Everything about Stocks totally explained
Stocks are devices used since
medieval times for
public humiliation,
corporal punishment, and
torture. The stocks are similar to the
pillory and the
pranger, as each consists of large, hinged, wooden boards; the difference, however, is that when a person is placed in the stocks, their feet are locked in place, and sometimes as well their hands or head, or these may be chained. Also, some versions have small strings to hold the
toes in place. The victim is in a sitting position.
With stocks, boards are placed around the legs or the wrists, whereas in the pillory they're placed around the arms and neck and fixed to a pole, and the victim stands. However, the terms can be confused, and many people refer to the pillory as
the stocks.
The practice of using stocks continues to be cited as an example of
cruel and unusual punishment.
Historical uses
The stocks were popular in medieval times as a mild restraining device for minor offenders. In the stocks, an offender's hands and head, or sometimes their ankles would be placed and locked through two or three holes in the center of a board. Either before or after this the wrongdoer might have his or her footwear removed, exposing their
bare feet. Exhibiting an offender's bare feet was considered a form of
humiliation. Offenders were forced to carry out their punishments in the rain, during the heat of summer, or in freezing weather, and generally would receive only bread and water, plus anything brought by their friends.
Public stocks were typically positioned in the most public place available, as public humiliation was a critical aspect of such punishment. Typically, a person condemned to the stocks was subjected to a variety of abuses, ranging from having refuse thrown at them,
paddling, and
tickling, to whipping and roasting of the unprotected, extremely sensitive bare feet, a now illegal action called
bastinado.
The stocks were used in
Elizabethan England, and by the
Puritans in the colonial period of American history. Their last recorded use in the United Kingdom was in
1872 at
Adpar, west
Wales
Finger pillories often went by the name of finger stocks
Stocks were also used as punishment for military deserters, or for dereliction of military duty.
Current uses
The stocks have also taken on a lighter image, as they're often found at
Renaissance Fairs where the public can experience a form of "stocks entertainment" by watching actors locked in the stocks.
Examples
An excellent example of stocks can be seen in
Dromore, County Down, in
Northern Ireland.
Locations of examples in
England include:
Further Information
Get more info on 'Stocks'.
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