Scold's bridle, Belgium, 1550-1775

Iron scold's bridle mask to cover face, large nose piece, grotesque ears and 2 horns, Brussels, Belgium, 1550-1800

A ‘scold’s bridle’ is a fearsome mask. It fits tightly onto the head. This example is decorated with horns. It has an oversized nose and ears. A scold was a legal term for someone - usually a woman - deemed to be causing a public nuisance through speech. The bridle was typically used as a punishment for offences such as gossiping or quarrelling. A local magistrate normally allocated the punishment. The custom developed in Britain in the 1500s. It spread to other European countries, including Germany. It was impossible to speak while wearing the mask. It was a punishment in workhouses until the early 1800s.

This example is believed to have been found when the Vilvorde prison in Brussels, Belgium was rebuilt in the 1770s.