By putting a muzzle on them, of course.
The Scold’s bridle was an iron muzzle with an iron framework enclosing the head.
When the equipment was worn, it was impossible for the person to either eat or speak.
Later in England, some began to use them on troublesome women and transgressors.
Many communities had theirown establishedpunishment for nagging wives and cuckolded husbands.
But some preferred the Scold’s bridle.
Getting bridled was not only physically discomforting, it was humiliating too.
In Scotland, a bridled woman was often paraded on the streets, sometimes by her own husband.
Scolds were also punished by permanently displaying them on the towns cross or tollbooth.
These acts were intended to remind people how to behave and the consequences of any rash action or slander.
A woman wearing a scold’s bridle being led around the town by an officer, 1655.
