Chastity Belt < FHD >
: Wearing a rigid metal device for months or years would have been fatal due to hygiene issues, rust, and infection.
The chastity belt is one of history's most enduring misconceptions. Often pictured as a heavy metal contraption used by medieval knights to ensure their wives' fidelity, the reality is far more satirical, serving as a mirror for the anxieties of the eras that followed the Middle Ages. The Myth of the Medieval Knight chastity belt
: The earliest drawings of such belts, appearing around the 15th century, were often jokes or satirical woodcuts. They frequently depicted a wife being locked up while her lover stood nearby with a duplicate key, mocking the futility of trying to control human desire with a padlock. Victorian Forgeries and Public Curiosity : Wearing a rigid metal device for months