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Ducking stool

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473: 145: 551:. In the last case, the water in the pond was so low that the offender was merely wheeled around the town in the chair. The common law offence of common scold was extant in New Jersey until struck down in 1972 by Circuit Judge McCann who found it had been subsumed in the provisions of the Disorderly Conduct Act of 1898, was bad for vagueness and offended the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution for sex discrimination. Long before this decision, the punishment of ducking, together with all other forms of 133: 375: 752: 36: 644:
includes dishonest tradesmen as well as disorderly women and scolds as people for whom the cucking-stool was used and cites its use in Vienna and that "The punishment of the ducking stool cannot be inflicted in Pennsylvania." which by implication suggests that it could be used in some other parts of
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In medieval times until the early 18th century, ducking was a way used to establish whether a suspect was a witch. The ducking stools were first used for this purpose but ducking was later inflicted without the chair. In this instance the subject's right thumb was bound to her left big toe. A rope
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The term "cucking-stool" is older, with written records dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries. Written records for the name "ducking stool" appear from 1597, and a statement in 1769 relates that "ducking-stool" is a corruption of the term "cucking-stool". Whereas a cucking-stool could be and
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Both seem to have become more common in the second half of the sixteenth century. It has been suggested this reflected developing strains in gender relations, but it may simply be a result of the differential survival of records. The cucking-stool appears to have still been in use as late as the
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on the edge of a pond or river. Sometimes, however, the ducking-stool was not a fixture but was mounted on a pair of wooden wheels so that it could be wheeled through the streets, and at the river-edge was hung by a chain from the end of a beam. In sentencing a woman the magistrates ordered the
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The ducking-stool was a strongly-made wooden armchair (the surviving specimens are of oak) in which the offender was seated, an iron band being placed around them so that they should not fall out during their immersion. The earliest record of the use of such is towards the beginning of the 17th
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The stools were technical devices which formed part of the wider method of law enforcement through social humiliation. A common alternative was a court order to recite one's crimes or sins after Mass or in the market place on market day or informal action such as a
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was tied around the waist of the accused and she was thrown into a river or deep pond. If she floated, it was deemed that she was in league with the devil, rejecting the baptismal water. If she sank, she was "cleared. And dead".
411:. It was a chair on two wheels with two long shafts fixed to the axles. This was pushed into the pond and then the shafts released, thus tipping the chair up backwards. Sometimes the punishment proved fatal and the subject died. 227:
was used for humiliation with or without dunking the person in water, the name "ducking-stool" came to be used more specifically for those cucking-stools on an oscillating plank which were used to duck the person into water.
211:. They were usually of local manufacture with no standard design. Most were simply chairs into which the offender could be tied and exposed at her door or the site of her offence. Some were on wheels like a 917: 767: 235:
A ballad, dating from about 1615, called "The Cucking of a Scold", illustrates the punishment inflicted to women whose behaviour made them be identified as "a Scold":
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is known to have been in use from about 1215. It means literally "defecation chair", as its name is derived from the old verb
442: 100: 972: 535:, Laurel and Hardy are sentenced to the ducking stool, followed by banishment to Boogeyland, for burgling Barnaby's house. 392: 72: 879: 793: 1042: 862: 727: 607: 119: 79: 374: 522: 319:
and has not quite been rid of in many parts of the English speaking world as "to cack" (defecate) (akin to Dutch
86: 57: 53: 1037: 17: 943: 555:, had become unlawful under the provisions of the New Jersey Constitution of 1844 or even as early as 1776. 472: 531: 163:, and dishonest tradesmen in medieval Europe and elsewhere at later times. The ducking-stool was a form of 68: 485: 337: 669: 498:, continues to house a replica ducking stool, at the site where punishments were once carried out. 453: 353: 829: 196: 46: 1062: 719: 713: 692: 646: 595: 492:. The town clock, commissioned for the Millennium, features a moving ducking stool depiction. 800: 757:
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
445:. There is also a ducking chair in Canterbury, where the High Street meets the River Stour. 495: 93: 219:. Some were put on poles so that they could be plunged into water, hence "ducking" stool. 8: 552: 144: 596:"The Taming of the Scold: Enforcement of Patriarchal Authority in Early Modern England" 176: 858: 810: 788: 723: 613: 603: 910:"Canterbury's ducking stool at centre of debate after opponents suggest its removal" 223:
or pillories were similarly used for the punishment of men or women by humiliation.
