Bedesman, or beadsman (Med. Eng. ''bede'', prayer, from O. Eng. ''biddan'', to pray; literally "a man of prayer"; and from Anglo Saxon "bed"), was generally a

pensioner A pensioner is a person who receives a pension, most commonly because of retirement from the workforce. This is a term typically used in the United Kingdom (along with OAP, initialism of old-age pensioner), Ireland and Australia where someone of p ...

or almsman whose duty was to

pray Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deifie ...

for his benefactor.

Function

A Bedesman (or Bedeswoman) in Medieval times worked in this Christian occupation attached to the crown and churches in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. In general, the task was to pray for souls listed on a bede-roll (''pictured'') represented by small items on a string called "bedes" (i.e. "prayers"). Souls who wished to be prayed for, secured their listing by giving alms, donations, or gifts. if a departed soul was a member of a guild the

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

would add them to the roll for prayer post-mortem. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the use of little perforated globes of bone, wood, or amber, threaded on a string, came into fashion for the purpose of counting the repetitions of the Our Father or

Hail Mary The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Annunciation) and Mary's ...

. These objects themselves became known as bedes, later becoming known as "beads".Bede
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Bedehouse

Bedesmen were sometimes accommodated in a Bedehouse (an alms-house), some of which have survived into modern times. These are generally considered to be buildings of special interest and are often listed.

Royal arrangement

, there were public almsmen which were supported by the king who expected to pray for his welfare and that of the state in return. These men wore long blue gowns with a

pewter Pewter () is a malleable metal alloy consisting of tin (85–99%), antimony (approximately 5–10%), copper (2%), bismuth, and sometimes silver. Copper and antimony (and in antiquity lead) act as hardeners, but lead may be used in lower grades o ...

badge on the right arm, and were nicknamed Blue Gowns. Their number corresponded to the king's years, an extra one being added each royal birthday. They were privileged to ask alms throughout Scotland. On the king's birthday, each bedesman received a new blue gown, a loaf, a bottle of ale, and a leathern purse containing a penny for every year of the king's life. On the pewter badge which they wore were their name and the words "pass and repass," which authorised them to ask alms. No more Blue Gown bedesmen were appointed after 1833, and the last recorded payment under these arrangements was made in 1863.

England

In consequence of its use in this general sense of pensioner, "bedesman" was long used in English as equivalent to "servant." The word had a special sense as the name for those almsmen attached to

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

s and other churches, whose duty it was to pray for the souls of deceased benefactors. A relic of pre-Reformation times, these old men still figure in the accounts of English cathedrals.

Elsewhere

In a somewhat similar practice in Spain (roughly 14th century onwards), there were blind people hired to sing prayers for customers. Some customers were regulars, others hired these singers only from time to time. Bedesmen existed in Scotland until the late 1990s. The last beadsman in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), ...

died in 1988. McAleese, R. 2017. 'Life in the Day of a Bedesman', Scottish Local History Journal, 97: 29-38.

References