Beggars' badges were badges and other identifying insignia worn by beggars beginning in the early fifteenth century in Great Britain and Ireland. They served two purposes; to identify individual beggars, and to allow beggars to move freely from place to place.
It was not until the introduction of poor laws across the nations of Great Britain and Ireland that the “problem” of the poor was properly addressed. In England and Scotland, from the time of the old poor laws in Elizabethan times, some form of safety net was provided for the destitute. The Victorian poor laws set in place the basis for modern social care. In addition to unclassified poor, there were bedesmen. Bedesmen were elderly men and in some cases women, who were cared for by the Church or civic authorities. Bedesmen were housed in hospitals from the early twelfth century. Cowan and Easson provide the most comprehensive account of medieval hospitals. [1] Many such hospitals were chantries with bedesmen.
However, many poor were left to fend for themselves in towns and villages across the whole country. Such an unregulated situation caused many local problems. The earliest known reference to beggars badges is quoted in Balfour Paul's survey of badges, published in the nineteenth century. [2] He claims that there was a regulation in Valencia, Spain that required poor men to wear a leaden badge stamped with the arms of Valencia. In Britain, from as early as the fifteenth century, badges were introduced to identify beggars. Badges served two purposes; first they enabled civic and church authorities to control those who were allowed to ask for alms. For example, in 1425, an act of the Scottish Parliament declared:
... Alsua it is ordanyt that na thigar be thollyt to thyg nor bege nothir in burghe nor to lande betuix xiiij and iij score [and ten] of yheris of age bot thai be seyne be the consall of the toune or of the cuntre at thai may nocht vyne thar leyffing othir vays. And thai that sa beis fundin sall have a takin to land of the schera and in bwrowis off the aldirmen and baylyheis, and that undir the payn of birnynge on the cheyk and bannyssing of the cuntre ...
(in the recorded text of the day)
Or
Also it is ordained that no beggar be suffered to thig or beg either in burghs or in the land between fourteen and seventy years of age, unless it is seen by the council of the town that they cannot make their living in other ways. And they that are so found shall have a token from the sheriff in the land, and from the aldermen and bailies in the burghs, and that under pain of burning on the cheek and banishing from the country.
Modern translation [thig – to beg or ask for charity]
The punishments indicated here were typical of the times. Similar sentiments were still prevalent in the eighteenth century. In Ireland, Jonathan Swift wrote a pamphlet supporting the control of beggars (Swift, 1737). In it he writes:
I have for some years past applied myself to several Lord Mayors, and to the late Archbishop of Dublin for a remedy to this evil of foreign beggars; and they all appeared ready to receive a very plain proposal, I mean, that of badging the original poor of every parish, who begged in the streets; that the said beggars should be confined to their own parishes; that, they should wear their badges well sewn upon one of their shoulders, always visible, on pain of being whipped and turned out of town; or whatever legal punishment may be thought proper and effectual.
Control of the "... evil of foreign beggars ..." was uppermost in Swift’s purpose. In England, in the reign of Edward VI, an act of Parliament required beggars to:
weare openly upon him both on the breast and back of the uttermost garment some notable badge of token...
The second purpose badges served was to identify and permit the free movement of beggars from place to place. The royal bedesmen in Scotland wore a badge inscribed "Pass and Re-Pass" indicating their right to move from burgh to burgh to ask for alms without hindrance. While some bedesmen and royal bedesmen did have badges, it does not appear that bedesmen in general had such identifying insignia. Some bedesmen had to wear gowns – blue gowns in Scotland. However, there is no evidence that bedesmen in cities and such as Glasgow or Aberdeen had any insignia or badges.
In art and in literature there are very few examples of beggars shown wearing badges. In a recent book on poverty in art, there are no images of beggars wearing badges. (Nichols, 2007) There is however one example in a print by the eighteenth-century Scottish artist David Allan called A Peg-legged Beggar, with Donkey and Children that shows a beggar outside Edinburgh Old Town wearing a badge. The beggar is disabled and appears to be an ex-serviceman. The blue gown (or cloak) suggests that he is a bedesman or blue gown.
