Stick (bondage)
A stick is a mostly wooden shackle that was used to prevent prisoners from escaping in earlier times (especially in the Middle Ages ). Another name for the stick is the foot block .
A common form consisted of two elongated wooden blocks that were placed on top of each other and fitted with a hinge on one side and a locking mechanism on the other. The wooden blocks were each given semicircular recesses, which were exactly on top of each other when closed. This created holes that enclosed the ankles of the handcuffed person and that were so small that the feet could not be pulled through. Instead of connecting the wooden blocks with a hinge and lock, they were sometimes screwed together.
The hands could also be handcuffed with some sticks; they either had four holes or U-shaped iron clamps that were mounted on the upper block. The lower block was often firmly attached to the ground.
The upper block was folded up or removed to put on the shackles. The person to be tied up had to sit on the floor and place their ankles and, if necessary, their wrists in the semicircular recesses provided. The upper block was then placed on top of the lower block and connected to it. In the version with four holes, the ankles were locked in the two outer holes and the wrists in the two inner holes. This resulted in a very uncomfortable sitting position: the upper body had to be bent far forward, the legs were spread.
The stick was widely used in the Middle Ages for tying prisoners in dungeons . Furthermore, the stick was used for honor punishments . The person condemned to “sit on a stick” was presented to the public tied up in a stick; the stick thus took on the function of the pillory . The stick was also used to prevent prisoners from avoiding the use of torture .
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Shackling with wooden blocks was an option in the Middle Ages, as this form of shackle was much easier to manufacture than chains and iron bells. However, it is one of the most painful and rigid restraint methods, as the restraint is practically completely deprived of freedom of movement. Today the stick is no longer used in the penal system, but it is used in the field of BDSM .
