The influence of such people in a culture that did not arrange marriages, and in which economic relationships (e.g. "being able to support a family","good prospects") played a larger role in determining if a (male) suitor was acceptable, is difficult to determine. it may be fair to say only that they were able to speed up,or slow down, relationships that were already forming. In this sense they were probably not distinguishable from relatives,rivals,or others with an interest. Clergy probably played a key role in most Western cultures, as they continue to do modern ones,especially where they are the most trusted mediators in the society. Matchmaking was certainly one of the peripheral functions of the village priest in Medieval Catholic society,as well as a Talmudic duty of rabbis in traditional Jewish communities. Today,the shidduch is a system of matchmaking in which Jewish singles are introduced to one another in Orthodox Jewish communities.