Probably the best known "beggar" is Eddie Ochiltree, a character in Sir Walter Scott's The Antiquary . [3] In an extended preface [4] Scott provides a context for the character based on a mendicant or beggar Andrew Gemmells. Scott bases Ochiltree on his own memories of Gemmells. Gemmells was probably not a royal bedesman but an eccentric character who travelled the Scottish borders, especially in Gala, Tweed, Ettrick and Yarrow. Andrew Gemmels died in 1789. During the late eighteenth century, mendicants were not uncommon across Scotland. Robert Burns also makes reference to beggars. [5] It is likely that Burns and Scott were both referring to a small band of travelling mendicants who entertained people in order to be given alms. Some may have been royal bedesmen with the light blue gown and begging badge. Scott also references his time at the University of Edinburgh c. 1783/1784 when a "... venerable Bedesman ... stood by Potter Row ..." begging. By Scott's time the term bedesman was synonymous with beggar or mendicant. See also Scott’s autobiography. [6] Illustrations of Eddie Ochiltree published in early editions of The Antiquary do not show Ochiltree wearing a badge. While examples of badges in art or literature may not accurately reflect contemporary reality, their lack does suggest that badge wearing by beggars was not universal. The image from The Antiquary, showing Ochiltree in the background does not clarify if he is a royal bedesmen or if he is wearing a badge.
There are many examples of badges including beggars' badges held in museums and some private collections across the UK. There appears to be a significant number of such badges in Scotland. [7] In some cases, churches issued communion tokens in lieu of beggar's badges. Other civic organization also issued badges to street porters. There are examples of pilgrims' badges – worn by pilgrims on pilgrimages to shrines e.g. Santiago de Compostela. The scallop shell badge is still used by walkers and pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James). The National Museum of Scotland has a collection of 110 badges, 20 of which are on permanent display. Glasgow Museums have four badges, one from Dundee, the others from Rothsay. The University of Aberdeen holds seven badges among which are examples of badges from Old Aberdeen and from across the north east of Scotland. Probably the finest example of a beggars badge is held at the National Museum in Edinburgh. It is a royal bedesmen badge inscribed “Pass and Re-Pass”. This badge provides a strong link between bedesmen and beggars. A comprehensive survey of northern Irish badges is found in Seaby and Paterson. [8]
A royal burgh was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs.
A mendicant is one who practices mendicancy, relying chiefly or exclusively on alms to survive. In principle, mendicant religious orders own little property, either individually or collectively, and in many instances members have taken a vow of poverty, in order that all their time and energy could be expended on practicing their respective faith, preaching and serving society.
Begging is the practice of imploring others to grant a favor, often a gift of money, with zero expectation of reciprocation. A person doing such is called a beggar or panhandler. Beggars may operate in public places such as transport routes, urban parks, and markets. Besides money, they may also ask for food, drink, cigarettes or other small items.
The Abraham-men were a class of beggars claiming to be lunatics allowed out of restraint, in the Tudor and Stuart periods in England.
The Antiquary (1816), the third of the Waverley novels by Walter Scott, centres on the character of an antiquary: an amateur historian, archaeologist and collector of items of dubious antiquity. He is the eponymous character and for all practical purposes the hero, though the characters of Lovel and Isabella Wardour provide the conventional love interest. The Antiquary was Scott's own favourite of his novels, and is one of his most critically well-regarded works; H. J. C. Grierson, for example, wrote that "Not many, apart from Shakespeare, could write scenes in which truth and poetry, realism and romance, are more wonderfully presented."
Gaberlunzie is a medieval Scots word for a licensed beggar.
Edie Ochiltree is a character in Sir Walter Scott's 1816 novel The Antiquary, a licensed beggar of the legally protected class known as Blue-gowns or bedesmen, who follows a regular beat around the fictional Scottish town of Fairport. Scott based his character on Andrew Gemmels, a real beggar he had known in his childhood. Along with Jonathan Oldbuck, the novel's title-character, Ochiltree is widely seen as one of Scott's finest creations.
