Post by UKarchaeology on Apr 1, 2016 16:16:00 GMT
* Medieval copper whip was found at Rufford Abbey in Nottinghamishire
* It was used by monks for self-flagellation or to ward off the Black Death
* Intriguing artefact is just one of four medieval scourges found in the UK
From cleansing the soul to beating away the Black Death, self-flagellation was a popular, if painful, cure in the Middle Ages.
Now archaeologists have discovered pieces of a punishing copper scourge, or whip, which may have been used by repenting monks to chastise themselves.
The instrument of self-torture was found by archaeologists during a dig underneath the meadow at Rufford Abbey in Nottinghamshire and is one of only four ever to have been found in the UK.
Scourges were woven copper-alloy wires braided together, used by people in the Middle Ages to chastise themselves.
The people perhaps saw it being a way of cleansing the soul or self-punishment for society's sins, and were popular after the devastation of the Black Death.
Full story: www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3519038/Medieval-whip-unearthed-Rufford-Abbey-Monks-used-copper-scourge-punish-sins-14th-century.html
* It was used by monks for self-flagellation or to ward off the Black Death
* Intriguing artefact is just one of four medieval scourges found in the UK
From cleansing the soul to beating away the Black Death, self-flagellation was a popular, if painful, cure in the Middle Ages.
Now archaeologists have discovered pieces of a punishing copper scourge, or whip, which may have been used by repenting monks to chastise themselves.
The instrument of self-torture was found by archaeologists during a dig underneath the meadow at Rufford Abbey in Nottinghamshire and is one of only four ever to have been found in the UK.
Scourges were woven copper-alloy wires braided together, used by people in the Middle Ages to chastise themselves.
The people perhaps saw it being a way of cleansing the soul or self-punishment for society's sins, and were popular after the devastation of the Black Death.
Full story: www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3519038/Medieval-whip-unearthed-Rufford-Abbey-Monks-used-copper-scourge-punish-sins-14th-century.html
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