Knout
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A knout Template:IPAc-en (Template:Langx, Template:IPA) is a Russian whip that consists of a rawhide thong or a rope attached to a long wooden handle. Commonly used for prodding horses or cattle, knouts were also used for flagellation as a corporal punishment in Russian history. The English word is a spelling-pronunciation of a French transliteration of the Russian word кнут (knut), which means "whip".
Etymology
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The word may be derived from the Swedish knutpiska, a kind of whip with knots. The stem knut is of generic Germanic origin; compare with the German Knute, Dutch knoet (both meaning knout) and with Old Norse knutr, Anglo-Saxon cnotta and English knot.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
For corporal punishment
[edit]According to Brockhaus and Efron, a typical knout used by Russian executioners consisted of a wooden handle about half arshin (Template:Convert) to which attached was a thick braided rawhide piece, one arshin (Template:Convert) long. The latter piece ended in a metal ring, to which was attached a wide rawhide belt made as long, also of one arshin length with a stiffened beak-like end.<ref name=efron>Template:Cite Efron</ref>
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Knouts were used in Russia for flogging as formal corporal punishment of criminals and political offenders. The victim was tied to a post or on a triangle of wood and stripped, receiving the specified number of strokes on the back. A sentence of 100 or 120 lashes was equivalent to a death sentence.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Pn
Emperor Nicholas I abolished punishment by knout in 1845, after years of deliberation, and replaced it with the pleti,<ref name=efron/> a lighter whip, commonly with three tails, which was used previously for punishment as well.<ref>Template:Cite Efron</ref>