A shackle is an iron bow that has a pair of holes, each located at one end. Through these openings passes a bolt (an elongated piece that has a head) that fits with a cotter (a peg), allowing a chain to be attached to the ankle of a person deprived of his liberty or to the point of a ship.
What a shackle does is attach a chain to a pivot or traction device to easily drag something or to immobilize it. Depending on its function, the shackle can have different characteristics.
When used on people, shackles are similar to handcuffs , although they are placed on the ankles and their chain is longer.
Exactly, it must be stated that currently and when dealing with especially dangerous prisoners, police forces resort to placing on their ankles what are called police shackles. They are very similar to handcuffs and what they do is limit the detainees' ability to move and, therefore, significantly reduce their chances of escape. In addition, they help make it easier for the police to control the detainee in question when they are under their supervision and surveillance.
They also respond to the name of tactical handcuffs and are made of very resistant materials such as steel.
Nowadays it is very common to see on television how those sentenced to life imprisonment or death in the United States appear in court with the traditional orange prisoner jumpsuit and shackles of that type on their ankles.
In the past, shackles were also used that were placed on a single ankle, while a very heavy metal ball was attached to the other end of the chain. The impossibility of dragging this ball meant that the prisoner could not move beyond a certain limited radius : that is why the use of these shackles was common among those sentenced to forced labor. When the prisoner had the shackle linked to the ball, he could not move further than the length of the chain allowed.
Shackles, finally, were also instruments of torture that were used in northern Europe. In this case, they consisted of necklaces that, by means of a short chain, were attached to a tree or a wall. These necklaces were placed on the neck and wrists of the victim.
In the field of construction, the term shackle is also used to refer to an essential piece in the lifting of large weights.
Within the field of video games we also come across the use of the term shackle that concerns us now. A good example of this is that in the video game “Dark Souls III” there is what is called a vertebrae shackle. Under this name there is a very special bone because it helps advance the oath of the stackers. Likewise, it should not be overlooked that it is considered to be part of the chains of the gods.