A scourge is a

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

or lash, especially a multi-thong type, used to inflict severe corporal punishment or self-mortification. It is usually made of leather.

Etymology

The word is most commonly considered to be derived from Old French ''escorgier'' - "to whip", going further back to the Vulgar Latin ''excorrigiare'': the Latin

prefix A prefix is an affix which is placed before the Word stem, stem of a word. Adding it to the beginning of one word changes it into another word. For example, when the prefix ''un-'' is added to the word ''happy'', it creates the word ''unhappy'' ...

''ex''- "out, off" with its additional English meaning of "thoroughly", plus ''corrigia'' - "thong", or in this case "whip". Some connect it to la, excoriare, "to flay", built of two Latin parts, ''ex''- ("off") and , "skin".

Description

A scourge ( la, flagrum; diminutive: ) consists of a rope with metal balls, bones, and metal spikes. The scourge, or flail, and the crook are the two symbols of power and domination depicted in the hands of Osiris in Egyptian monuments. The shape of the flail or scourge is unchanged throughout history. However, when a scourge is described as a 'flail' as depicted in Egyptian mythology, it may be referring to use as an agricultural instrument. A flail's intended use was to

thresh Thresh may refer to: *Threshing, in agriculture **Threshing machine * A minor character in the novel ''The Hunger Games'' and its film adaptation * Thresh (gamer), handle of esports player Dennis Fong See also * Thrash (disambiguation) Thrash m ...

wheat, not to implement corporal punishment. The priests of Cybele scourged themselves and others. Such stripes were considered sacred. Hard material can be affixed to multiple thongs to give a flesh-tearing "bite". A scourge with these additions is called a scorpion. is Latin for a Roman and is referred to in the Bible:

1 Kings The Book of Kings (, '' Sēfer Məlāḵīm'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Kings) in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It concludes the Deuteronomistic history, a history of Israel also including the books ...

12:11: "...My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions" said Rehoboam, referring to increased conscription and taxation beyond Solomon's. The name testifies to the pain caused by the arachnid. Testifying to its frequent Roman application is the existence of the Latin words 'carrying a whip' and 'often-lashed slave'. According to the Gospel of John, Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, ordered Jesus to be scourged. Scourging was soon adopted as a sanction in the monastic discipline of the fifth and following centuries. Early in the fifth century it is mentioned by Palladius of Galatia in the , and Socrates Scholasticus tells us that, instead of being excommunicated, offending young monks were scourged. (See the sixth-century rules of

St. Cæsarius of Arles Caesarius of Arles ( la, Caesarius Arelatensis; 468/470 27 August 542 AD), sometimes called "of Chalon" (''Cabillonensis'' or ''Cabellinensis'') from his birthplace Chalon-sur-Saône, was the foremost ecclesiastic of his generation in Merovingia ...

for nuns, and of

St. Aurelian of Arles Aurelianus (523 – 551) was Archbishop of Arles from 546 to 551. His predecessors were Auxanius (bishop form 542–546) and Caesarius of Arles (d. 542). His father Sacerdos (d. 552) was an Archbishop of Lyon. His cousin Nicetius (d. 573) succeeded ...

.) Thenceforth scourging is frequently mentioned in monastic rules and councils as an enforcer of discipline. Its use as a punishment was general in the seventh century in all monasteries of the severe Columban rule. Canon law ( Decree of Gratian, Decretals of Gregory IX) recognized it as a punishment for ecclesiastics; even as late as the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, it appears in ecclesiastical legislation as a punishment for

blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...

, concubinage and

simony Simony () is the act of selling church offices and roles or sacred things. It is named after Simon Magus, who is described in the Acts of the Apostles as having offered two disciples of Jesus payment in exchange for their empowering him to imp ...

. Though doubtless at an early date a private means of

penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of Repentance (theology), repentance for Christian views on sin, sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic Church, Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox s ...

and mortification, such use is publicly exemplified in the tenth and eleventh centuries by the lives of

St. Dominic Loricatus Dominic Loricatus, O.S.B. Cam. (Italian: San Domenico Loricato; 995 - 1060), was an Italian monk, born in the village of Luceolis near Cantiano (then in Umbria, now in the Marche). His father, seeking social advancement, paid a bribe to have h ...

cites ''Patrologia Latina'', CXLIV, 1017; the surname means 'strapped' and

St. Peter Damian Peter Damian ( la, Petrus Damianus; it, Pietro or '; – 21 or 22 February 1072 or 1073) was a reforming Benedictine monk and cardinal in the circle of Pope Leo IX. Dante placed him in one of the highest circles of '' Paradiso'' ...

(died 1072). The latter wrote a special treatise in praise of self-flagellation; though blamed by some contemporaries for excess of zeal, his example and the high esteem in which he was held did much to popularize the voluntary use of a small scourge known as a

discipline Discipline refers to rule following behavior, to regulate, order, control and authority. It may also refer to punishment. Discipline is used to create habits, routines, and automatic mechanisms such as blind obedience. It may be inflicted on ot ...

, as a means of mortification and penance. From then on the practice appeared in most medieval religious orders and associations. The practice was, of course, capable of abuse, as demonstrated in the thirteenth century by the rise of the fanatical sect of the

Flagellants Flagellants are practitioners of a form of mortification of the flesh by whipping their skin with various instruments of penance. Many Christian confraternities of penitents have flagellants, who beat themselves, both in the privacy of their dwe ...

, though in the same period we meet with the private use of the "discipline" by such saintly persons as King

Louis IX of France Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the ...

and Elisabeth of Hungary.

Metaphoric use

Semi-literal usages such as "the scourge of God" for

Attila Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European traditio ...

the

Hun The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...

(i.e. "God's whip with which to punish the nations") led to metaphoric uses to mean a severe affliction, e.g. "the scourge of drug abuse".

Notes

References

*{{Catholic, last=Tierney , first=John j., wstitle=Flagellation, volume=6

Etymology

Description

Metaphoric use

See also

Notes

References

Further reading