"The master-at-arms assisted the prisoner off with his shirt,
leaving him naked to the waist, but throwing the garment loosely over his
shoulders. Removing the port gangway ladder, his wrists were made fast,
with a lashing, to the brass man-rope eyebolts, and his ankles to a small
grating laid on the deck. Thus standing straight up, his arms were
stretched considerably above his head. The assistant surgeon then stepped up
close on one side of the man to see that the punishment was not excessive.
The boatswain had, in the mean time, produced a green baize bag, which
contained the 'cats.' These consisted of a wooden handle, about fifteen
inches long, covered with cloth, with nine tails of white line about as
thick as thick pack-cord, twenty inches long, and the ends 'whipped,' not
knotted. One of these cats was handed to the chief boatswain's mate, who
was mildly cautioned by the captain to 'do his duty, and not favor the man,
or he would be triced up himself.' ...At this the master-at-arms removed the
blue shirt, and [the] boatswain's mate swung round and brought the 'cats'
down across the man's shoulders, the master-at-arms called out, aloud, 'One
- two,' and so on, until 'twelve,' when the captain said, 'Stop. Take him
down.'" Quotation and illustration from Edward Shippen, Thirty Years at
Sea; the Story of a Sailor's Life, 1879.
Flogging or flagellation has been
an integral part of our history in one form or another as long as there
seems to have been history. It has been used for sexual practices, spiritual
practices, religious, judicial and even medical practices. Syrian priest,
like countless other religious leaders, believed that the gods could be
appeased by the use of scourges and would spend hours whipping themselves
profusely with an instrument made of twisted woolen cords armed with small
bones. Even today, Shiite Muslims indulge in the practice of public
self-flagellation.
It had become the custom to regard the
recital of thirty psalms while taking the discipline (i.e. about three
thousand strokes) as equivalent to one year's canonical penance. So that to
scourge oneself while reciting the whole Psalter was to execute five years
of penance. St. Dominic Loricatus is related to have accomplished in this
manner one hundred years of penance (i.e. twenty Psalters), spreading the
penance over one week. And during one or two
Lents
he is said to have fulfilled in this way one thousand years of penance,
scourging himself night and day for forty days while he recited no less than
two hundred Psalters. (From the Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 5, transcribed by
Joseph P. Thomas)
By the eleventh century the
Franciscans were extolling self-flagellation as a penance. And the Italian
Benedictine St. Pietro Damian organized group flagellation for laymen. Two
hundred years later a procession of fanatical flagellants - closely linked
to the Flagellant sect - set out under the auspices of St. Anthony of Padua.
This austere saint, theologian and preacher-keen to combat manifest
sexuality - was in fact adding to the sexual ferment. In 1260 unofficial
processions of voluntary scourgers, each member heartily whipping the man in
front of him, started streaming through Italy and out into northern and
central Europe. The participants, all male, carried banners and candles, and
they sang as they marched. (From The Illustrated Book
of Sexual Records.
© 1974, 1982, 1997-2001 G. L. Simons)
I might mention, there are a great
number of tales of confessors making use of their powers of absolution to
force their parishioners to beat them. In ancient Rome, judges would
decorate the walls of their courtrooms with various types of scourges in
order to strike fear into the hearts of criminals, many of whom would be
ordered to endure whippings of such severity that more than just a few of
them died from the wounds inflicted upon them; Austrian soldiers who
misbehaved were made to run the terrible gauntlet.
Flogging has also been reputed to have
a good amount of medicinal value as well. At various times throughout
history, it has been promoted as a way of 'stirring up the body's
stagnating juices, dissolving the precipitating salts, purifying the
coagulating humours of the body, clearing the brain, purging the belly,
circulating the blood and bracing the nerves.' It has been used as a
treatment for insanity, laziness, depression, obstruction of the bowels and
even for lockjaw and choking. ("A
History of the Rod
Flagellation and the Flagellants in all Countries, from the Earliest Period
to the Present Time" by William H. Cooper B.A. 1865)
 The
first overtly pornographic work on the subject of flagellation was published
in the year 1718, and was entitled 'A Treatise on the Use of Flogging'.
With the appearance of this book, flagellation became a passion throughout
Europe, so much so that the French soon dubbed it 'le vice anglais,'
the English vice, a nickname which would stick for centuries and can apply
to either flagellation or corporal punishment.
England has long been represented as the
natural home of flagellation. Thus, "Perhaps it was the cold climate which
originally aroused in Englishmen a desire for whipping." "Nowhere in the
world do we find such a deep affection for the rod." ("The Golden Age of
Erotica" by B. J. Hurwood ) And again - "Flagellation-mania (the desire
to beat and flog) and preference for the use of the rod may be described as
a specifically English abuse; it was so widespread among all ranks and ages
that it formed one of the most interesting features of their sexual life."
("Sexual Life in England" by I. Bloch)
There
were many high-class brothels in the nineteenth century. One of the most
famous of these was run by a Mrs. Theresa Berkley (or Berkeley) of 28
Charlotte Street. She was a "governess", i.e. she specialized in
chastisement, whipping, flagellation, and the like. She was even credited
with the invention of the Berkley horse, an ingenious flogging machine that
earned her a fortune. (From
The Illustrated Book of Sexual Records.
© 1974, 1982, 1997-2001 G. L. Simons)
 Today,
may people still find pleasure at the business end of the scourge. It is
regarded as a tool of sensuality, an instrument of passion and affection.
This is where we begin our journey into Flogging. While many outside of
BD/SM would be unable to understand flogging in any way other than as a
punishment, inside the lifestyle, it is widely regarded as the most prolific
of all play styles. A skilled person can give any variation of sensations
over any part of the body, using an instrument made up of a handle and tails
called the flogger.
 The
handle of a flogger is generally made of wood and may be leather wrapped and
weighted. I own a pair with weighted steel handles to balance the extra
long, heavy tails. The tails can be made of any material, leather being the
most popular, but with fur, rope and cordage also being used. They can vary
from simple home made items to works of art like
Janette Heartwood's
"Mop" (pictured above) or the "Wildcat" (pictured here) from Vic Tella at
http://www.snakewhip.com. The only implements that are more versatile
than a flogger are the human hand and equally important the fertile, wicked
mind. The sensations floggers can give range from soft wisps to heavy thuds
to sharp bites, all with the same instrument under the control of a skilled
Top.
Yours in Life, Love and Leather,
Robert aka Morpheus
"My solitary path allows unobstructed vistas, and an untrampled landscape."
(Morpheus 11/24/99)
http://www.tampafetishparty.com
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Coming soon,
The Art of Flogging, a practical discussion. |
