Lucia
Assistant executioner
Often, the wooden horse is featured as a device of torture, but in German/Dutch speaking parts of Europe, it was often used as a public shaming device, typically for the punishment of prostitutes and adulterous women (and sometimes men). It was not considered a severe punishments - what says something about tolerance for pain... In the Middle Ages, prostitution was a sin, but accepted as a necessary evil, a prevention of rape. Punishment of prostitution began in the 17th and 18th century as a consequence of religious intolerance of sex, but was most often very random.
Sadly, I can not draw very well...
The excerpts:
In 1698 there was a wooden horse in Ghent, on which prostitutes and adulterous women were exhibited for the public, more specifically on the Friday market. "The punished person sat on a sharp triangular oak plank, which was the horse's back. Her legs were tied to the legs of the horse, preventing her to fall off the horse, but also making it impossible to close her legs. Her hands were free. This allowed her to relieve the pain in her crotch by pushing herself up, which she could not sustain for very long, much to the amusement of the crowd." A city bill of 1706 described the costs of making a new wooden horse. The spectacle took place in front of the Ghent public. Punishment varied between once one hour for first timers to three times two hours plus a whipping for recidivists.
There was also a the wooden horse in the provincial correction house for women in Ghent in 1775. This punishment was one of a series of punishments to which the prisoners were allowed to be subjected to. It did not specifically mention the reason for such punishment.
In Mechelen there was also a wooden horse (note: see added pictures of the original horse in the museum). Prostitutes had to sit on the horse in St. Rumbold's cemetery for an hour. They were on display for the entire community. The punishment continued until the French Revolution (on the Grote Markt, in front of the Hallen).
Petrus Jacobus tells about daily life in his Wervik (Belgium) in the 18th century. With some glee he tells the story of the conviction in 1747 of a prostitute. The woman had offered herself to the horsemen of the Regiment Royal-Etranger. She was sentenced to the "wooden horse". The horsemen, satisfied with her and her services, threw the wooden horse into the river. A new horse was soon made at their expense, and the poor woman was exhibited at the Steenakker after all.
Sadly, I can not draw very well...
The excerpts:
In 1698 there was a wooden horse in Ghent, on which prostitutes and adulterous women were exhibited for the public, more specifically on the Friday market. "The punished person sat on a sharp triangular oak plank, which was the horse's back. Her legs were tied to the legs of the horse, preventing her to fall off the horse, but also making it impossible to close her legs. Her hands were free. This allowed her to relieve the pain in her crotch by pushing herself up, which she could not sustain for very long, much to the amusement of the crowd." A city bill of 1706 described the costs of making a new wooden horse. The spectacle took place in front of the Ghent public. Punishment varied between once one hour for first timers to three times two hours plus a whipping for recidivists.
There was also a the wooden horse in the provincial correction house for women in Ghent in 1775. This punishment was one of a series of punishments to which the prisoners were allowed to be subjected to. It did not specifically mention the reason for such punishment.
In Mechelen there was also a wooden horse (note: see added pictures of the original horse in the museum). Prostitutes had to sit on the horse in St. Rumbold's cemetery for an hour. They were on display for the entire community. The punishment continued until the French Revolution (on the Grote Markt, in front of the Hallen).
Petrus Jacobus tells about daily life in his Wervik (Belgium) in the 18th century. With some glee he tells the story of the conviction in 1747 of a prostitute. The woman had offered herself to the horsemen of the Regiment Royal-Etranger. She was sentenced to the "wooden horse". The horsemen, satisfied with her and her services, threw the wooden horse into the river. A new horse was soon made at their expense, and the poor woman was exhibited at the Steenakker after all.
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