Human branding is the process in which a mark, usually a symbol or ornamental pattern, is burned into the skin of a living person, with the intention that the resulting scar makes it permanent. This is performed using a hot or cold iron. It therefore uses the physical techniques of livestock branding on a human, either with consent as a form of body modification; or under coercion, as a punishment or imposing masterly rights over an enslaved, otherwise legally thereto condemned or other (even illegally) exploited and oppressed person. Livestock branding is any technique for marking Livestock so as to identify the owner Body modification (or body alteration) is the permanent or semi-permanent deliberate altering of the human body for non-medical reasons such as sexual enhancement Punishment is the practice of imposing something unpleasant or aversive on a person or animal usually in response to disobedient or morally wrong behavior As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another
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Word history
The English verb to burn, attested since the 12th century, is a combination of Old Norse brenna "to burn, light," and two originally distinct Old English verbs: bærnan "to kindle" (transitive) and beornan "to be on fire" (intransitive), both from the Proto-Germanic root brenwanan, perhaps from a Proto-Indo-European root bhre-n-u, from base root bhereu- "to boil forth, well up. " In Dutch, (ver)branden mean "to burn", brandmerk a branded mark. Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname
Sometimes the word cauterize, known in English since 1541, via Medieval French cauteriser from Late Latin cauterizare "to burn or brand with a hot iron", itself from Greek kauteriazein, from kauter "burning or branding iron," from kaiein "to burn" is used. However cauterization is now generally understood to mean a medical process - specifically to stop bleeding.
Historical use
Marking the rightless
The origin may be the - symbolically dehumanizing - treatment in Antiquity of a slave (by the harshest definition legally not even a person) as mere livestock: just a biological entity owned and sold for arbitrary use and abuse (as agricultural work unit, house slave or toy). As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another
- European and other colonial slavers branded millions of slaves during the period of trans-Atlantic enslavement. The European peoples are the various Nations and Ethnic groups of Europe. The history of slavery uncovers many different forms of human exploitation across many cultures throughout history Sometimes there were several brandings, e. g. for the Portuguese crown and the (consecutive) private owner(s), an extra cross after baptisement) as well as by African slave catchers.
To a slave owner it would be logical to mark his property on two legs just like cattle, or even more since humans are more adroit at escaping.
- The Greeks branded slaves with a Delta, Δ, for Δουλος doulos "slave". The Greeks ( Greek: Έλληνες) are a Nation and Ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions Delta (uppercase Δ, lowercase δ; Δέλτα Thelta is the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet.
- Runaway slaves were marked by the Romans with the letter F (for fugitivus). Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC
- An intermediate case between formal slavery and criminal law is when a convict is branded and legally reduced, with or without time limit, to a slave-like status, such as on the galleys (in France branded GAL or TF travaux forcés 'forced labour' until 1832), in a penal colony, or auctioned to a private owner. A galley (from Greek γαλέα - galea is an ancient Ship which can be propelled entirely by human oarsmen, used for Warfare A penal colony is a Settlement used to detain Prisoners and generally use them for Penal labour in an economically underdeveloped part of the state's
As punishment
In criminal law, branding with a hot iron was a mode of punishment by which marking the subject as if goods or animals, sometimes concurrently with their reduction of status in like. The term criminal law, sometimes called penal law, refers to any of various bodies of rules in different Jurisdictions whose common characteristic is the potential
Brand marks have also been used as a punishment for convicted criminals, combining physical punishment, as burns are very painful, with public humiliation (greatest if marked on a normally visible part of the body) which is here the more important intention, and with the imposition of an indelible criminal record. Corporal punishment is the deliberate infliction of pain intended to Punish a person or change his/her behavior Public humiliation was often used by local communities to punish minor and petty criminals before the age of large modern Prisons (imprisonment was long unusual as a punishment A criminal record is a record of a person's criminal history generally used by potential employers lenders etc Robbers, like runaway slaves, were marked by the Romans with the letter F (fur); and the toilers in the mines, and convicts condemned to figure in gladiatorial shows, were branded on the forehead for identification. Under Constantine I the face was not permitted to be so disfigured, the branding being on the hand, arm or calf. Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus (27 February ca. 272 &ndash 22 May 337 commonly known as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or Saint Constantine
