- Court officials of the Kingdom of Navarre
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The court officials of the Kingdom of Navarre, five in number, were in charge of the smooth functioning of various aspects of the royal court at Pamplona. In the tenth and eleventh centuries these officials were often the youthful sons of the high nobility, for whom a period at court served as an education. Officials were often rotated, but rarely can their dates of appointment be determined precisely. Rather they are known from the official Latin titles by which they were known in royal charters, to which they often appeared as witnesses. While earlier officials tended to move on to inherit lordships and leave court, in the late eleventh century individuals appear in the same office for longer periods of time and may have been appointed for life.
The chronological lists below are not exhaustive, since there exist large gaps in the historical record. The Latin title connected to an office could vary. Instances where the same official bore a different title are noted, as are the dates of the atypical charters.
In 1362 the court officials of Charles II were the butler (botellero), herald (maestro de escudería), chamberlain (chambarlen), chamber clerk (clérigo de cámara), majordomo (maestre hostal), chaplains (capellanes), chef (maestro de cocina), forrero, escudero de la forrería, cup-bearer (chanzón del hostal), treasurer (cambradineros or tesorero), butcher (escudero trinchant), confessor (confesor), pages (pajes), equerry (paloafrenero mayor y guarda de los caballos mayores), and grooms (palafreneros). The office of constable (condestable, from connestable, originally comte d'estable) was brought over from France.[1]
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Majordomo
The majordomo (Latin maior domus) was the chief officer of the court, who oversaw all the other officers. The office may have been held on a rotational basis, since several officials appear in and out of office. One majordomo held the post of butler simultaneously, as evidenced by a charter of 1072.
Name First record in office Final record in office Title(s) Gómez Auréliez 952 959 Maior domus Gómez 992 992 Maior domus García Sánchez 996 996 Maior domus Lope Sánchez 1011 1024 Maior domus Lope López 1015 1015 Maior domus Gómez Sánchez 1018 1033 Maior domus Álvaro Fortúnez 1040 1042 Maior domus Galindo Iñíguez 1042 1042 Maior domus, Maior quoquorum Fortún Velásquez 1047 1047 Maior domus Jimeno Manciónez 1054 1060 Maior domus Íñigo Sánchez 1056 1066 Maior domus García Iñíguez 1063 1064 Maior domus García Fortúnez 1071 1073 Maior domus Lope Velásquez 1072 1076 Maior domus, also Botellarius Velasco García 1078 1087 Maior domus Cup-bearer
The cup-bearer (Latin pincerna, architriclinus, or propinator) was the official in charge of keeping the royal court fed. Like the office of majordomo this one may have been rotational.
Name First record in office Final record in office Title(s) Fortún Jiménez 956 956 Pincerna Sancho Fortúnez 997 997 Architriclinus Aurelio Sánchez 1018 1031 Architriclinus García Sánchez 1024 1024 Architriclinus Galindo López 1040 1040 Pincerna Íñigo López 1042 1042 Architriclinus Fortún Iñíguez 1063 1066 Pincerna Lope Iñíguez 1063 1063 Pincerna Sancho Aznárez 1068 1072 Pincerna, Propinator (1072) García Fortúnez 1071 1071 Pincerna Butler
The butler (Latin botellarius or botecarius) was the official in charge of the wine cellar, much like a modern wine steward. One butler held the post of majordomo simultaneously, as evidenced by a charter of 1072. There is no direct evidence in the charter record of rotation of this office, but several individuals appear to have been both butler and cup-bearer at different times.
Name First record in office Final record in office Title(s) Lope Iñíguez 1011 1020 Botellarius Aznar Fortúnez 1015 1015 Botellarius Sancho Jiménez 1033 1033 Botellarius Jimeno Sánchez 1040 1040 Botellarius Velasco García 1056 1064 Botellarius Lope Muñoz 1066 1072 Botellarius Lope Velásquez 1072 1072 Botellarius, Botecarius, also Maior domus Sancho Sánchez 1078 1087 Botellarius Armour-Bearer
The armour-bearer (Latin armiger or armentarius) was in charge of the royal armoury and possibly also the king's guard. The connexion with weaponry is visible in the list of synonyms for this term, all of which contain the Latin root fer-, signifying iron: alferiz, fertorarius, inferartis, and offertor. This office changed hands with higher frequencey than the others, and there is also evidence of rotation. It is the only office for which two officers are cited in the same charter: Fortún Jiménez and Ortí Ortiz were both inferartes in a charter of 1043.
Name First record in office Final record in office Title(s) Fortún Jiménez 959 959 Armiger Galindo Gómez 1030 1030 Armentarius Fortún Jiménez 1043 1043 Inferartis Ortí Ortiz 1043 1043 Inferartis Galindo López 1044 1044 Offertor Lope García 1058 1058 Alferiz Lope García 1060 1060 Armiger Jimeno García 1062 1064 Armiger Fortún Iñíguez 1063 1063 Fertorarius Lope Iñíguez 1063 1064 Fertorarius Fortún Iñíguez 1063 1063 Fertorarius García Fortúnez 1065 1071 Offertor, Fertorarius (1068), Tallator (1068–69) Pedro García 1066 1072 Armiger Lope Iñíguez 1066 1066 Offertor Íñigo Sánchez 1072 1072 Alferiz Fortún Iñíguez 1072 1087 Armiger Íñigo Sánchez 1072 1076 Armiger Sancho García 1072 1075 Offertor Marshal
The marshal (Latin stabularius) had charge of the royal stables. While there is no direct evidence of rotation in this office, no individual held it for more than three years.
Name First record in office Final record in office Title(s) García Auréliez 957 959 Stabularius Fortún Jiménez 992 992 Stabularius Lope Iñíguez 996 996 Stabularius García Sánchez 997 997 Stabularius Jimeno Fortúnez 1020 1020 Stabularius Sancho Datiz 1042 1043 Stabularius García García 1058 1062 Stabularius García Sánchez 1063 1064 Stabularius Fortún Álvarez 1066 1066 Stabularius Lope Sánchez 1068 1070 Stabularius Lope Vélaz 1071 1072 Stabularius García Fortúnez 1072 1072 Stabularius Lope Iñíguez 1072 1075 Stabularius Sancho García 1087 1090 Stabularius Notes
- ^ Carlos Sánchez-Marco (2005), Medieval History of the Kingdom of Navarre, ch. 17.4 n6. Cf. María Narbona Cárceles (2006), La corte de Carlos III el Noble, rey de Navarra: espacio doméstico y escenario de poder, 1376–1415 (Pamplona: Ediciones Universidad de Navarra) and Pedro de Madrazo (1886), Navarra y Logroño (D. Cortezo y ca.), vol. 1.
Sources
- Charles Cawley. 2008. Nobility of Navarre: Introduction at the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy's Medieval Lands Project.
Categories:- Navarre
- Lists of office-holders
- Spain-related lists
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