Beadle
Encyclopedia
Beadle, sometimes spelled "bedel
," is a lay
official of a church or synagogue
who may usher, keep order, make reports, and assist in religious functions; or a minor official who carries out various civil, educational, or ceremonial duties.
The term has Franco-English pre-renaissance origins, derived from the Vulgar Latin "bidellus" or "bedellus", rooted in words for "herald". It moved into Old English as a title
given to an Anglo-Saxon
officer who summoned householders to council.
, the word came to refer to a parish constable of the Anglican Church, one often charged with duties of charity. A famous fictional constabulary beadle is Mr. Bumble from Charles Dickens
' classic Oliver Twist
, who oversees the parish workhouse and orphanage
.
In the Church of Scotland
, the title is used for one who attends the minister
during divine service
as an assistant.
In Judaism, the term "beadle" (in Hebrew
: shammash or "sexton") is sometimes used for the gabbai, the caretaker or "man of all work", in a synagogue
. Moshe the Beadle, the caretaker of a synagogue in Sighet
in the 1940s, is an important character in Night
by Elie Wiesel
.
In the collegiate universities
in the United Kingdom
(for example Cambridge, Oxford, Durham
, and the University of London
), the post of beadle still exists. The beadle has varying duties, always relating to management or security (but not instruction), and often represents the college to outsiders through wearing a uniform and providing information.
The ancient universities in Scotland have a ceremonial bedellus, who is also sometimes given the designation of head janitor. Officially, they are responsible for administration of the buildings of the university. They are most notable for being responsible for carrying the university mace
in academic processions.
Jesuit secondary schools maintained the post of beadle—some still do. In each classroom, a student designated as beadle reports attendance to the teacher, acts as messenger, assists in distributing materials, and leads the class in activities.
Sometimes the title is used by uniformed security guards. For example, security duties at the Burlington Arcade
, an upmarket shopping mall in Piccadilly
, London
are carried out by staff in what appears to be nineteenth century uniforms, who are called beadeles.
the title is held by two distinct groups, both of whom originated as "executors" or police for more senior persons. The first group are the Ward Beadles, who hold the oldest elected office in the City, as functionaries not as representatives, in their Wards. Their duties today are largely ceremonial in that they accompany the Aldermen in the eight major ceremonies of the civic calendar and open and close the Wardmote
s (the election meetings for members of the City's Courts of Aldermen and Common Council). However, the title is also held by paid employees of the Livery Companies
of the City. These Beadles are usually assistants to the Company's Clerk, being responsible for attendance on the Court and Master of the Company originally to enforce its trade policy but now to act as Masters of Ceremony at formal banquets and to accompany the Master on civic occasions. The title "Hall Beadle" is also held by the administrator of a Livery Hall.
, the host of The McLaughlin Group
, used to call former panelist Fred Barnes
"The Beadle". McLaughlin's use of the term may well derive from his experiences when he was a Jesuit student or priest (see above).
In Stephen Sondheim
's musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
, later adapted into a film by Tim Burton
, the cruel and corrupt Judge Turpin is served by an unctuous deputy known as Beadle Bamford. "Beadle" also makes an appearance in the list of professions running through one of the show's songs, "A Little Priest."
Charles Dickens
' character from Oliver Twist
, Mr Bumble is the parish beadle and leader of the orphanage. He's officious, corrupt, a chronic mangler of the King's English, and a great source of comic relief.
Elie Wiesel
's character from Night
, Moshe the Beadle, is an escaped captive from one of the concentration camps who returns to warn the Jews.
Virginia Woolf
's character in A Room of One's Own
is intercepted by a beadle when she, as a woman, mistakenly walks on the grass instead of the gravel.
Bedel
The bedel was, and is to some extent still, an administrative official at universities in several European countries, and often had a policiary function at the time when universities had their own jurisdiction over...
," is a lay
Laity
In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...
official of a church or synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
who may usher, keep order, make reports, and assist in religious functions; or a minor official who carries out various civil, educational, or ceremonial duties.
