Somner

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A former church official who was tasked with calling people to appear before a religious court to answer charges
2. An archaic minor officer of the medieval church whose job was to cite wrongdoers to ecclesiastical judgment
3. Historically, a bailiff-like functionary attached to a church court who delivered summonses to accused parishioners

Etymology: "Somner" is an English word for a church official who summoned people to court, and its history runs through a Latin root that also gave English "summon." The word is a development of Anglo-Norman and Middle English forms descending from Latin "summonitor," meaning one who admonishes or summons, built from "summonere," to remind or summon secretly. The Latin verb itself combined "sub" (under) with "monere" (to warn), so the underlying idea is a quiet prompting or reminder brought to someone's attention. In medieval England, the somner served as an officer of the church courts, delivering citations that called accused parishioners to appear before the ecclesiastical court, often for offences such as adultery, slander, or failing to attend church. The role carried a reputation for abuse, since somners were sometimes accused of extorting money from those they summoned. Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" includes a somner in the Summoner's Tale, a figure of such notoriety that his profession became a byword for corruption.

Synonyms: summoner