History

Sin-eaters have offered their services, and carried out the ritual for centuries. Nobody knows who first started performed the rite but some believe that it began with the English Reformation, where Catholicism was outlawed in favour of the newly established Church of England under King Henry VIII. Under Catholicism, a person could rid him or herself of all the sins they had accumulated during their lifetime by asking a Priest to forgive them. As long as they asked forgiveness from the priest before they died, they would be assured entry to heaven. The new Protestant religion preached that every man, and woman, could communicate with the Lord without the need of priests; there was no need of confessions. Rather, each individual could ask God his forgiveness for any sins they had committed either recently or in the past.
Some historians believe that many people were not wholly convinced by this new doctrine and would prefer to be granted forgiveness by a priest. The problem was that catholic priests were now forbidden to practice their religion.

And that’s where the Sin-Eater started to appear. Men, and it was always men in those days, would volunteer to ‘absorb’ the sins of deceased people by eating bread and salt, and drinking ale that had been placed on the corpse by the family and friends of the late departed.

In this way Sin-Eaters were a form of guarantee that the soul of the deceased would enter the Kingdom of God and not spend time in purgatory having his or her sins evaluated. In this light, it can be seen that Sin-Eaters like myself are providing a service not only for the deceased, but also, and perhaps more importantly for the family and friends of the late departed.

Please remember that this service is available to those who have died suddenly and therefore did not have the opportunity to ask forgiveness for their sins. It is not needed by those who had the opportunity to ask for forgiveness before they departed.

I follow a long line of Sin-Eaters who see themselves as proving a service for the departed and their family and friends. Dignity is the cornerstone of my observances.