The Acts of Sharbil record it applied between the eyes and on the cheeks in Parthian Edessa at the time of the Roman Emperor Trajan on a judge's order to a Christian for refusal to sacrifice, amongst other tortures. Parthia ( Middle Persian: اشکانیان Ashkâniân) was an Iranian civilization situated in the northeastern part of modern Iran Edessa ( Greek:) is the historical name of a Syriac town in northern Mesopotamia, refounded on an ancient site by Seleucus I Nicator Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus, commonly known as Trajan ( September 18 53 &ndash August 9 117) was a Roman Emperor who
The mark in later times was also often chosen as a code for the crime (e. g. in Canadian military prisons D for Desertion, BC for Bad Character, most branded men were shipped off to a penal colony). A penal colony is a Settlement used to detain Prisoners and generally use them for Penal labour in an economically underdeveloped part of the state's Branding was used for a time by the Union Army during the American Civil War. The Union Army was the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South Surgeon and Oxford English Dictionary contributor William Chester Minor was required to perform human branding on deserters at around the time of the Battle of the Wilderness. The Oxford English Dictionary ( OED) published by the Oxford University Press (OUP is a comprehensive Dictionary of the English William Chester Minor, also known as W C Minor (June 1834 &ndash March 26, 1920) was an American surgeon who made many scholarly Background The battlefield was the Wilderness of Spotsylvania an expanse of nearly impenetrable scrub growth and rough terrain that encompassed more than 70 square miles (181
The canon law sanctioned the punishment, and in France, in royal times, various offences carried the additional infamy of being branded with a fleur de lys, also galley-slaves could be branded GAL or later, when the galleys were replaced be the "bagne"s TF (travaux forcés, 'forced' labor, i. Canon law is internal ecclesiastical law governing the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox churches and the Anglican Communion of churches This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The fleur-de-lys (or fleur-de-lis, plural fleurs-de-lis ˌfləː(rdəˈliː (ˌfləː(rdəˈlɪs in Quebec) translated from French as "lily " Galley slave " is a term used to refer to prisoners condemned (in an obsolete form of punishment to man the oars of a Galley. e. hard labour) or TFP (travaux forcés à perpetuité, forced labour for life) until 1832. Penal labour or penal servitude is a form of Unfree labour. The term may refer to two different notions labour as a form of punishment and labour as a form of occupation In Germany however, branding was illegal. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe.
Branding tended to be abolished like other judicial mutilations (with notable exceptions, such as amputation under sharia law), sooner and more widely than flogging, caning and similar corporal punishments, which normally aim 'only' to pain and at worst cause stripe scars, although the most severe lashings (not uncommon in penal colonies) in terms of dosage and instrument (such as the proverbial knout) can even turn out to be lethal. Sharia ( Arabic: ar شريعة) is the body of Islamic Religious law. Flagellation is the act of whipping (Latin flagellum, "whip" the human body Caning is a Physical punishment (see that article for generalities and alternatives consisting of a number of hits (known as "strokes" or "cuts" with A knout (ˈnaʊt is a heavy scourge-like multiple Whip, usually made of a bunch of rawhide thongs attached to a long handle sometimes with metal wire or hooks incorporated
Branding in Britain
