Pellenger (pillar of shame) in Szentendre

The Pillar of Shame in Senj stands in the former Molnár Albert Street, which was built in 1552. We are usually talking about a pillar made of stone, to which the condemned person was tied. The pillory was a penal instrument used in the feudal era to shame, punish and dishonor the condemned, which was used in the German-populated areas of our country since the 13th century, and since the 1532 code of Charles V. It was generally used by various penal authorities. After 1786, it was only allowed to be used to punish theft. Its common local names were: pillar of shame, stone of shame, bitófa, cégér, pelengér, pilinger, pillinger, perrengér, pölöngér. It was also considered a symbol of penal power and in the 18th century Until the middle of the 19th century, the pillory erected in the market square, in front of the village hall or next to the mill was part of the image of villages and towns. – It was a simple pillar or stone structure to which the condemned person was chained for a certain period of time and thus exposed to the ridicule of the environment, or they were beaten on the pillory with the executioner or the whip. – Punishment with the pillory could be a main or secondary punishment. Its purpose was to publicly draw the attention of society to the condemned person and at the same time shame him. The consequence of being put on the pillory with the executioner's assistance was the loss of civic honor, the condemned person became disenfranchised, he was no longer a full member of society, e.g. he could not be a member of a guild. It was considered an additional punishment if the corporal punishment or mutilation was carried out alongside the pillory, e.g. caning (→ caning) or cutting off the ear. – The person placed at the pillory was usually “decorated” according to local custom. For example, in 1821 in Ráckevé, a brawler and drunkard was sentenced to stand at the pillory after Sunday service and a knife, a pierced hat, and the victim’s bloody shirt were placed next to him. The “decoration” also had a symbolic meaning in many places. For example, a straw wreath was placed on the head of the dissolute woman, a hen’s feather on her head, and a broom in her arm, with which she would be swept out of town (→ pillory, → banishment). Sometimes a sword was placed in the condemned woman’s hand, which symbolized that she deserved death and that her life was not taken only out of mercy. It happened that the fallen girl was obliged to stand at the pillory in a yellow dress with a yellow candle in her hand. In many places the convict was also obliged to occasionally state aloud the reasons why he had to stand by the pillory. – Under Joseph II. the pillory had to be removed, but after his death it was used again in many places together with other humiliating punishments. The remaining pillories were later dismantled for urban beautification and traffic reasons. Only a few examples remain.