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number of duckings she should have. Yet another type of ducking-stool was called a
384: 327: 188: 1032: 964: 836: 699: 676: 653: 547:(1808); Jenny Pipes, a "notorious scold" (1809), and Sarah Leeke (1817), both of 192: 569: 137: 1016: (Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division (Criminal) 13 July 1972). 321: 1026: 994: 763: 758: 574: 489: 396: 288: 171: 617: 448:
A surviving ducking stool is on public display outside the Criminal Museum (
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Ducking or cucking stool, a historical punishment for the common scold, 1896
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Punishing a woman accused of excessive arguing in the ducking stool
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Usually, the chair was fastened to a long wooden beam fixed as a
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http://oed.com/view/Entry/45498?redirectedFrom=cucking-stool#eid
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were chairs formerly used for punishment of disorderly women,
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http://oed.com/view/Entry/58195?redirectedFrom=ducking+stool
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http://oed.com/view/Entry/58195?redirectedFrom=ducking+stool
602:. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 116–136. 506:
There is a reference from about 1378 to a ducking stool as
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A type of ducking stool can be seen briefly in the film
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The last recorded cases are those of a Mrs Ganble at
341:), rather than, as popularly believed, from the word 857:. Themes in history. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 164. 60:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. 364:Some towns, I fear, would not their numbers hold. 484:A complete ducking stool is on public display in 1024: 383:century, with the term being first attested in 414: 362:Now, if one cucking-stool was for each scold, 880:"After Toil and Trouble, 'Witch' Is Cleared" 298: 679:and ...ducking-stool accessed 27 Nov 2012. 600:Order and Disorder in Early Modern England 598:. In Fletcher, A.; Stephenson, J. (eds.). 270:, has a long history, and was used by the 1014:120 N.J. Super. 336 (1972) McCann JCC 965:"A ghoulish tour of medieval punishments" 940:"Home - Mittelalterliches Kriminalmuseum" 855:Witches and witch-hunts: a global history 852: 593: 120:Learn how and when to remove this message 1009:State of New Jersey v. Marion Palendrano 762: 745: 743: 741: 739: 471: 373: 143: 131: 877: 711: 14: 1025: 907: 843:Spring, 2003. Accessed 30 Sept. 2012. 736: 718:. Harvard University Press. pp.  529:In the Laurel and Hardy feature film 443:Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick 428: 839:: Colonial Crimes and Punishments." 456:, a well-preserved medieval town in 58:adding citations to reliable sources 29: 1053:Imprisonment and detention of women 423: 24: 920:from the original on 13 March 2022 794:Curious Punishments of Bygone Days 183:both primarily for the offense of 25: 1074: 501: 369: 230: 215:that could be dragged around the 175:(1378). They were instruments of 750: 34: 1058:Medieval instruments of torture 1048:European instruments of torture 1001: 986: 975:from the original on 2017-09-15 957: 946:from the original on 2023-06-24 932: 901: 890:from the original on 2022-02-28 624:from the original on 2024-01-30 523:Monty Python and the Holy Grail 256:And thus unto the cucking stool 45:needs additional citations for 878:Shapira, Ian (July 12, 2006). 