The punishment was adopted by the Anglo-Saxons, and the ancient law of England authorized the penalty. For their language see Anglo-Saxon language. Anglo-Saxon is the term usually used to describe the invading Tribes in the south By the Statute of Vagabonds (1547) under King Edward VI, vagabonds and Gypsies were ordered to be branded with a large V on the breast, and brawlers with F for "fravmaker"; slaves who ran away were branded with S on the cheek or forehead. Edward VI (12 October 1537 &ndash 6 July 1553 became King of England and Ireland on 28 January 1547 and was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine A vagabond is an Itinerant person Such people may be called Tramps rogues or Hobos A vagabond is characterised by almost continuous travelling The Romani people (singular Rom, plural Roma as a Noun; also known as Romanies or Roma people) are an ethnic group with origins This law was repealed in England in 1636. From the time of Henry VII, branding was inflicted for all offences which received Benefit of clergy (branding of the thumbs was used around 1600 at Old Bailey to ensure that the accused who had successfully used the Benefit of Clergy defence, by reading a passage from the Bible, could not use it more than once), but it was abolished for such in 1822. In English law the benefit of clergy was originally a provision by which Clergymen could claim that they were outside the jurisdiction of the secular courts and be The Central Criminal Court in England, commonly known as the Old Bailey, is a court Year 1822 (MDCCCXXII was a Common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Sunday of the In 1698 it was enacted that those convicted of petty theft or larceny, who were entitled to benefit of clergy, should be "burnt in the most visible part of the left cheek, nearest the nose. In the United States, larceny is a Common law Crime involving Theft. " This special ordinance was repealed in 1707. James Nayler, a Quaker who in the year 1655 was accused of claiming to be the Messiah, convicted of blasphemy in a highly publicized trial before the Second Protectorate Parliament and had his tongue bored through and his forehead branded B for 'blasphemer'. James Nayler (or Naylor) (1618&ndash1660 was an English Quaker leader This article is about the concept of a Messiah in religion notably in the Christian Islamic and Jewish traditions Blasphemy is the disrespectful use of the name of one or more gods.
In the Lancaster criminal court a branding iron is still preserved in the dock. It is a long bolt with a wooden handle at one end and an M (malefactor) at the other. Close by are two iron loops for firmly securing the hands during the operation. The brander, after examination, would turn to the judge and exclaim, "A fair mark, my lord. " Criminals were formerly ordered to hold up their hands before sentence to show if they had been previously convicted.
In the 18th century, cold branding or branding with cold irons became the mode of nominally inflicting the punishment on prisoners of higher rank. The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system "When Charles Moritz, a young German, visited England in 1782 he was much surprised at this custom, and in his diary mentioned the case of a clergyman who had fought a duel and killed his man in Hyde Park. Year 1782 ( MDCCLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common For other uses of the term 'diary' see Diary (disambiguation. As practiced from the 11th to 20th centuries in Western societies a duel is an engagement in combat between two individuals with matched weapons in accordance with their combat Hyde Park is one of the largest Parks in central London, England and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner Found guilty of manslaughter he was burnt in the hand, if that could be called burning which was done with a cold iron" (Markham's Ancient Punishments of Northants, 1886). Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being in a manner considered by law as less culpable than Murder. Northamptonshire (or archaically the County of Northampton; abbreviated Northants
Such cases led to branding becoming obsolete, and it was abolished in 1829 except in the case of deserters from the army, which were marked with the letter D, not with hot irons but by tattooing with ink or gunpowder. For the game see 1829 (board game. Year 1829 ( MDCCCXXIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display In Military terminology desertion is the Abandonment of a " Duty " or post without permission from one's Government or superior Notoriously bad soldiers were also branded with BC (bad character). The British Mutiny Act of 1858 provided that the court-martial, in addition to any other penalty, may order deserters to be marked on the left side, 2 inch below the armpit, with the letter ii), such letter to be not less than an inch long. Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly-situated individuals (typically members of the Military; or the Crew of any ship even Year 1858 ( MDCCCLVIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common A court-martial (plural courts-martial) is a Military court. These military courts can determine Punishments for members of the Military subject In 1879 this was abolished. Year 1879 ( MDCCCLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common
Third Reich practices
At the times of the holocaust during WWII, Jews were marked on their wrists with numbers to replace their name and identity.
