1. Early modern term and job description
Originally, a beadle (Old English bydel from beodan, 'to proclaim'; Old High German poto, putil; Middle High German Bütel; Middle Low German bodel, boddel, Modern German Büttel) was a herald, then a warrant officer in secular administration. As a translation of the German term "Büttel", a beadle was a court bailiff in the Holy Roman Empire. In English, the word "beadle"…