Ferret-legging was an endurance test or stunt in which ferrets were trapped in trousers worn by a participant. Also known as put 'em down[2] and ferret-down-trousers,[3] it seems to have been popular among coal miners in Yorkshire, England. Contestants put live ferrets inside their trousers; the winner is the one who is the last to release the animals.
It could be worse…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferret-legging
(No, this isn’t a medieval thing, it originated in the 1970s.)