A medieval "shame mask" is commonly known as a scold's bridle, a type of punishment device primarily used on women. It may featured a metal muzzle with a spike that would press on the tongue to prevent the wearer from speaking, a way to enforce silence on women accused of being "nagging". Other public humiliation punishments, like the pillory or stocks, also existed, but they did not involve a "mask" in the same way as the scold's bridle. A scold's bridle, sometimes called a witch's bridle, a gossip's bridle, a brank's bridle, or simply branks,was an instrument of punishment, as a form of public humiliation. It was an iron muzzle in an iron framework that enclosed the head (although some bridles were masks that depicted suffering). It functioned to silence the wearer from speaking entirely, to prevent the women from nagging. The scold's bridle was used on women.[3] This prevented speaking and resulted in many unpleasant side effects for the wearer, including excessive salivation and fatigue in the mouth.