Chastity Belt

An everlasting popular belief mystifies these devices by claiming that they were used only to ensure the fidelity of wives (especially crusaders’ wives) during long absences of their husbands. Its use was entirely different: it served as a barrier against rape in times of the quartering of soldiers in town, during a journey (especially by sea) or during overnight stays at inns. The belt can be described as a torture device because this humiliation was imposed by the fear of being abused by a man.