Iron Cage
Preserved but no longer current.
The Bishop of Verdun, who in- vented the Iron Cage, too small to allow the person confined in it to stand upright or lie at full length, was the first to be shut up in one; and Cardinal La Balue, who recommended them to Louis XI, was himself confined in one for ten years.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Iron Cage” mean?
The Bishop of Verdun, who in- vented the Iron Cage, too small to allow the person confined in it to stand upright or lie at full length, was the first to be shut up in one; and Cardinal La Balue, who recommended them to Louis XI, was himself confined in one for ten years.
Is “Iron Cage” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.