the.com/crier
professional loudmouth of the medieval world, the original push notification with a bell
means A person who announces news, proclamations, or calls for attention in public, especially the town crier who once shouted official messages through the streets.
from From the Old French 'crier' (to cry out, shout, proclaim), which came into English after the Norman Conquest. The French root traces back to Latin 'quiritare,' meaning to wail or shriek — possibly, by an old folk explanation, linked to crying out to the Quirites (Roman citizens) for help, though that connection is uncertain. The word simply meant 'one who cries out,' and by medieval times it had attached itself to the official whose whole job was exactly that: bellowing the day's news so the largely illiterate public would hear it.
- job perk
- assaulting a town crier was treason against the crown
- oyez origin
- their shout came from French ouir, meaning listen
- news monopoly
- most townsfolk couldn't read, so criers were everything
- loud bell
- the bell forced silence before the proclamation began
- royal protection
- harming one was harming the king's own messenger
town crier of london — official position at the city of london corporation, still active today with ceremonial duties and proclamations
oyez oyez oyez — traditional call used by court criers in english-speaking legal systems since medieval times to demand silence and attention