The lives of ordinary couples were more easily controlled. The Duke of Stettin’s diary describes a wooden horse – “a long large tree or beam, with a seat made upon it, reaching far over the water” – which he and his secretary spotted outside the gates of Rochester. When they asked about it they were told that in England neighbors were expected to spy on each other and if any marital differences were noted the couple had to appear before a magistrate. If it was determined that the husband was at fault, he had to pay a fine; if the wife was at fault, then he was punished anyway, “for not having been able to keep up his authority.”
The wife, meanwhile, was “placed on the above mentioned chair and ducked three times into the water up to the neck by the boys who roam about in the streets. When she is well drenched and well shamed, she returns home to her husband, who after the custom of the country, gives her comfort by getting her dried with warm cloths, especially in winter time.”
Source:
Lisle, Leanda De. "The Beggars Have Come to Town" After Elizabeth: The Rise of James of Scotland and the Struggle for the Throne of England. New York: Ballantine, 2005. 221. Print.
Original Source Listed:
Gerschow, “Stettin,” p. 65.
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