By F. A. Carrington, Esq. 



43 



Pranghe, muyl-pranghe, postoinis, pastonris, confibula : instrumentum 

 quod naribus equorum imponitur. Kilian. Wachter gives prang-er 

 — premere, coarctare. Hence, he says, the pillory is vulgarly 

 called pranger, Belg. pranghe, from the yoke or collar in which the 

 neck of the culprit is held." 1 



In a copy of Dr. Plot's " History of Staffordshire," in the British 

 Museum Library, the following marginal note occurs on his de- 

 scription of the Brank. It has been supposed to be in his own 

 handwriting. — -"This Bridle for the Tongue seems to be very 

 ancient, being mentioned by an ancient English poet, I think 

 Chaucer, quern vide : — 



" ' But for my daughter Julian, 



I would -she were well bolted with a Bridle, 

 That leaves her work to play the clack, 

 And lets her wheel stand idle. 

 For it serves not for she-ministers, 

 Farriers nor Furriers, 

 Cobblers nor Button-makers 

 To descant on the Bible.' " 



I cannot find that there ever was a brank at Marlborough ; 

 although it is quite possible that there was, and that it exists in 

 the Town now : the person possessing it not knowing what it is 

 or its use. In the year 1858, the Rev. Thomas Hugo exhibited a 

 brank at the Archaeological Institute, and it remained till the 

 exhibition of the Portraits of Mary Queen of Scots, when the ladies 

 saw it, and on my asking them if they knew what it was, one of 

 them replied, " I suppose it is to be put on the nose of vicious 

 horses who are addicted to biting." I explained the ungallant 

 reality. 



In conclusion I would observe that the Venerable Archdeacon 

 Hale on seeing the specimen of the brank which I have, remarked, 

 that from so many Cucking Stools and Branks having existed 

 from the reign of Charles II. to that of Queen Anne, and 

 from so many entries and memoranda being found respecting 

 them, they must have been then in frequent use. He suggested 

 that in those times, there being few Lunatic Asylums, and insanity 



1 Dr, Jamieson's Scottish Dictionary, and Supp. in voce. 