871: 846: 841:Colonial Williamsburg Journal, 822: 817:, vols. i. and ii. (1860–1862) 705: 682: 659: 635: 587: 13: 1: 580: 437:of a ducking stool is in the 387:in 1597. It was used both in 908:Wright, Joe (12 June 2020). 853:Behringer, Wolfgang (2004). 480:, England; last used in 1809 252:Neats tongues about her neck 248:Stripped naked to the smock, 7: 830:Bilboes, Brands, and Branks 558: 467: 240:Then was the Scold herself, 10: 1079: 768:Ducking and Cucking Stools 712:Rollins, Hyder E. (1971). 515: 415:Use in identifying witches 258:This famous scold did go. 250:As in that case she ought: 689:Oxford English Dictionary 666:Oxford English Dictionary 642:Oxford English Dictionary 594:Underdown, David (1985). 538: 476:Replica ducking stool at 1043:Early Modern witch hunts 512:("women's punishment"), 454:Rothenburg ob der Tauber 773:Encyclopædia Britannica 508: 351:mid-18th century, with 314: 277: 254:Were hung in open show; 165: 481: 379: 367: 299: 263:The cucking-stool, or 261: 149: 141: 138:Pearson Scott Foresman 702:accessed 27 Nov 2012. 656:accessed 27 Nov 2012. 475: 377: 359: 354:Poor Robin's Almanack 286:. It is mentioned in 237: 147: 135: 1038:Corporal punishments 783:Old Time Punishments 496:Christchurch, Dorset 274:, who called it the 136:Illustration from a 54:improve this article 805:Faiths and Folklore 553:corporal punishment 357:of 1746 observing: 292:as being in use at 191:and less often for 835:2019-08-10 at the 715:A Pepysian Garland 698:2023-06-08 at the 675:2018-10-27 at the 652:2023-06-08 at the 482: 429:Surviving examples 380: 300:cathedra stercoris 197:illegitimate child 177:public humiliation 150: 142: 811:Llewellynn Jewitt 486:Leominster Priory 130: 129: 122: 104: 27:Punishment chairs 16:(Redirected from 1070: 1017: 1011: 1005: 999: 990: 984: 983: 981: 980: 961: 955: 954: 952: 951: 936: 930: 929: 927: 925: 914:KentOnline.co.uk 905: 899: 898: 896: 895: 875: 869: 868: 850: 844: 826: 820: 777: 756: 754: 753: 747: 734: 733: 709: 703: 686: 680: 663: 657: 639: 633: 632: 630: 629: 591: 532:Babes in Toyland 511: 424:Notable examples 393:English colonies 317: 302: 280: 209:Skimmington ride 195:like bearing an 168: 125: 118: 114: 111: 105: 103: 62: 38: 30: 21: 1078: 1077: 1073: 1072: 1071: 1069: 1068: 1067: 1023: 1022: 1021: 1020: 1007: 1006: 1002: 991: 987: 978: 976: 971:. 2 July 2016. 963: 962: 958: 949: 947: 938: 937: 933: 923: 921: 906: 902: 893: 891: 884:Washington Post 876: 872: 865: 851: 847: 837:Wayback Machine 828:Cox, James A. " 827: 823: 797:(Chicago, 1896) 766:, ed. (1911). " 751: 749: 748: 737: 730: 710: 706: 700:Wayback Machine 687: 683: 677:Wayback Machine 664: 660: 654:Wayback Machine 640: 636: 627: 625: 610: 592: 588: 583: 561: 541: 518: 504: 470: 431: 426: 417: 372: 366: 363: 296:, being called 260: 257: 255: 253: 251: 249: 247: 241: 233: 193:sexual offences 126: 115: 109: 106: 69:"Ducking stool" 63: 61: 51: 39: 28: 23: 22: 15: 12: 11: 5: 1076: 1066: 1065: 1060: 1055: 1050: 1045: 1040: 1035: 1019: 1018: 1000: 985: 956: 942:. 2021-07-05. 931: 900: 870: 863: 845: 821: 819: 818: 808: 807:(London, 1905) 798: 786: 764:Chisholm, Hugh 735: 728: 704: 681: 658: 634: 608: 585: 584: 582: 579: 578: 577: 572: 570:Village stocks 567: 560: 557: 540: 537: 517: 514: 503: 502:Early mentions 500: 469: 466: 450:Kriminalmuseum 430: 427: 425: 422: 416: 413: 371: 370:Ducking-stools 368: 360: 284:scolding stool 238: 232: 231:Cucking-stools 229: 157:cucking stools 153:Ducking stools 128: 127: 42: 40: 33: 26: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 1075: 1064: 1063:Water torture 1061: 1059: 1056: 1054: 1051: 1049: 1046: 1044: 1041: 1039: 1036: 1034: 1031: 1030: 1028: 1015: 1010: 1004: 997: 996: 995:Piers