Catholic Word of the Day: BEADLE. 01-01-14

CCDictionary ^ | 01-01-14 | Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary

[Salvation]

Featured Term (selected at random:

BEADLE

 

A minor church officer whose duties have varied over the centuries and in different localities. Under Gregory the Great a beadle was the "guardian of the church," who was to light the lamps or candles. Later he came to be an usher who led people into their seats, or an announcer who read messages to the congregation, or something of a bodyguard who preceded a bishop or other prelate to clear the way for his passage through a crowd. (Etym. Anglo-Saxon b_odan, to command, to bid.)

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

[Salvation]

A new word for me.

[Salvation]

Catholic Word of the Day Ping!

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Old Catholics	Renewal of Consent	Beadle

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[AnAmericanMother]

In the Victorian Anglican church the beadle was a fairly important person - in effect a constable and in charge of charity. We meet him in Dickens, Mr. Bumble by name.

[Salvation]

I had forgotten about that.

[Neanderthal]

In my high school the student seated nearest the doorway was the “beadle.” He kept the class attendance record for the teacher.

[xkaydet65]

You must have gone to a Jesuit HS.

[Clemenza]

I remember former Jesuit John McLaughlin referring to Fred “Beadle” Barnes in Crossfire.

[AnAmericanMother]

He is also the fellow responsible for this deathless bit of dialogue:

When told that "the law supposes that your wife acts under your direction," he replied, "If the law supposes that ... the law is a ass — a idiot. If that's the eye of the law, the law is a bachelor; and the worst I wish the law is that his eye may be opened by experience — by experience."

It's often truncated to "the law is a ass - a idiot" but that misses the whole point of the exchange (Mr. Bumble was thoroughly henpecked by a wife even more horrid than he was.)

(the omission of the alliding 'n' in the indefinite article is a marker for the reader of Mr. Bumble's extremely 'umble h'origins, and 'is attempts to disguise them . . . )

[AnAmericanMother]

That's the medieval schoolmen's academic 'beadle', who is a different animal from the church variety.

There's still a beadle at some Scottish universities.

[ShasheMac]

I have played both Mr. Bumble, the Beadle in “Oliver!” (the musical version of Oliver Twist ) and Beadle Bamford in “Sweeney Todd.” I used to tell friends that I was going to combine the two into a one-man show called appropriately… (apologies in advance)… Beadlemania.

[AnAmericanMother]

Fun! Good song for Mr Bumble in Oliver (I thought they chickened out letting Fagin get away in the end - then there is no justice.)