: 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 popular image of the chastity belt involves a Crusader locking his wife in "iron underwear" before departing for the Holy Land. However, historians from organizations like and Atlas Obscura note that there is no credible evidence these devices existed during the Middle Ages. : Wearing a rigid metal device for months