is the origin of the statement 'don't kill the messenger' a throwback to mideval times?

Question

i heard that riders on horseback would be sent to deliver/announce news all across Britian whenever something important happened to the royalty, but that assassins often tried to kill the rider. is this really where the phrase comes from?

Answer 1

Not quite.

DON'T SHOOT THE MESSENGER

From "Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings" by Gregory Y. Titelman: "Don't shoot the messenger. Don't blame the person who brings bad news. This idea was expressed by Sophocles as far back as 442 B.C. and much later by Shakespeare in 'Henry IV, Part II' (1598) and in 'Antony and Cleopatra' (1606-07) The word kill may be used as a substitute for 'shoot.'" Related saying: "Don't shoot the piano-player; he's doing the best he can. Don't hurt innocent people. Originated in the United States in the Wild West, around 1860. During his 1883 tour of the United States, Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) saw this saying on a notice in a Leadville, Colorado, saloon. It is sometimes attributed to Mark Twain, but neither Wilde nor Twain has ever claimed authority."

Answer 2

The phrase "don't kill the messenger" references the now discontinued military practice of sending messages via riders on horseback.

Messengers sometimes had to relay bad news, such as unfavorable terms of surrender, to opposing forces. If the commander of the opposing side didn't like what the messenger had to say, the messenger would literally be killed, even though he is only carrying the message and not the source of the message.

In this sense, the spirit of the phrase (though not the actual phrase itself) has been around since messengers delivered unfavorable messages.

Shakespeare is credited for coining the actual phrase. He uses it in Henry IV, part 2 and Antony and Cleopatra. Sophocles used a similar phrase in his play, Antigone. However, it was worded differently; it is read as "No one loves the messenger who brings bad news" instead of "Don't kill the messenger."

Answer 3

I think the phrase goes back much further than the mid-evil times. Check out 2 Samuel 4:10 in the Bible! The "new world translation" says messenger, other translations say bringer of news, or bringer of tidings. But basically King David "killed the messenger" who brought the news of the death of King Saul.

Answer 4

Don't know exactly. What I know is that in ancient Greece and the whole Mediterannean world around it , messengers were considered holy persons, and weren't to be harmed or insulted.
Perhaps that idea spread out through the ages.
Don't know if that helps, but lets you know that this is a very old idea.