The Collaborative International Dictionary
Skimmington
Skimmington \Skim"ming*ton\, n. [Etymol. uncertain. Perhaps the name of some notorius scold.] A word employed in the phrase, To ride Skimmington; that is to ride on a horse with a woman, but behind her, facing backward, carrying a distaff, and accompanied by a procession of jeering neighbors making mock music; a cavalcade in ridicule of a henpecked man. The custom was in vogue in parts of England.
Wiktionary
skimmington
n. 1 (context obsolete English) A person impersonating his/her offending spouse in a procession with the aim of ridicule. 2 (context obsolete English) A ludicrous procession for the purpose of ridiculing (a person's offending spouse). 3 (context obsolete English) A cuckold