Another popular wartime practice involved applying a small black ink tattoo on the underside of the left arm to all Waffen-SS (W-SS) members. The Waffen-SS ( German for "Armed SS" literally "Weapons SS" was the Combat arm of the Schutzstaffel ("Protective Squadron" The tattoo consisted of the soldier's blood type letter, either A, B, (AB?) or O. A blood type (also called a blood group) is a classification of Blood based on the presence or absence of inherited Antigenic substances on the Meant to help save soldiers' lives, the blood group tattoo actually helped greatly after the war had ended in identifying former members, leading to the prosecution of guilty men, and in some cases the execution of W-SS men, regardless of what they had or had not done during the war.
Persisting practices
- Generally voluntary, though often under severe social pressure, branding may be used as a painful form of initiation, serving both as endurance and motivation test (rite of passage) and a permanent membership mark, seen as male bonding in violent 'macho' circles. Hazing is an often Ritualistic test and a task which may constitute Harassment, Abuse or Humiliation with requirements to perform random often Fraternities and sororities (from the Latin words la frater and la soror, meaning "brother" and "sister" respectively are fraternal A rite of passage is a Ritual that marks a change in a person's social or sexual status Male bonding is a term that is used in Ethology, Social science, and in general usage to describe patterns of Friendship and/or cooperation in men Branding is thus practiced:
- By some street gangs
- In organized crime as "stripes" to signify a violent crime that the person committed. Gangsters redirects here For the computer game see Gangsters (video game.
- In prisons
- As an extreme initiation in the increasingly less common tradition of painful hazing (otherwise mostly paddling). A prison, penitentiary, or correctional facility is a place in which individuals are physically confined or interned and usually deprived of a range of Hazing is an often Ritualistic test and a task which may constitute Harassment, Abuse or Humiliation with requirements to perform random often For other uses see Paddle (disambiguation spanking paddle is a usually wooden instrument with a long flat face and narrow neck so called because
- Branding can be used as a strictly voluntary body decoration, permanent body art rather like many tattoos. Body modification (or body alteration) is the permanent or semi-permanent deliberate altering of the human body for non-medical reasons such as sexual enhancement Body art is Art made on with or consisting of the Human body The most common forms of body art are Tattoos and Body piercings but other A tattoo is a permanent marking made by inserting ink into the layers of Skin to change the pigment for decorative or other reasons It has been widely reported (even in a BBC feature) that U. S. president George W. Bush, while president of the Delta Kappa Epsilon chapter at Yale, was involved in introducing a practice in which pledges has to strip to be branded on the buttocks with a hot coat hanger bent into the shape of a capital delta [1]. George Walker Bush ( born July 6 1946 is the forty-third and current President of the United States. Delta Kappa Epsilon ( ΔΚΕ; also pronounced D-K-E or "Deke" is a Fraternity founded at Yale College in 1844 by 15 men of the sophomore
- In the sadomasochistic scene, it is practiced as a form of bodily mutilation with consent. Sadism refers to Sexual or non-sexual gratification in the infliction of Pain or humiliation upon or by another person See: Branding (BDSM)
- In extreme BDSM dominance and submission relationships, a consensual slave may desire/accept a branding as a mark of belonging and commitment (possibly to slavery rather than to the specific master). Branding, in the BDSM context refers to the bonding of the partners and marking of the collared Submissive. Dominance and submission (also known as D&s, Ds or D/s) is a set of behaviors customs and rituals relating to the giving and accepting of dominance of Master/slave or M/s relationships are a special case of dominance/submission, in which through mutual agreement the dominant has ultimate authority
See also
- Scarification for details on cosmetic branding
Sources
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. Scarifying involves scratching etching or some sort of superficial cutting or incision The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone
- Brand & Cauterize on EtymologyOnLine
- W. Andrews, Old Time Punishments (Hull, 1890)
- A. M. Earle, Curious Punishments of Bygone Days (London, 1896).
External links
- Human Branding and Scarification Article
- Branding in BDSM on Wipipedia
- Branding at the BME Encyclopedia
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