Nettles: History’s Most Unusual Spanking Tool — Urtication

So, what is a nettle, anyway? Let’s start with a scene of someone being punished with it.

Les exploits d’un jeune Don Juan, 1986）

It looks all soft and fluffy… not painful at all, right? Wrong. It’s nothing that gentle.

Notice how the spanker woman is wearing black gloves to handle the nettles — that’s your first clue.

So, let’s take a closer look at the plant itself: the nettle.

How Nettles Cause Pain When They Touch the Skin

Let’s take another look at that photo.

The nettle has tiny needle-like structures called stinging hairs growing on its stems and leaves. They’re a bit different from the hard, sharp thorns you’d find on a rose — they have a more delicate but sinister feel.

These stinging hairs are shaped like tiny glass tubes at the tip. When they come into contact with something, the tip breaks off, releasing the liquid stored inside.

So why does the nettle have such an aggressive structure?

Of course, it’s to protect the plant from herbivores. In fact, a study found that nettles in Nara Park have a higher density of stinging hairs — likely as a defense against deer.

Stinging hairs are found on the leaves and stems, and they are thought to serve as a means of protecting the plant from external threats.

However, even so, when the plant is eaten by animals, an increase in the number of stinging hairs has been observed.

In Nara Park, where deer are present, nettles have been found to have stinging hair densities dozens to hundreds of times higher than in other regions, clearly indicating that deer dislike them.

ネトルの植物学と栽培 https://www.medicalherb.or.jp/archives/178554

Plants really are fascinating, aren’t they?

In the Soviet film “Come and See, or Forbidden Zone“, there’s a scene where a group of boys, scheming to fake an infectious disease, leap naked into a patch of nettles. Their entire bodies swell up, and the plan works like a charm.

Добро пожаловать, или Посторонним вход воспрещен (1964)

Nettle Punishment in Folk Traditions

So far, we’ve been talking up the nettle as a vicious punishment tool. But in truth, it still doesn’t hold a candle to the man-made instruments of discipline humans have come up with.

In reality, nettles only had any real presence as a form of punishment up until the Middle Ages — and even then, not as part of any official legal system. They were more like one of many folk-level disciplinary ideas used in everyday life.

That said, because nettles trigger a chemical reaction, people have long found them fascinating — even mystical.

In German folklore and the tales of the Brothers Grimm, there’s a spirit woman named Frau Holle. She appears to punish a lazy girl who neglected her spinning work by whipping her with nettles. On the other hand, for the girl who did her work properly, Frau Holle would leave a single nettle behind as a gift.

I wanted to find some written works that featured nettle punishments, but they proved surprisingly hard to track down……

I’ll quote a passage from Outlander, a series that features multiple spanking scenes in the live-action adaptation and is reasonably well-supplied with them in the original novels as well.

“The peasants of Gascony beat a faithless wife wi’ nettles,” he said. He lowered the spiky bunch of leaves and brushed the flower heads lightly across one breast. I gasped from the sudden sting, and a faint red blotch appeared as though by magic on my skin.

“Will ye have me do so?” he asked. “Shall I punish you that way?”

“If you…if you like.”

However, the nettle punishment is never actually carried out. For some reason, the moment turns unexpectedly emotional — and leads straight into sex. Afterwards, though, Jamie’s hand is swollen… from having gripped the nettles.

I broke a stalk of aloe from its clump, split the fleshy leaf, and spread the cool green gel inside across the welts on Jamie’s palm.

“Better?” I said.

“Much.” Jamie flexed his hand, grimacing. “Christ, those nettles sting!”

“They do.” I pulled down the neck of my bodice and spread a little aloe juice on my breast with a gingerly touch. The coolness brought relief at once.

“I’m rather glad you didn’t take me up on my offer,” I said wryly, with a glance at a nearby bunch of blooming nettle.

He grinned and patted me on the bottom with his good hand

“Dragonfly In Amber” , Diana Gabaldon, 1992

Nettles as a Form of Judicial Punishment

Baño de ortiga

This punishment, known as the “nettle bath,” is one form of justicia indígena — or “indigenous justice” — traditionally practiced in Indigenous communities in the Andes region of South America, particularly in countries like Ecuador and Peru.

The “baño de ortiga” — or nettle bath — is a punishment sometimes imposed on offenders such as thieves.

The offender is stripped naked and subjected to public humiliation: being whipped on the buttocks, struck with nettles, doused with cold water, and sometimes made to endure these acts repeatedly.

The number of nettle strikes varies depending on the severity of the offense, ranging anywhere from 20 to 200 blows.

As a major form of indigenous justice, this practice is relatively well-documented — with photos and videos fairly easy to find if you search. While the participants aren’t completely nude — men typically wear only underwear, and women wear underwear and a bra — the punishment is carried out with striking severity, as you can clearly see.

By the way, even here in 2025, new videos of these punishments — filmed on smartphones — continue to be uploaded. Yikes. The world really is a strange and varied place.

On the other hand, I came across this video.

In a certain village council in Russia, a public nettle flogging was carried out as punishment against a “fraudster councilman.”

He was dressed in humiliating clothing, with a sign reading “Fraudster Councilman” stuck to his back, and was struck three times each by local residents using bundles of nettles.

The Effects of Nettle Flogging

In the ancient Roman satirical novel Satyricon, the protagonist Encolpius, who suffers from impotence, is treated by a priestess of the fertility god Priapus.
Her remedy? A flogging on the buttocks with a bundle of ripe nettles.

Since ancient times, striking the bare skin with nettles has been used as a treatment for impotence and infertility.

