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A Scold's Bridle (also the brank or branks) was a torture device for women, resembling an iron muzzle or cage for the head with an iron curb projecting into the mouth. It was used to punish "scolds" -- women whose speech was "riotous" or "troublesome" -- by preventing them from speaking.
There are no historical records of the device ever being used on men. The tongue curb could be as gentle as a flat iron plate that passively discouraged tongue movement or as painful as a spike-festooned iron bit that punished it rather more painfully.
Modern variants of the Scold's Bridle deliberately designed not to be injurious are used during BDSM bondage practices on both genders as one form of a gag.
The Scold's Bridle is the title of a novel by Minette Walters, where a scold's bridle is a key element in the plot.
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