To scold - to criticize someone, especially a child, severely and usually angrily for something they have done wrong;
Bridle - leather bands that go over a horse’s head and hold the bit in its mouth;
Bridle - leather bands that go over a horse’s head and hold the bit in its mouth;
The bridled woman was really an outspoken woman and it took a brave one to be subjected to the punishment for being so. This made the bridle a very effective means of social control. Her fate was to be dragged through the streets in the bridle as it shook about on her head; often with her jaw broken, spitting out teeth, blood and vomit and receiving all forms of abuse.
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In the late 16th Century and the early 17th Century there is also great concern about women 'running out of control' by, amongst other things, defying husbands, rioting and challenging priests. The preoccupation with women's behaviour in the period is reflected in such writings as Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew.
The origins of the bridle are not clear but it is currently thought to have originated in Europe sometime in the Middle Ages and was used as part of the penal system. It is first heard of in Britain as a punishment for witches in Scotland in the 16th Century and one of the worst examples of it is the so-called 'Forfar Bridle'. This is particularly horrible, having spikes on the top and bottom of the bit (a metal part, attached to a horse's bridle that is put into its mouth and used to control it) to pierce the tongue and palate. There is an equally gruesome instrument kept at Stockport and known as the 'Stockport Bridle' and this also has spikes on the top and bottom of the bit.
