishment.
Salient findings were that the punishments were often for disputes with other women of similar status and social profile, not for disputes with their husbands, albeit after about 1670 the cases sometimes involved other high status men. The punishment was graded – from the threat of the branks, through having to carry the instrument through the town, to having to wear it in a procession through the streets, perhaps to the house of the complainer. And, most striking of all, their neighbours would remember their punishment and, perhaps, ‘cast it up’ later = on one occasion 19 years after the event! Reputation was central to these cases – the accused were, indeed, women with disputatious reputations who now gained a reputation for being branked.
A few later publications cited the paper (particularly noting the comparison between the branked women and women accused of witchcraft). However, interest later seemed to fade and it has received little attention online. Only recently have enquiries and citations begun to bubble up again. So, I thought it worthwhile to raise it again here. I think it is a substantial piece of work, vividly illustrating several aspects of the social life of the Scotland of the period.
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