The term has Franco-English pre-renaissance origins, derived from the Vulgar Latin "bidellus" or "bedellus", rooted in words for "herald". It moved into Old English as a title
Title
A title is a prefix or suffix added to someone's name to signify either veneration, an official position or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may even be inserted between a first and last name...
given to an Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
officer who summoned householders to council.
Religious beadles
In EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the word came to refer to a parish constable of the Anglican Church, one often charged with duties of charity. A famous fictional constabulary beadle is Mr. Bumble from Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' classic Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens, published by Richard Bentley in 1838. The story is about an orphan Oliver Twist, who endures a miserable existence in a workhouse and then is placed with an undertaker. He escapes and travels to...
, who oversees the parish workhouse and orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
.
In the Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
, the title is used for one who attends the minister
Minister of religion
In Christian churches, a minister is someone who is authorized by a church or religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidance to the community...
during divine service
Church service
In Christianity, a church service is a term used to describe a formalized period of communal worship, often but not exclusively occurring on Sunday, or Saturday in the case of those churches practicing seventh-day Sabbatarianism. The church service is the gathering together of Christians to be...
as an assistant.
In Judaism, the term "beadle" (in Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
: shammash or "sexton") is sometimes used for the gabbai, the caretaker or "man of all work", in a synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
. Moshe the Beadle, the caretaker of a synagogue in Sighet
Sighetu Marmatiei
Sighetu Marmației , formerly Sighet, is a city in Maramureş County near the Iza River, in north-western Romania. It administers five villages: Iapa, Lazu Baciului, Șugău, Valea Cufundoasă and Valea Hotarului.-Geography:...
in the 1940s, is an important character in Night
Night (book)
Night is a work by Elie Wiesel about his experience with his father, Shlomo, in the Nazi German concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald in 1944–1945, at the height of the Holocaust and toward the end of the Second World War...
by Elie Wiesel
Elie Wiesel
Sir Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel KBE; born September 30, 1928) is a Hungarian-born Jewish-American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He is the author of 57 books, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a prisoner in the Auschwitz, Buna, and...
.
Beadles in education
In the medieval universities beadles were students chosen by instructors to act as assistants, carrying books, taking attendance, and assisting in classroom management.In the collegiate universities
Collegiate university
A collegiate university is a university in which governing authority and functions are divided between a central administration and a number of constituent colleges...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(for example Cambridge, Oxford, Durham
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
, and the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
), the post of beadle still exists. The beadle has varying duties, always relating to management or security (but not instruction), and often represents the college to outsiders through wearing a uniform and providing information.
The ancient universities in Scotland have a ceremonial bedellus, who is also sometimes given the designation of head janitor. Officially, they are responsible for administration of the buildings of the university. They are most notable for being responsible for carrying the university mace
Ceremonial mace
The ceremonial mace is a highly ornamented staff of metal or wood, carried before a sovereign or other high official in civic ceremonies by a mace-bearer, intended to represent the official's authority. The mace, as used today, derives from the original mace used as a weapon...
in academic processions.
Jesuit secondary schools maintained the post of beadle—some still do. In each classroom, a student designated as beadle reports attendance to the teacher, acts as messenger, assists in distributing materials, and leads the class in activities.
Other uses
The most numerous officers designated as Beadles, after religious and educational institutions, are the officers of secular bodies of some antiquity.Sometimes the title is used by uniformed security guards. For example, security duties at the Burlington Arcade
Burlington Arcade
The Burlington Arcade is a covered shopping arcade in London that runs behind Bond Street from Piccadilly through to Burlington Gardens. It is one of the precursors of the mid-19th century European shopping gallery and the modern shopping centre...
, an upmarket shopping mall in Piccadilly
Piccadilly
Piccadilly is a major street in central London, running from Hyde Park Corner in the west to Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is completely within the city of Westminster. The street is part of the A4 road, London's second most important western artery. St...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
are carried out by staff in what appears to be nineteenth century uniforms, who are called beadeles.
