Medieval Punishments: An Illustrated History of Torture

(Paperback)

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The brank may be described simply as an iron framework; which was placed on the head, closing it in a kind of cage; it had in front a plate of iron, which, either sharpened or covered with spikes, was so situated as to be placed in the mouth of victim, and if she attempted to move her tongue in any way whatever, it was to be shockingly injured.

Author Bio

William Andrews was an English author and editor of dozens of books, including Old Church Lore and Yorkshire in Olden Times. He published several evolving works on bygone punishments; this is his third and, by his account, definitive statement on the subject. Born in 1848, he died in 1908.