In fact, due to its intense stimulation, nettles have traditionally been used as a kind of natural stimulant in various cultures around the world. This is known as

urtication

Urtication is said to promote blood circulation, much like a sauna, and it certainly seems like it could have some beneficial effects.

In the 19th century, the physician Milingen advocated for the use of urtication as a treatment for paralysis and coma.

However, it has never moved beyond the realm of folk medicine.
Its effect relies heavily on the pleasant stimulation produced by being struck — meaning that it largely depends on the patient’s mental state… and, well, their preferences.

For more detailed information on urtication, please refer to the following page: The History of Corporal Punishment, Part I: The Psychology of Flogging, Chapter 4: The Healing and Medical Effects of Pain.

  Japanese only

Is nettle actually practical as a tool for punishment?

So, was nettle spanking actually a common method of punishment? Well… to be honest, I’d say that’s a bit of a stretch.

At the very least, since chemical compounds are involved, it’s extremely difficult for the spankee to manage the damage on their own. It’s not exactly what you’d call a loving form of punishment. The resulting irritation is anything but graceful — the skin ends up looking like it’s been ravaged by a swarm of angry insects.

That’s not really to my taste. I’d much rather see the buttocks turn a beautiful, even shade of red.

That said, the fact that nettle-themed erotica exists — across video, images, and written media — suggests there’s definitely some level of demand for it.

What’s more, nettles can irritate the spanker’s hands as well — truly a double-edged sword in the most literal sense. In photos and illustrations, the spanker is often shown wearing gloves. In fact, if you see someone holding a leafy plant while wearing gloves, chances are, it’s nettles.

In the end, it seems more reasonable to think of nettles not as a practical tool for corporal punishment today, but rather as something that belongs in the realm of fiction — including real-world play scenarios.

---

Nettles can be used like birch branches as a kind of whip, but considering their shape and strength, their physical striking power isn’t all that impressive. The real impact comes from the rash they cause — delivering a stinging, itchy kind of pain when used to strike the buttocks.

Wait a minute… doesn’t that mean you don’t even need to spank with it in the first place?

Exactly — since simple contact is enough, there’s really no need to spank with it. That said, in 19th-century Britain, adult social salons were known to indulge in nettle spanking play. It’s thought that the sharp, stinging sensation of the nettles helped provoke a kind of sexual arousal.

And of course, there are even more insidious forms of punishment involving nettles.
For example, forcing someone to sit bare-bottomed on a chair covered with nettles, or stuffing nettles into their underwear.

In more extreme cases, people have reportedly filled a box with nettles and shoved a completely naked woman inside……

Instead of the usual corner time after a spanking, one could have the punished sit on a nettle-covered chair — that’s certainly possible.

But in the world of erotica, it seems that the more extreme approach — shoving someone in the nude straight into a pile of nettles — tends to have stronger appeal among enthusiasts of that genre.

[Reference] Related Trivia About Nettles

“Oak and Nettle Day” in England

“Oak and Nettle Day” is a traditional event held on May 29th in Nottinghamshire.
It commemorates the Restoration of King Charles II and the loyalty shown to him.
On this day, boys carry small oak branches and bundles of nettles, and those not wearing oak leaves are punished — usually by being struck on the hands or face with nettles.

In the past, punishments even included being hit with rotten eggs.
The oak leaf is a symbol of loyalty, referring to the story of Charles II hiding in an oak tree at Boscobel to escape capture.

Interestingly, it’s not just nettle-stinging — the tradition also includes pinching people’s bottoms, which is why the day is sometimes known as “Pinch-Bum Day.”

Nettles in Imperial Russia

From the Tsarist era through to the Soviet period, the threat of “being whipped with nettles” was a very real and tangible fear for children in rural Russia.
For them, being beaten with a belt — or with a bundle of nettles — were both common and terrifying forms of punishment.

French idiom

The French expression “mettre aux orties” literally means “to throw into the nettles” or “to place on the nettles.”
Figuratively, it refers to abandoning, disregarding, or treating someone or something with deliberate neglect or disdain.

German Idiom

The expression “sich in die Nesseln setzen”, which literally means “to sit down in the nettles,” is used to describe a situation where someone gets themselves into trouble or puts their foot in it.
It implies that the person has stepped into a problematic or awkward situation — often of their own making.

Marquis de Sade’s The 120 Days of Sodom

There’s a scene that describes flogging with nettles. In fact, it says the victim was whipped with both nettles and holly until they were covered in blood…… I mean — wouldn’t that be harder on the person doing the flogging?

Initiation Rituals of the Luiseño Tribe

In the ethnographic work Chinigchinich (published in the 1830s) by Spanish missionary Boscana, it is recorded that boys of the Luiseño people — a Native group from Southern California — underwent a harsh coming-of-age ritual.
According to the account, their bodies were first swollen through flogging with nettles. After that, they were made to lie on a nest of aggressive ants and endure the pain as part of the initiation.

Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tale: The Wild Swans

In this story, the heroine Princess Elisa is given a harsh and painful task in order to break the curse that has turned her eleven brothers into swans.
She must remain completely silent while spinning thread from nettles and weaving it into shirts of mail — all with her bare hands, which become swollen and injured in the process.

Seneca’s Nettles

On the French island of Corsica, a local legend survives regarding the ancient Roman philosopher Seneca (1st century AD), who was exiled there. According to the tale, during his exile, Seneca attempted to make improper advances toward local women. In retaliation, he was allegedly thrown—completely naked—into a patch of nettles.
The story is still told on the island today, and it is said to be the origin of the nickname “Seneca’s Nettles” associated with Corsica.