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The title refers to a particular activity performed
in almshouses, at a time when food and shelter for
paupers was sponsored by members of the more affluent
class. In exchange for a roof over his or her head
and a belly full of food the inmate of the almshouse
committed to pray the rosary for the spiritual benefit
of his or her benefactor. The prayers might be intended
to bring good health or fortune, to secure a place
in Heaven, or otherwise to help the best interests
of the benefactor. The spiritual work of praying
the rosary was known as beadsman’s, beadman’s,
or beadwoman’s work. The beadsman produced
nothing that could be eaten, sold, or free him from
his solitary spiritual task. Prayer was seen as
an integral part of life and community, and the
activity of the beadsman–that of assuming the
benefactor’s prayers–freed the benefactor
to pursue secular activities.
Certain human activities, such as the silent prayers
described above, produce no tangible evidence of
having been performed. Other undertakings, such
as poetry, music, dance, and painting do produce
signs and can, at times, speak to universal, collective,
human yearnings.
Some cultures give physical form to the endeavor
of beadsman-like work. Tibetan and Native American
sandpaintings, Voudou veves, and Indian kolams are
only a few expressions of this idiom. I suspect
that the origins of lacemaking are a related, western
version of “the prayer made visible,”
especially since lace was often produced in almshouses.
Producing prayers, particularly in the form of
visual patterns like lace, is a manifestation of
the human desire for order in the universe as a
whole and in our lives in particular. Our desire
for “beadsman’s work” is parallel
to our impulse to recognize patterns in the stars,
from the traditional constellations to umbrellas
(as seen in “A Beautiful Mind”) and to
our delight and fascination with magic and simple
mathematical relationships.
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