Sin-eater
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Historically, the term sin-eater refers to a person who, through ritual means, would take on the sins of a dying person, thus absolving the dying of their sins while receiving the burden of the same.[[Citing sources citation needed]] Traditionally, each village maintained its own sin-eater who would be brought to the dying person's bedside, where either he or a relative would place a bit of bread on the breast of the dying. After praying or reciting the ritual, he would then remove the bread from the breast and eat it, the act of which would remove the sin from the dying person and take it into himself.
The act of being a sin-eater was considered a cardinal sin by the Roman Catholic Church because it provided absolution outside the purview of the priesthood, and resulted in immediate excommunication.[[Citing sources citation needed]]
References to sin-eaters in modern culture
Books
- The Sin Eater is the title of Alice Thomas Ellis's first novel, published in 1977.
- "The Sin Eater" is also the title of a short story by Margaret Atwood.
- The Last Sin Eater is the title of a novel by Francine Rivers, published in 1998.
- One of the characters in Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series, Cheslin the waister-starboard watch, was discovered by the crew to have been a sin-eater. He was expelled by his mess, not allowed to eat or sleep near them. Dr. Maturin treated him in sick-bay with the intention of making him his loblolly boy.
- In the Outlanders series by Mark Ellis (writing as James Axler), Sin-Eater is the name of the signature weapon used by the fearsome Magistrate Divisions.
- Sin Eater: A Ministry of Suffering, by Isaac DeLuca, purports to be a modern manual teaching people how to become sin-eaters.
- The Iron Dragon's Daughter, a 1993 novel by Michael Swanwick, includes a boy who acts as a sin-eater for the faerie equivalent of a homecoming queen.
Film and television
- An episode of Rod Serling's television show Night Gallery entitled "Sins of the Father" concerns a dying sin-eater and his wife tricking their son into eating his father's sins.
- The 2003 film The Order (titled The Sin Eater in some areas) starring Heath Ledger and Shannyn Sossamon uses the concept of sin-eating as the one of its central plot devices.
- The 2004 near-future science fiction film The Final Cut draws parallels between sin-eaters and the film's "cutter" (played by Robin Williams), who edits crimes and other "sins" out of the footage from implanted cameras in the bodies of the recently deceased to create a happy feature-length film for the funeral. The effect on the "cutter", however, is depression from the mental burden of "swallowing" the footage of so many sins.
Comics
- "Sin-Eater" has been used as the name of several Marvel Comics villains, one of whom was prominently featured in the classic Spider-Man The Death of Jean DeWolff storyline.
- In Carla Speed McNeil's comic book Finder, an aboriginal science fiction series that incorporates many bizarre cultural practices, a major character is a Sin Eater of the Ascian tribe. Sin Eater is the title of the first story arc, spanning two volumes.
Games
- A Sin-Eater is also a summon in the MMORPG Lineage II that removes a characters PK counts at a ratio from one to ten at a time. The sin eater will, however, consume all of the experience points that the character would have received during the time it is in use, and will also frequently blurt out phrases like "I'm bored" or "I need a drink."
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