Gaberlunzie (English pronunciation: /ɡæbərˈlʌnji/) is a medieval Scots word for a licensed beggar. The name may derive from the wallet that such people carry, but there is no other known derivation. The word appears in several of Sir Walter Scott's books. It can be spelled gaberlunyie, since the z was originally a yogh.
Gaberlunzies were also known as King's Bedesmen or blue gowns (the gowns were part of the alms given by the monarch). Scott gives an account of the customs and of particular Bedesmen he knew in the introduction to The Antiquary.
This article incorporates text from the public domain 1907 edition of The Nuttall Encyclopædia.