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The origins of sin -

Sin is a huge deal in Christian faith. Many people attribute the origins of the concept to the Adam and Eve story, but this is still up for debate.

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The origins of sin -

Can Abel and Cain be the first example of sin? Or perhaps Lucifer’s revolt against God? Whatever the answer might be, what is not debatable is that sinning is not good.

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And then came Jesus -

But then Jesus Christ came to wash away all our sins, and even died on the cross for them. Can we say Jesus was the original sin-eater? Let’s find out.

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Confession -

To better understand the role of the sin-eater, first we must understand the importance of confession.

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Confession -

Confessing one’s sins is how a relationship with God is built, and is ultimately the only way to be forgiven. Jesus emphasizes this idea in Luke 11:4: “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.”

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But then, death comes without warning -

Even the most devoted Christian could die unexpectedly, and carry unconfessed sins at the moment they passed away. The only person that could change this was the sin-eater.

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Who were they? -

Sin-eaters would (literally) eat the sins of a dead person. If one was on their deathbed, carried unconfessed sins, and passed away, then a sin-eater was the only chance the person had to avoid purgatory.

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Who were they? -

Sin-eaters would be called to pay a visit to the deceased person. They would proceed to place a piece of bread on their chest to absorb all their sins, and then eat it.

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Process -

This would allow the person to become free from sin and go straight to heaven. On the other hand, the sin-eater would carry that person’s sins and therefore be damned for eternity.

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Where and when? -

The tradition of using sin-eaters dates back to the 18th and 19th centuries. These would be hired by families in some areas of England, Scotland, and Wales.

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How much did they make? -

Not only would sin-eaters eat food off a corpse, carry their sins, and be eternally condemned, they would actually receive very little money for it.

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Historical records -

There are not many written first-hand accounts of sin-eaters. Though one can be found in ‘Brand’s Popular Antiquities of Great Britain’, which was first published in 1813.

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Historical records -

According to the book, the sin-eater “sat down facing the door; they then gave him a [coin], which he put in his pocket; a crust of bread, which he ate; and a full bowl of ale, which he drank oft’ at a draught; after this, getting up from his stool, he pronounced, with a composed gesture, ‘the ease and rest of the soul departed,’ for which he would pawn his own soul.”

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Testimony -

Another account can be found in a 1852 report presented by Matthew Moggridge to the Cambrian Archaeological Association. It read: "When a person died, the friends sent for the sin-eater of the district, who on his arrival placed a plate of salt on the breast of the defunct, and upon the salt a piece of bread. He then muttered an incantation over the bread, which he finally ate, thereby eating up all the sins of the deceased."

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Roots -

The origins of this tradition are not known. However, it is possible that it’s rooted in ancient pagan rituals.

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Theory -

‘Death, dissection, and the destitute,’ a 1987 book by scholar Ruth Richardson, puts forward another theory. In the Middle Ages, noble families would hand out food to the poor when someone died, apparently in an attempt for those people to pray for the soul of the deceased.

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Eating food off a dead person’s body -

There was a German tradition in the Middle Ages called a corpse cake. Though instead of eating a person’s sins, they would eat their virtues.

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Corpse cake -

Pastry dough would be placed on the chest of the dead and be left to rise. Then it would be baked and eaten by mourners. The idea was that, while rising, the dough would absorb all the great qualities of that person.

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Other tradition -

Bertram S. Puckle's 1926 book ‘Funeral Customs’ mentions a similar practice: “Savage tribes have been known to slaughter an animal on the grave, in the belief that it would take upon itself the sins of the dead.”

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Second-hand account -

Puckle’s book also makes reference to an account of a Professor Evans of the Presbyterian College, Carmarthen, Wales. The professor is said to have seen a sin-eater at work in 1825. According to the testimony, the bowl and platter from which he’d “eat the sins” would be burned down afterwards.

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Sin-eaters would be frowned upon -

No one liked these sin-filled people. “Those who chanced to meet him avoided him as they would a leper,” said Evans, about the one he reportedly knew.

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Disliked by the Church -

But sin-eaters were not just outcasts despised by society at large. The Church, which never really approved the practice, also condemned and persecuted them.

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Extension of the scapegoat? -

The Irish Times wrote a piece about sin-eaters back in 1931 that compared the practice of sin-eating to the Biblical idea of the scapegoat, as per Leviticus 16:1-34.

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Scapegoat -

The story sees a goat carrying the sins of the community being cast into the desert. Sound familiar?

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The last sin-eater -

It is believed that the last sin-eater was a man named Richard Munslow, who died in 1906. The story goes that Munslow was a successful farmer who, after losing his children, became a sin-eater.

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The last sin-eater -

He credited the tragedy brought upon him and others in the village to people dying with unforgiven sins.

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The last sin-eater -

In 2010, campaigners raised money to restore Munslow‘s grave and a special service was held at a church in Shropshire, England.

Sources: (Grunge)

See also: The unique power of ritual

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