Beadle

== Webster's Dictionary ==

(1):

(v.) An officer in a university, who precedes public processions of officers and students.

(2):

(v.) An inferior parish officer in England having a variety of duties, as the preservation of order in church service, the chastisement of petty offenders, etc.

(3):

(v.) A messenger or crier of a court; a servitor; one who cites or bids persons to appear and answer; - called also an apparitor or summoner.

== Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature ==

is a title of —

(1) certain university officials known also as bedells of divinity, arts, and law, who formally attend the authorities upon public occasions, to perform certain prescribed duties;

(2) a lay officer who preserves order in churches and chapels. (See Acolyth).