Jonathan Oldbuck is the leading character in Sir Walter Scott's 1816 novel The Antiquary. In accordance with Scottish custom he is often addressed by the name of his house, Monkbarns. He is devoted to the study and collection of old coins, books and archaeological relics, and has a marked tendency to misogyny due to disappointment in an early love affair. His characteristics have been traced back to several men known to Scott, and to the author himself, an enthusiastic antiquary. Many critics have considered him one of Scott's finest creations.
Bedesman, or beadsman, was generally a pensioner or almsman whose duty was to pray for his benefactor.
A vennel is a passageway between the gables of two buildings which can in effect be a minor street in Scotland and the north east of England, particularly in the old centre of Durham.
The Bede House in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, is a 17th-century Scottish town house. It was built in 1676 as a residence for Bailie William Logan and his wife Jean Moir of Stoneywood. During the late 18th century, Old Aberdeen Bedesmen moved from their original hospital beside St Machar's Church to the former Logan house in Don Street. In the 19th century the house changed hands. It was first owned by the Burgh of Old Aberdeen, then, by the City of Aberdeen after the merger of the two burghs in 1891. The house was refurbished by the City of Aberdeen Council in 1965. It was divided into two flats or apartments. The flats are now in private ownership. Much of the 17th-century building is in its original form. It is an excellent example of an L-shaped Scottish Town House, built on three floors with an attic. The house is designated as a Category A listed building.
John Stuart LLD (1813–1877) was a Scottish genealogist.
Bhikshatana or Bhikshatana-murti is an aspect of the Hindu god Shiva as the "Supreme mendicant" or the "Supreme Beggar". Bhikshtana is depicted as a nude four-armed man adorned with ornaments who holds a begging bowl in his hand and is followed by demonic attendants and love-sick women.
Scottish society in the early modern era encompasses the social structure and relations that existed in Scotland between the early sixteenth century and the mid-eighteenth century. It roughly corresponds to the early modern era in Europe, beginning with the Renaissance and Reformation and ending with the last Jacobite risings and the beginnings of the industrial revolution.
The General Hospital of Paris was an Ancien Régime institution intended as a place of confinement of the poor. Formed by a royal edict during the reign of Louis XIV, it aimed to address the recurring problem of begging and the Cour des miracles, as well as to house invalids. The General Hospital's authority stretched beyond its premises to include all the poor in Paris.
Bishop Dunbar's Hospital was founded in 1531 by Bishop Gavin Dunbar, the Elder. The hospital was endowed by a mortification just before his death. Dunbar petitioned the King, James V of Scotland, and the charter, signed on 24 February 1531 records the King’s approval that ‘[Dunbar shall] ... found an hospital near the cathedral church, but outside the cemetery...’ It was also known as St Mary's Hospital. In the mortification, Dunbar's charitable purpose is recorded. Bedesmen were supported by a charitable foundation that emerged from the original church control until the twenty-first century. Bedesmen drew their name from the word "bede" - a prayer. The residents of Dunbar's Hospital said prayers in a cycle of Divine Office. The Bede House, Old Aberdeen was used by the Bedesmen from the hospital from 1789 to the end of the nineteenth century. The only remains of the 1531 building can be seen in a perimeter wall for Seaton Park in Old Aberdeen. The last Bedesman died in 1988. The Managers of the Hospital constituted a Charity, Bishop Dunbar Hospital Trust. The Charity ceased active operation in 2012.
Hospitals in medieval Scotland can be dated back to the 12th century. From c. 1144 to about 1650 many hospitals, bedehouses and maisons Dieu were built in Scotland.
Several Aberdeen trades hospitals were built by the merchants and trades associations of Aberdeen from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. Traditionally hospitals had been built by the church.
Like most cities and towns across Scotland, Aberdeen and its twin city of Old Aberdeen had poorhouses to complement the provision for the poor and need provided by the church, the merchants and the trades. A Poor Hospital was founded in 1741. This replaced the "Correction House" dating from the 1636/7
The Scottish poorhouse, occasionally referred to as a workhouse, provided accommodation for the destitute and poor in Scotland. The term poorhouse was almost invariably used to describe the institutions in that country, as unlike the regime in their workhouse counterparts in neighbouring England and Wales residents were not usually required to labour in return for their upkeep.