Town Cryers of Olde        

      What is an official to do with no television or radio or even newspapers, and a good portion of your populace cannot read, when the word must be gotten out to the public? Runners did the job since ancient times, doing little more than shouting out warnings or orders as they rushed past and on to the next town. The only skill set required was running fast. If th public wanted detail, they had to wait for the storytellers or troubadors and then try to sort out the truth from poetic licence.


What...More Taxes?
      The Town Crier (or Bellman, as he was sometimes known )we are most familiar with, however, was a news service with a much shorter history. By now civilization had moved on to the point where it had become necessary to give more detail. Bureaucracy was now in full sway and there were ever more items of information that officials wanted the people to know and the best way to do that was to send the Town Crier (or Bellman, as he was sometimes known) out to tell it to groups of people. Such news might include: the fortunes of war (they almost always were winning, as you might expect); births, deaths or coronations of royalty; new taxes; or new laws or regulations to be obeyed.

Crying & Posting
      At times, the proclamation was given to the Town Crier as it was to be read but, otherwise he would write it out himself. In either case, he would make as many copies as he would need (by hand, of course, as there were no photocopiers). Then he would go to the places where people met, such as government buildings, marketplaces or the ever popular taverns to make the announcement. He would ring his bell (in the earlier days, his wife might carry and ring it to leave his hands free) to get the attention of all within reach of its sound. Then the Crier would, in a loud and clear voice, let out his trademark call...

"Oyez...oyez...oyez!"

...which commanded all present to listen to what he had to say. "Oyez", roughly translated, is French for "Hear ye", although only in American movies do they use the English translation.
      When the town crier finished reading it out, the proclamation would be made official by nailing the notice to the building's doorpost or to a noticepost erected in a place such as market. This is what came to be known as "posting a notice" and this was also the reason for so many newspapers to eventually come to be named "The Post". It was quite illegal to remove these notices for a given amount of time.

Don't Shoot the Crier
      As you might expect, hearing about new laws and taxes was not always popular among the citizens. This sometimes led to cases of the Town Crier being harmed by angry mobs. To solve this problem, and because the Town Crier was technically appointed in the name of the reigning monarch, a law was enacted that set the penalty for attacking the crier the same as for attacking the monarch him/herself, an unquestionably unpleasant prospect.


A Special Position
      How was a Town Crier chosen? Generally, they were persons of standing in their community for they would be required to read and write. Sometimes, however, it was given as a reward for service and might be given to senior non-commissioned officers, such as sergeant-majors, when they retired. The choice of people of standing or ex-soldiers also gave the added advantage of a Town Crier who was familiar with duty, protocol and a commanding, if sometimes arrogant, presence in the face of an unfriendly audience.

Crier Trivia       The Town Crier's attention-getting device may not always be a hand bell. That is merely the most common in Bitish-based culture (Great Britain, Canada, the United States, etc.). Criers of military background may use bugles or drums and those with a naval uniform may use bosun's pipe. In Europe some criers use drums, cymbals or horns to get the audience's attention. And that is, of course the whole point; to get the attention of all within earshot so they will listen to the message the Crier is about to deliver.