Catholic Word of the Day: PURSUIVANTS, 08-14-09

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PURSUIVANTS

Minor officials in penal times in England who hunted and captured priests and their protectors for prosecution, resulting in imprisonment and capital punishment for ministering to Catholics. In early days pursuivants assisted the heralds and somewhat later served warrants for the king.

All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Don't know about the origin of this word, language, pronunciation, etc. Looking it up.

1 posted on 08/14/2009 8:33:49 AM PDT by Salvation

From Merriam Webster:

Main Entry: pur·sui·vant
Pronunciation: \ˈpər-si-vənt, -swi-\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English pursevant attendant of a herald, from Anglo-French pursevaunt, pursuant, literally, follower, from present participle of pursure to pursue
Date: 14th century

1 : an officer of arms ranking below a herald but having similar duties
2 : follower, attendant

See a map of "pursuivants" in the Visual Thesaurus

2 posted on 08/14/2009 8:37:38 AM PDT by Salvation (With God all things are possible.)

To: JRandomFreeper; Allegra; SuziQ; BlackVeil; Straight Vermonter; Cronos; SumProVita; ...

Catholic Word of the Day – not linked – but you can do a search to find them.

Salvific Will	Holy Spirit	Transplantation of Organs
Spiritual Espousals	Addiction	Coenobium
Irascible Appetite	Development of Doctrine	Equiprobabilism
Advocate	Latency Period	Seven Sacraments
Rosary	Epiklesis/Epiclesis	Consubstantiation
Restitution	Tabgha	Our Lady of Divine Love
Excommunication	The Holy Pillar	Imperfect Contrition
White Russian Byzantines	Lust	Pursuivants

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3 posted on 08/14/2009 8:40:00 AM PDT by Salvation (With God all things are possible.)

Catholic Word of the Day (Group One) – not linked – but you can do a search to find them.

La Salette	Liturgy	Andacollo
Kings, Book of	Physiologus	Old Catholics
Baltimore Catechism	Armagh, Book of	Nature
Eulogia	Orders, Sacrament of	Missionary
Dominus Vocbiscum	Ichthus-Fish	Abbacy of St.Jerome
Invalid	Doctrinal Demythology	Metaphysics
Ecclesia Docens	Apostolic Signatura	Octaves
Religion as feeling	Temperament	Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Congregation for Catholic Education	Sponsor	Mystery Play
Paschal Candle	Imitation of Christ	Voluntarism
Matter, Sacramental	Notion	Chancel
Gabbatha	Gregorian Masses	Ordo
Resolution of Amendment	Supreme Evil	Archives, Vatican
Pride	Solovyevism	Natural Law
Revealed Law	Presbyter	First Saturdays
Alma Redemptoris Mater	Divorce	Jubilee
Procession	Teilhardism	Hysteron Proteron
Bodily Immortality	Vicar Forane	Intercommunion, Eucharistic

4 posted on 08/14/2009 8:41:16 AM PDT by Salvation (With God all things are possible.)

Catholic Word of the Day (Group Two) – not linked – but you can do a search to find them.

Proclamation	Consecration to the Sacred Heart	Nominalism
Rules of Conscience	St. John Lateran	Hermeneutics
Doctrinal Universalism	Good Friday	Our Father
Soul of the Church	Latin Cross	Book of Sentences
Liber Pontificalis	Paraclete	People of God
Bodily Resurrection	Cardinal Electors	Subsidiarity
Striking the Breast	Transfinalization	Ordinary
Titular Sees	Wake	Knowledge
Polygenism	Sede Vacante	Peace Plate or Tablet
Heroic Act	Abbey Nullius	Vulgate
Founder	Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples	Vow
Impassibility	Vitandus	Dedication of the Months
Solemn Vows	Species	Dark Night of the Soul
Social Sin	Dialectical Materialism	Pharisaical Scandal
Inquisition	Precedence	Holy Chrism
Quietism	Natural Family Planning (practice)	Primitive Religion

5 posted on 08/14/2009 8:42:25 AM PDT by Salvation (With God all things are possible.)

I knew pursuivants were originally a type of heralds, but I didn’t know they’d become law-enforcement officers. It makes sense, though, historically: if a person is carrying warrants or writs, he’d naturally get involved in enforcing the law or serving the arrest warrant.

6 posted on 08/14/2009 8:45:20 AM PDT by Tax-chick (Do you like every snake? I like every snake!)

We often forget that, despite her magnificent contributions to the Western culture, England was a place of most brutal persecutions of Catholic Christians since Nero.

7 posted on 08/14/2009 10:50:25 AM PDT by annalex (http://www.catecheticsonline.com/CatenaAurea.php)

8 posted on 08/14/2009 2:00:41 PM PDT by Tax-chick (Do you like every snake? I like every snake!)

9 posted on 08/14/2009 8:52:12 PM PDT by Straight Vermonter (Posting from deep behind the Maple Curtain)

In effect, the pursuivants in England were, as priest-catchers, bounty hunters.

10 posted on 08/15/2009 8:24:26 PM PDT by Savonarola

To: Straight Vermonter

Oh, wow! I will post that instead of the other two graphs!

Thank you!

11 posted on 08/15/2009 8:35:29 PM PDT by Salvation (With God all things are possible.)

To: Straight Vermonter

Check your FReepmail, please.

12 posted on 08/15/2009 8:37:07 PM PDT by Salvation (With God all things are possible.)

The word, bounty hunters, flew through my mind yesterday too. LOL!

13 posted on 08/15/2009 8:38:33 PM PDT by Salvation (With God all things are possible.)

A bounty hunter is catching someone at least guilty of jumping bail. What were the priests guilty of?

The analogy is with the NKVD informants in Stalin’s Russia or those who helped the SS look for Jews.

14 posted on 08/17/2009 10:20:21 AM PDT by annalex (http://www.catecheticsonline.com/CatenaAurea.php)

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