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The fustuarium (an abstraction from the Latin fustis, a branch or rod) was a Roman military form of execution by cudgeling, which was copied by later armies. Hercules fights the Lernaean Hydra with a club A club or cudgel is perhaps the simplest of all mêlée weapons. ...
Roman Antiquity
Since laxness on guard duty or desertion could endanger the entire corps and even the Roman state, a slacking soldier was liable to be found as unworthy of the uniform, stripped, and beaten to death with sticks by his comrades, whose trust he had betrayed, as a collective exercise of ultimate discipline against what could be considered as passive equivalents of high treason. The excruciating effects on the condemned are comparable to running the ga(u)ntlet (see below); compare also to breaking on the wheel. The breaking wheel (originally, the whele) was a torture and capital punishment device of the Middle Ages and early modern times. ...
It was also applied for 'vile' crimes such as theft and sodomy or to certain captured enemies.
It could also be applied to every tenth man of a whole unit as a mode of decimation, though that was reportedly rather done by the sword. Decimation was a form of extreme military discipline imposed by officers in the Roman Army. ...
Some sources claim it could also take the form of stoning. Stoning is a form of capital punishment in which the convicted criminal is put to death by having stones thrown at them, generally by a crowd. ...
Post-Roman successors
 Spiessgasse (Pike-alley), from the Frundsberger War Book of Jost Amman, 1525 A very similar military punishment found in later armies was known as "running the gauntlet." The condemned soldier was stripped to the waist and had to pass between a double row (hence also known as die Gasse, "the alley") of cudgeling or switching comrades, while stopped from running through by the blade of a subaltern walking in front of him. The condemned might sometimes also be dragged through by a rope around the hands or prodded along by a pursuer. Various rules might apply, such as banning edged weapons, requiring the group to keep one foot in place, or allowing the soldier to attempt to protect his head with his hands. The punishment was not necessarily continued until death (if so, he might be finished off when unable to walk), and actually considered far less dishonoring than a beating with exposure to ridicule on the pillory, pranger, or stocks, since one could 'take it like a man' upright among soldiers. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (748x922, 502 KB) Summary Spiessgasse (Pike-alley), from the Frudsberger Kriegsbuch (war-book) of Jost Ammann, 1525 Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Fustuarium ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (748x922, 502 KB) Summary Spiessgasse (Pike-alley), from the Frudsberger Kriegsbuch (war-book) of Jost Ammann, 1525 Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Fustuarium ...
It has been suggested that Pranger be merged into this article or section. ...
Pranger in Poznan in form of column. ...
Modern Day Stocks Entertainment The stocks are a device used for public humiliation, corporal punishment, and torture. ...
In some traditions, if the condemned was able to finish the run and exit the gauntlet at the far end, his faults would be deemed paid, and he would rejoin his comrades with a clean slate (and serious injuries), elsewhere he was sent back until death followed.
- A Prussian cavalry variation was to beat the condemned with spurs instead of rods.
- It was also common practice in the French army, especially for thieves.
- Also used in training, notably on military cadets, as in a scene in the movie Oberst Redl.
- There was also a naval version, on deck, stopped from rushing by the master-at-arms with a cutlass and pushed forward by a corporal, notably for minor theft (most hated by the comrades) in the Royal navy, using rope yarns that were plaited into so-called knittles (a word for a string; possibly also a sound-association with stinging nettles), looking like an improvised mini-version of the cat o' nine tails (of which formal scourger the culprit got an excruciating dozen lashes in advance, guaranteeing any further hit to hurt his lacerated back badly), which was also used –even with knots, worsening the sting- on severe theft charges but then immobilizing them by ropes.
- Mild forms, not intended to cause permanent damage, have also been used on or by children.
The word gauntlet, unrelated to the French-derived word gauntlet meaning a protective glove, was probably transferred from the Swedish gatlopp to British troops in the Thirty Years War. The practice persisted in parts of Germany (mainly Prussia) and Austria as the Spießrutenlaufen, or pike-run, and also in Russia, until the 19th century. The Cat O Nine Tails is a type of multi-tailed whipping device that originated as a tool of corporal punishment from the British navy. ...
A gauntlet is a protective glove and a form of armour used to protect the wrist, the hand, fingers and forearms. ...
The victory of Gustavus Adolphus at the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) The Thirty Years War was a conflict fought between the years 1618 and 1648, principally in the central European territory of the Holy Roman Empire, but also involving most of the major continental powers. ...
Modern use The expression "(to run) the gauntlet" is now applied to various punishments or tests consisting of consecutive blows or tasks endured sequentially but delivered collectively, especially by colleagues. Even mere humiliation may take such a form, such as the walk of shame as ritual expulsion.
Thus a fraternity paddling during hazing and/or as a punishment by all present brothers can follow this mise-en-scène. Common variants include having to crawl through on all fours, being made to halt in front of every paddle in exposed (bended) position, wearing only undergaments or ridiculous costume, or being smeared and soiled before and/or during. For activities involving paddles, see canoeing. ...
The Glenbrook North High School hazing incident concerned many people worldwide Hazing is often ritualistic harassment, abuse or humiliation with requirements to perform meaningless tasks; sometimes as a way of initiation into a social group. ...
Similar practices are used in other initiations and rites of passage, as on pollywogs (those passing the equator for the first time; external link : [1] includes a paddling version), in aviation when a new pilot gets his first license, or in mountaineering when reaching a certain summit for the first time. As these do not cause serious injuries, they are sometimes eagerly anticipated by the participant as a sign of acceptance into a more prestigious group. A POLLYWOG is in zoology, a Tadpole (amphibious offspring, not yet in adult form) the literally belittling term for a (military or commercial) sailor subjected to a traditional, hazing-like ritual initiation when first crossing the equator Categories: Disambiguation ...
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