CB in Rothenburg Museum

Submitted by: Klaus

Dear Altairboy,

You might be interested to learn about the Kriminalmuseum or Medieval Crime Museum in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Bavaria, Germany, with a quite comprehensive coverage of the history of justice and punishment in former times.

For one reason or another they also have three chastity belts on display. They are of similar make. It is interesting to compare two of them.

One sees that the series of holes at the side of the bare metal belt are intended to sew the padding to the metal frame. The padding of the other belt is somewhat worn out tentatively suggesting the belt has been in actual use.

The waistband does not look too comfortable but one could have used parts of the clothes underneath it to cushion the metal edge. At least there is no visible sign of former padding. More striking is the fact that the padding does cover the holes in the front and back metal shields. If the padding in place really is the original one, then the belts were definitively not suitable for continuous wear. No way to pee or shit without soiling the belt, and there are no such marks on the present padding. This coincides with the holes in the metal belt being small and more of a decorative than functional size and shape.

But these chastity belts seem comfortable enough to be worn for hours or even a day. This leaves me with a number of questions:

When were these belts manufactured?
Were they worn for longer periods?
Did the lady have access to the key?
What did they protect against?
What was the reason to use them?

Being unsuitable for the lady with the husband off to the holy land, it could have been a jealous husband safeguarding his wife, or a mother her daughter, or the abbess the novice. Maybe they were though to prevent touching oneself. Perhaps a protection worn by the lady herself on purpose, to protect her against the dangers of travel or soldiers residing in town, or even a malicious way of saying "no" to the advances of a courting lover.

Well, I do not know, and the museum simply states "Chastity Belts".

UPDATE 99-Nov-20 A visitor to this webpage writes:
I too have been to the Kriminalmuseum in Rothenburg. At the time I took the tour there was a card under the belts describing their use. If memory serves me, they were used for a punishment called the "whores wedding" in which the womans head was shaved and adorned with a straw or string "wig" (also in the case with the belts) and she was placed in the belt. I am no expert in German, but the impression I got was that it was more a punishment of humliation than pain. Sorry, but I don't remember a time limit placed on said activities. Perhaps a reader from Germany could elaborate. - MB

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Page last updated 99-Nov-20 by: Altairboy@aol.com