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Simple English definitions for legal terms
ducking stool
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A quick definition of ducking stool:
A ducking stool is a device used in the past to punish people who were considered scolds or troublemakers. The person would be strapped to a chair and repeatedly plunged underwater. It was also used to punish bakers and brewers by dunking them into stinky water. The device was also known as a cucking stool or trebucket. It was mentioned by the ancient Saxons and in Domesday Book. The punishment was meant to shame the person and make them stop their bad behavior.
A more thorough explanation:
A ducking stool is a device used in the past to punish scolds, bakers, and brewers. It involves repeatedly plunging them underwater as a form of correction. The device is also known as a castigatory, cucking stool, or trebucket.
The ancient Saxons referred to it as a "scealfing stole," and it was mentioned in the Domesday Book as a "cathedra stercoralis." The punishment was often carried out by dunking the offender into "stinking water" or a midden.
For example, if a woman was convicted of being a common scold, she would be sentenced to sit in the ducking stool. The stool would then be plunged into the water, and the woman would be repeatedly dunked as punishment.
The use of the ducking stool was eventually phased out as society moved away from physical punishment as a means of correction.