medieval punishment
Stocks and pillory
Medieval punishment refers to harsh, often brutal disciplinary measures associated with the Middle Ages—torture, public execution, mutilation, and humiliation in stocks or pillories.
The phrase typically appears in criticism of modern practices deemed barbarically severe: Solitary confinement is medieval punishment.
The adjective medieval here means primitive or uncivilized rather than historically accurate.
- ducking stoolPunishment seat for dunking
- whippingRepeated striking blows
- beheadingRemoval of head
- excommunicationFormal barring from sacraments
- penanceSelf-mortification for wrongdoing
iron maiden · drawing and quartering · hanging · stoning · stocks · mutilation · branding · hot irons · ear cropping · thumbscrews · impalement · burning at the stake · pillory · flogging · ordeal by fire · ordeal by water · dunce cap · rack
medieval punishmentrehabilitation
Recovery from injury/addiction
restorative justice · reform · prisoner rehabilitation · reintegration · redemption
medieval punishmentconstitutional protections
Rights guaranteed by supreme law
medieval, medium, mediate, mediation, mediator, intermediate, media, median, punish