Flagellation
Videos
Flagellation, flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed on an unwilling subject as a punishment; however, it can also be submitted to willingly and even done by oneself in sadomasochistic or religious contexts.
Painting of the flagellation of Jesus which illustrates the pain the punishment causes.
Punishment with a knout (Russia, 18th century)
Public flogging of a slave in Brazil – work of German painter Johann Moritz Rugendas (1802–1858)
Cat o' nine tails
Videos
The cat o' nine tails, commonly shortened to the cat, is a type of multi-tailed whip or flail. It originated as an implement for physical punishment, particularly in the Royal Navy and British Army, and as a judicial punishment in Britain and some other countries.
Nineteenth-century cat o' nine tails, 97 centimetres (38+1⁄4 in) long, composed of nine lengths (approximately 46 centimetres or 18 inches) of tarred, braided hemp with ends lashed.
Sailor being flogged with a cat-o'-nine-tails while four sailors are waiting for their turn to flog him.