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Wait till you know what I’m about to tell you.
Would you believe if I told you that in medieval times, people used to pay someone to carry their sins after they died? No? Well, it’s true. Sin-eating was a real job back then. Shocking, isn’t it? And you thought your job was meaningless.
In most parts of Britain, when someone close died, after their so-called “God-fearing” friends and family had grieved, they would place a piece of bread on the dead body’s chest and had a man sit in front of the deceased so that he could suck up all the sins of the departed soul. It was believed that the certain piece of bread would soak up all the sins of the dead person and they would be transferred to the one who ate it.
Yes, to earn a living, sin-eaters would perform a ritual so dark and twisted that they did not care if their own souls were heavy from the ill deeds of the countless deceased ones. Just to have some coins in their pockets, they would save the dead from the damnation of hell by risking their own preservation.
The major disappointment, however, was for the sin-eater being in isolation as he was believed to not only absorb the sins but also the soul of the dead person which is why he was considered the most sinful one in the eyes of the villagers. A sin-eater was believed to have two jobs actually; to save the dying person’s soul from hell and to prevent it from wandering on earth like a free ghost. Pretty rough, right?
Sin-eating had experienced a decline back in the late 19th century but keep in mind, if these sin eaters still existed, their job would be considered absurd and downright disgusting because of the whole bread eating observance.
So, tell me, what were you saying about your job being the worst?
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