If you lived in 15th century Italy and found this scary cloaked man rattling his chains behind you then you were in some serious trouble. He was a member of the fraternity called
The Brotherhood of Death and his job was to make a condemned prisoner's last days on earth more comfortable. He showed up in your prison cell before you were to be hanged, cut your hair, got that last meal, and then said a few prayers for your soul. Then, he followed behind you on your way to the gallows and sometimes collected alms for your soul. After your execution, he was also the guy who was responsible for cleaning up the executioner's mess - ie. collecting the rope and burying the corpse in a mass grave.
The executioner gets all the glamour while the Brotherhood of Death guy is just another one of those underappreciated worker bees of the Renaissance.
Sournces and Futher Reading:
Engraving - Cesare Vecellio
Jacob, P. L. Manners, Customs and Dress during the Middle Ages, London, Chapman and Hall, 1876.
