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In Anglo-Saxon times "it was a general custom that persons attending the funeral of a relative or friend should contribute a donation of money or bread on his behalf, to be distributed among the poor who were present. This was the origin of doles in England, which consisted of loaves of bread, before the distribution of which certain fixed prayers were recited" (presumably for the benefit of the soul of the departed).

A Short History of the Catholic Church in England(Catholic Truth Society 1895)

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15y ago

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