Nautiterm: (Nautical Terms Explained) – “Run The Gauntlet”.

A form of punishment involving forcing a sailor to make his way between two rows of men, each armed with a rope cosh with which to hit the offender. ‘Gauntlet’ here derives not from glove, but is a corruption of the obsolete ‘gantlope’, which in turn derives from the Swedish ‘gata’ (lane) and ‘lopp’ (running course).