Plowman 989: 974: 970: 966: 960: 945: 941: 935: 919: 915: 911: 904: 889: 885: 881: 874: 866: 864:0-7456-2718-8 860: 856: 849: 842: 838: 834: 831: 825: 816: 815:The Reliquary 812: 809: 806: 802: 801:W. C. Hazlitt 799: 796: 795: 790: 787: 784: 780: 779: 775: 774: 769: 765: 760: 759:public domain 746: 744: 742: 740: 731: 729:0-674-66185-0 725: 721: 717: 716: 708: 701: 697: 694: 690: 685: 678: 674: 671: 667: 662: 655: 651: 648: 643: 638: 623: 619: 615: 611: 609:0-521-25294-6 605: 601: 597: 590: 586: 576: 575:Waterboarding 573: 571: 568: 566: 563: 562: 556: 554: 550: 546: 536: 534: 533: 527: 525: 524: 513: 510: 499: 497: 493: 491: 490:Herefordshire 487: 479: 474: 465: 463: 459: 455: 451: 446: 444: 440: 436: 421: 412: 410: 405: 400: 398: 397:North America 394: 390: 386: 376: 365: 358: 356: 355: 348: 346: 345: 340: 339: 334: 330: 329: 324: 323: 318: 316: 310: 309:cucking-stool 305: 303: 301: 295: 291: 290: 289:Domesday Book 285: 281: 279: 273: 269: 268: 259: 245: 236: 228: 224: 222: 218: 214: 210: 204: 202: 198: 194: 190: 186: 182: 178: 174: 173: 172:Piers Plowman 167: 162: 158: 154: 146: 139: 134: 124: 121: 113: 102: 99: 95: 92: 88: 85: 81: 78: 74: 71: –  70: 66: 65:Find sources: 59: 55: 49: 48: 43:This article 41: 37: 32: 31: 19: 18:Cucking stool 1008: 1003: 993: 988: 977:. Retrieved 968: 959: 948:. Retrieved 934: 922:. Retrieved 913: 903: 892:. Retrieved 883: 873: 854: 848: 840: 824: 814: 804: 792: 785:(Hull, 1890) 782: 781:W. Andrews, 771: 714: 707: 688: 684: 665: 661: 641: 637: 626:. Retrieved 599: 589: 542: 530: 528: 521: 519: 505: 494: 483: 449: 447: 432: 418: 401: 381: 361: 352: 349: 342: 336: 332: 326: 320: 312: 308: 306: 297: 287: 283: 275: 264: 262: 239: 234: 225: 205: 201:prostitution 170: 156: 152: 151: 116: 107: 97: 90: 83: 76: 64: 52:Please help 47:verification 44: 992:Langland's 789:A. M. Earle 778:Citations: 391:and in the 244:wheelbarrow 1027:Categories 979:2017-07-10 950:2023-06-19 894:2010-10-22 645:the USA. 628:2018-05-31 581:References 549:Leominster 509:wymen pine 478:Leominster 338:κακός/κακή 325:and Latin 267:Repentance 189:backbiting 166:wymen pine 80:newspapers 998:, B.V.29. 565:Dunk tank 307:The term 278:scealding 265:Stool of 140:text book 973:Archived 969:BBC News 944:Archived 918:Archived 888:Archived 833:Archived 696:Archived 673:Archived 650:Archived 622:Archived 618:17289313 559:See also 545:Plymouth 526:(1975). 468:Replicas 246:brought, 185:scolding 110:May 2023 924:6 April 761::  516:In film 462:Germany 458:Bavaria 441:of the 435:tumbrel 409:tumbrel 385:English 344:cuckold 294:Chester 213:tumbrel 181:censure 94:scholar 1033:Chairs 1012:, 861:  755:  726:  616:  606:  539:Demise 404:seesaw 389:Europe 335:Greek 328:cacāre 322:kakken 315:cukken 272:Saxons 221:Stocks 217:parish 161:scolds 96:  89:  82:  75:  67:  720:72–77 452:) in 439:crypt 242:In a 101:JSTOR 87:books 926:2022 859:ISBN 724:ISBN 614:OCLC 604:ISBN 433:The 179:and 73:news 813:in 770:". 691:. 395:of 333:cf. 282:or 199:or 187:or 155:or 56:by 1029:: 967:. 916:. 912:. 886:. 882:. 803:, 791:, 738:^ 722:. 620:. 612:. 488:, 464:. 460:, 399:. 347:. 331:; 203:. 982:. 953:. 928:. 897:. 867:. 732:. 631:. 123:) 117:( 112:) 108:( 98:· 91:· 84:· 77:· 50:. 20:)

Index

Cucking stool

verification
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"Ducking stool"
news
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scholar
JSTOR
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Pearson Scott Foresman

scolds
Piers Plowman
public humiliation
censure
scolding
backbiting
sexual offences
illegitimate child
prostitution
Skimmington ride
tumbrel
parish
Stocks
wheelbarrow
Repentance

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