Collar
A collar is an arched shackle that was used by prisoners in earlier times . It consists of two semicircular (mostly band-shaped) iron parts, which are connected on one side with a hinge . On the other side there is a locking mechanism that cannot be opened by the person tied with the collar without assistance. A chain is attached to the collar , the other end of which is connected to another object:
- The chain is connected to other shackles that have been put on the handcuffed person, for example handcuffs .
- The chain is connected to an immovable object, for example a wall in a dungeon or the pillory on the market square . The handcuffed person is chained and prevented from escaping.
- The chain is connected to another person who leads the chained person.
To put on the neck iron, the locking mechanism is opened, the neck iron is placed around the neck of the person to be tied up, closed and locked. The collar is so tight that it cannot be pulled over the head, but so far that it is still possible to breathe and swallow.
Neck irons were mainly used in the Middle Ages and the early modern period , and in connection with slavery even later. Under Napoleon , the use of the neck iron (le carcan), branding and mutilation were regulated by law in the “ code pénal ” of 1810. The use of a neck iron is considered an inhumane type of restraint, which is no longer officially used today.