At the dark edge of life and death: Sin-eating rituals in Britain (1640-1900)

This chapter explores the antiquarian evidence for sin-eating rituals and sin-eaters in the British Isles (1640-1900): who sin-eaters were and how they were viewed and treated by their communities; the performance of the ritual itself; and its situation within a web of folk deathbed and postmortem rituals all concerned with conveying the dead safely into the afterlife. While the origins of sin-eating prior to the mid-17th century ultimately remain obscure, it is argued here that the custom most likely derived from the medieval funeral mass transposed into the realm of folk custom at or shortly after the Protestant Reformation. It is concluded that, whatever its origins may in fact have been, studying the custom of sin-eating calls scholars better to understand, and also, in view of more contemporary developments, to advocate for the maintenance of, rituals that facilitate ongoing relationships with the dead and how this role and place of ‘dark’ ritual events in navigating and negotiating the dead’s absent presence continues to evolve over time.