Scourge

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Gordon
showing his scourged back, widely distributed by Abolitionists to expose the brutality of slavery.

A scourge is a

corporal punishment or self-mortification
. It is usually made of leather.

Etymology

The word is most commonly considered to be derived from Old French escorgier - "to whip", going further back to the Vulgar Latin excorrigiare: the Latin

Latin: excoriare, "to flay
", built of two Latin parts, ex- ("off") and corium, "skin".

Description

Reproduction of a medieval scourge

A scourge (

Latin
: flagrum; diminutive: flagellum) consists of a rope with metal balls, bones, and metal spikes.

The scourge, or

flail, and the crook are the two symbols of power and domination depicted in the hands of Osiris in Egyptian monuments.[1] The shape of the flail or scourge is unchanged throughout history.[2] However, when a scourge is described as a 'flail' as depicted in Egyptian mythology, it may be referring to use as an agricultural instrument. A flail's intended use was to thresh wheat, not to implement corporal punishment.[3]

The priests of Cybele scourged themselves and others. Such stripes were considered sacred.[4]

Hard material can be affixed to multiple thongs to give a flesh-tearing "bite". A scourge with these additions is called a scorpion. Scorpio is Latin for a Roman flagrum and is referred to in the Bible: 1 Kings 12:11: "...My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions" said Rehoboam, referring to increased conscription and taxation beyond Solomon's. The name testifies to the pain caused by the arachnid. Testifying to its frequent Roman application is the existence of the Latin words Flagrifer 'carrying a whip' and Flagritriba 'often-lashed slave'.[4] According to the Gospel of John, Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, ordered Jesus to be scourged.[5]

Fifteenth-century woodcut of flagellants scourging themselves

Scourging was soon adopted as a sanction in the monastic discipline of the fifth and following centuries. Early in the fifth century it is mentioned by

Columban rule.[11]

discipline, as a means of mortification and penance.[4]

From then on the practice appeared in most medieval religious orders and associations.

Elisabeth of Hungary also made private use of the "discipline".[4]

Metaphoric use

Semi-literal usages such as "the scourge of God" for

Hun (i.e. "God's whip with which to punish the nations") led to metaphoric
uses to mean a severe affliction, e.g. "the scourge of drug abuse".

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "The Crook and Flail in Ancient Egypt". touregypt. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  2. ^  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "scourge". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  3. .
  4. ^ a b c d e Tierney 1909.
  5. ^ John 19:1
  6. ^ Tierney 1909 cites Historia Lausiaca vi
  7. ^ Tierney 1909 cites Socrates Hist. Eccl., IV, xxiii
  8. ^ Tierney 1909 cites Patrologia Latina, LXVII, 1111
  9. ^ Tierney 1909 cites Patrologia Latina, LXVIII, 392, 401-02
  10. ^ Tierney 1909 cites Hefele, "Concilieng.", II, 594, 656
  11. Gretser, "De spontaneâ disciplinarum seu flagellorum cruce libri tres" (Ingolstadt, 1603); Franz Quirin von Kober
    , "Die körperliche Züchtigung als kirchliches Strafmittel gegen Cleriker und Mönche" in Tüb. "Quartalschrift" (1875).
  12. ^ Tierney 1909 cites Patrologia Latina, CXLIV, 1017; the surname means 'strapped'

References

Further reading

  • H. H. Mallinckrodt, Latijn-Nederlands woordenboek (Latin-Dutch dictionary)

External links