Definition
A man kept on charity or an endowment to pray for the soul of his benefactor.
Etymology
From Middle English, combining bede (prayer, from Old English bēd) and man. This was a common medieval practice where the poor received support in exchange for spiritual services.
Kelly Says
Bedesmen were part of a transactional spirituality—the wealthy believed they could offset their sins by funding prayers, creating a whole class of professional pray-ers supported by that belief system.
Translations
AMአማርኛ
እግዚአብሔር ይሰማል
e-gzi-a-be-her yi-se-ma-l
ARالعربية
المُدّعِي
al-mudda'i
BNবাংলা
প্রার্থী
pro-ar-thee
CSČeština
modlitebník
mod-li-teb-nik
DADansk
bønemand
boen-e-mand
ELΕλληνικά
προσευχόμενος
pro-se-u-cho-me-nos
ESEspañol
bedesman
be-des-man
FAفارسی
기도하는 사람
ki-do-ha-neun sa-ram
FISuomi
pyhäinjään
py-ha-in-jaan
FRFrançais
bêtiseux
be-te-syoo
GUGU
પ્રાર્થક
pra-ar-thak
HIहिन्दी
प्रार्थी
pra-arthi
HUMagyar
imádságos
i-mads-o-gos
IDBahasa Indonesia
orang yang berdoa
orang yang berdoa
IGIG
onye na-akpọ
on-ye na-ak-po
ITItaliano
predicante
pre-di-kan-te
KMKM
អ្នកសូត្រ
a-nək soo-tr
KO한국어
기도하는 사람
ki-do-ha-neun sa-ram
MRMR
प्रार्थी
pra-ar-thee
MSBahasa Melayu
orang yang berdoa
orang yang berdoa
MYမြန်မာ
သုံးစွဲ
thoun-su-ke
NLNederlands
bedesman
be-des-man
NONorsk
bedesmann
be-des-mann
PLPolski
modlący
mod-la-chi
PTPortuguês
bedesman
be-des-man
RORomână
rugător
roo-ga-tor
RUРусский
молящийся
mo-lyash-chiysya
SVSvenska
böneman
bo-ne-man
SWKiswahili
mombea
mom-bea
TEతెలుగు
ప్రార్థకుడు
pra-ar-thaku-du
THไทย
ผู้สวดมนต์
phoo swad man
TLTL
tagapag-dasal
ta-ga-pa-gas-al
TRTürkçe
dua eden
dwa e-den
UKУкраїнська
молильник
mo-li-lnik
URاردو
نماز گزار
namaz gazar
VITiếng Việt
người cầu nguyện
ngoo cau nguyen
ZUZU
umuntu oqeqesayo
oo-mu-ntu o-qe-qe-sa-yo
Ethical Language Guidance
Gender History
Modern variant of bedeman; continues masculine default in terminology for historical or archaic references to charitable prayer servants.
Inclusive Usage
Use 'bedesperson' or 'bede officer' in contemporary writing, or 'bedesman/bedeswoman' when discussing historical individuals.
Inclusive Alternatives
["bedesperson","bede officer","prayer servant"]
Empowerment Note
Bedeswomen held equivalent social and spiritual roles; historical sources often elide female practitioners in favor of masculine generic.