Practices of “sonic violence” in the Middle Ages and the early modern period

Abstract

The study aims to identify the defining parameters of historical violent practices in which music and sound served as integral components, as well as to outline the role of cultural and social contexts and the soundscape in the logic of constructing and performing these rituals. The article focuses on the diverse rituals of “rough music”, charivari, or skimmington rides; the medieval use of punishment devices shaped like musical instruments – specifically “flutes and neck violins of shame”; and the soundscape accompanying public executions in the 15th to 17th centuries, encompassing acoustic signals announcing the event and the responses of the condemned, ranging from psalm-singing at the scaffold to absolute silence. The article investigates the close connections among power, violence, sound, music, the acoustic environment, and the meaning this environment conveyed to the participants of these punitive practices. Attention is drawn to the distinct role of the soundscape in the pre-industrial world, describing the processes of politicizing acoustic regulation and noise control. The study isolates the defining parameters of historical practices that served as precursors to modern “no-touch torture” and substantiates the complex interplay among power, punishment, and sound. Finally, the work demonstrates the efforts of various actors involved in punitive rituals to assert control over their sonic environment, utilizing acoustic accompaniment both as a tool and as a strategy.

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About this article

Publication history

• Received: May 29, 2026.
• Published: August 5, 2026.

Keywords

• грубая музыка
• мир наизнанку
• флейты позора
• шейные скрипки
• исцеляющее наказание
• эшафотные речи
• rough music
• world turned upside down
• flutes of shame
• neck violins
• remedial punishment
• scaffold speeches

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© 2026 The Author(s)
© 2026 Gramota Publishing, LLC

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)