Throughout history, there have been many methods of meting out justice depending on the severity of the offense. The Romans invented perhaps one of the most, if not the most cruel form of physical punishment for heinous criminals: crucifixion. In the witch hunts that took place from the 15th to 18th centuries, the accused were burned at the stake or drowned.
Even in fiction, particularly, George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, we were introduced to the walk of atonement which forced the accused to strip naked and walk through the streets of King's Landing. In the case of Cersei Lanister, one of the devout followers of the High Sparrow, Septa Unella accompanied the Queen Mother and repeatedly shouted "Shame!" as Cersei went through the punishment and public humiliation.
Along these same lines, there was another brutal form of punishment and public humiliation that was implemented in 16th and 17th century medieval England, prevalent in Christian culture at the time. The contraption that was used in this public spectacle was called "The Ducking Stool". Other names for it were tumbrel, cucking stool, and choking stool.
As depicted in the picture above, it shows a wooden chair hanging from a pole, or some kind of lever-pulley system, above a body of water and the accused will be forced to sit on the chair while being dunked into the water. Depending on the severity of the crime, they may be dunked multiple times until they have learned their lesson.
Mainly, this form of punishment was invented to castigate scolds — women who were considered as excessively argumentative or disruptive. Since people took the submissive ideal of women espoused in Christian teaching to the extreme, any woman who was too loud or considered subversive would be subjected to this punishment. The idea being that the executors of this punishment will force the women to conformity by shaming them in a public spectacle.
Apart from insubordinate women, the ducking stool was also later used as a punishment for witchcraft, adultery, and failing to adhere to trade regulations for brewers and bakers. Records have also shown that this form of punishment was an institutional one and quite widespread, with one document chastising inhabitants under the jurisdiction of the Manor of Edgeware for their neglect of using the ducking stool.
As time passed by, thankfully the practice faded gradually, most likely due to opposition to the practice as well as a shift in societal attitudes toward punishment and public shaming.
(Image credit: Public domain/Wikimedia Commons)