City of London
In the City of LondonCity of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
the title is held by two distinct groups, both of whom originated as "executors" or police for more senior persons. The first group are the Ward Beadles, who hold the oldest elected office in the City, as functionaries not as representatives, in their Wards. Their duties today are largely ceremonial in that they accompany the Aldermen in the eight major ceremonies of the civic calendar and open and close the Wardmote
Wardmote
A wardmote was a meeting of the inhabitants of a ward, or a court held in the ward to try defaults in matters relating to the watch, police, and the like.The term is used in York, London, Faversham, etc., and was also used by the Chartists....
s (the election meetings for members of the City's Courts of Aldermen and Common Council). However, the title is also held by paid employees of the Livery Companies
Livery Company
The Livery Companies are 108 trade associations in the City of London, almost all of which are known as the "Worshipful Company of" the relevant trade, craft or profession. The medieval Companies originally developed as guilds and were responsible for the regulation of their trades, controlling,...
of the City. These Beadles are usually assistants to the Company's Clerk, being responsible for attendance on the Court and Master of the Company originally to enforce its trade policy but now to act as Masters of Ceremony at formal banquets and to accompany the Master on civic occasions. The title "Hall Beadle" is also held by the administrator of a Livery Hall.
Popular references
John McLaughlinJohn McLaughlin (host)
John McLaughlin is an American television personality and political commentator. He created, produces and hosts the long-running political commentary series The McLaughlin Group as well as John McLaughlin's One On One....
, the host of The McLaughlin Group
The McLaughlin Group
The McLaughlin Group is a syndicated half-hour weekly public affairs television program in the United States, where a group of five pundits discuss current political issues in a round table format. It has been broadcast since 1982, and is currently sponsored by MetLife...
, used to call former panelist Fred Barnes
Fred Barnes (journalist)
Frederic W. Barnes is an American political commentator. He is the executive editor of the news publication The Weekly Standard and regularly appears on the Fox News Channel program Special Report with Bret Baier...
"The Beadle". McLaughlin's use of the term may well derive from his experiences when he was a Jesuit student or priest (see above).
In Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
's musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 1936 British film produced and directed by George King.-Plot:The film features Tod Slaughter in one of his most famous roles as barber Sweeney Todd. Sweeney Todd was wrongly sentenced to life in prison. After his release 15 years later, he begins...
, later adapted into a film by Tim Burton
Tim Burton
Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
, the cruel and corrupt Judge Turpin is served by an unctuous deputy known as Beadle Bamford. "Beadle" also makes an appearance in the list of professions running through one of the show's songs, "A Little Priest."
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' character from Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens, published by Richard Bentley in 1838. The story is about an orphan Oliver Twist, who endures a miserable existence in a workhouse and then is placed with an undertaker. He escapes and travels to...
, Mr Bumble is the parish beadle and leader of the orphanage. He's officious, corrupt, a chronic mangler of the King's English, and a great source of comic relief.
Elie Wiesel
Elie Wiesel
Sir Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel KBE; born September 30, 1928) is a Hungarian-born Jewish-American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He is the author of 57 books, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a prisoner in the Auschwitz, Buna, and...
's character from Night
Night (book)
Night is a work by Elie Wiesel about his experience with his father, Shlomo, in the Nazi German concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald in 1944–1945, at the height of the Holocaust and toward the end of the Second World War...
, Moshe the Beadle, is an escaped captive from one of the concentration camps who returns to warn the Jews.
Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century....
's character in A Room of One's Own
A Room of One's Own
A Room of One's Own is an extended essay by Virginia Woolf. First published on 24 October 1929, the essay was based on a series of lectures she delivered at Newnham College and Girton College, two women's colleges at Cambridge University in October 1928...
is intercepted by a beadle when she, as a woman, mistakenly walks on the grass instead of the gravel.