Birching
Birching is Corporal punishment with a Birch rod, typically a Spanking given on the delinquent's buttocks, alternatively on the Back and/or over the shoulders.
The Implement
A birch rod, often shorted as birch, is a bundle of leafless twigs bound together, much like a bunch of flowers, to form an implement for Flagellation.A single branch, used as a disciplinary rod, is rather known as switch, if equally flexible, or else as cane, cudgel or stick.
Contrary to what the name suggests, it is not necessarily made from a Birch tree, as was the case with the Roman Fasces, but also from various other strong but flexible trees or shrubs, such as willow (hence the term willowing for a 'birching' with such a rod). A hazel rod is very tough, and therefore particularly painful; it was used on the Isle of Man, the last crown dependency to birch.
Another parameter for its severity is size - length, weight and number of branches. In a same institution several versions can be used, and even named (rather like canes), e.g. in Dartmoor prison the senior birch, for male offenders above the age of 16, was 16 ounce and 48 inch long.
In the 1860s, the Royal Navy abandoned aboard the use of the Cat o' nine tails, which got a nasty reputation because of its frequent use in prisons, by the birch the wealthy classes had their offspring's bare bottoms chastised with in public schools (ironically the justice system soon followed its example), and in an attempt to standardize the birches (but the effective wielding is impossible to capture in written rules) the Admiralty had specimens according to all prevailing prescriptions, called patterned birch (and dito cane), kept in every major dockyard, for birches had to be procured on land in quantities, suggesting quite some were worn out on the sore sterns of miscreant boys. A 1951 memorandum (possibly confirming earlier practice) ordered all UK male prisons to use only birches (and cats o' nine tails) from a national stock at south London's Wandsworth prison, where they were to be 'thorourgly' tested before being supplied in triplicate to a prison whenever a procedure was pending for use as prison discipline
Position
The victim can go over the spanker’s lap or knee (usually only young children, the arm is not free for full impact; bigger spankees can be quite heavy) but will often be bended over an object (as in the expression ‘over a barrel’) to raise the buttocks, and even tied down if likely otherwise to leave this position under the agonizing pain.In some prisons a wooden apparatus known as birching donkey, somewhat resembling a punishment horse and alternatively called a Pony (all these terms refer to the silhouet of equines), was specially constructed for birchings. As there were no detailed rules, prisons and police stations over the empire devised, adapted and used a myriad of contraptions under even more numerous names that juvenile and adult offenders were bend over to have their bare tails professionally lashed; some models also allowed a standing or leaning position for other implements.
A simple alternative position known from school discipline is horsed (again an equine etymology).
History
It was the most common school, home and judicial Punishment in Europe up to the 19th century when Caning gained increasing popularity. A good, well-wielded birch is a very effective torment, more than presently often thought - in fact, there are accounts that even the legendary sting of the Cat o' nine tails was less feared in certain prisons, although British judges usually prescribed the latter most for armed robbery, the birch for various lesser, 'unmanly' crimes such as indecent exposure- accordingly, the birch was generally applied to the bare buttocks (also on the continent), a humiliation usually befalling boys (like the boy's pussy, equally on the naked posterior), the 'adult' cat on the back or shoulders of adults.In the United States, the paddle (especially for children) and whip-type implements including the prison strap were more prominent.
- Today birching is rarely used for judicial punishment, and has also almost completely died out as a Corporal punishment for children. In Britain birching as a judicial punishment for young offenders was abolished in 1947, but the Isle of Man (a small island between Britain and Ireland with its own legal system as a crown dependency outside the UK) caused a good deal of controversy by continuing to birch young offenders into the 1970s.
Other Uses
- It remains as a nostalgic sadomasochistic practice, mainly in Northern and Eastern Europe.
- In Scandinavia, Finland and Russia there is also a tradition to strike one's body with soaked birch twigs in the sauna to increase blood circulation. As these birch rods do not have their leaves removed, there is little pain involved.
Sources and References
- references on CorPun website (on all corporal punishments) - search also for birch