Clucer (; plural ''cluceri'') was a
historical rank traditionally held by
boyar
A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars were s ...
s in
Moldavia
Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centra ...
and
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...
, roughly corresponding to that of
Masters of the Royal Court. It originated in the
Slavic ''kliučiari'' (from the word for "key"), being equivalent to the
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
title of ''
klyuchnik''.
''Cluceri'' were in charge of supplying the courts of
Moldavian or
Wallachian Princes with food and other objects of necessity; the ''clucer de arie'' oversaw the supply in
cereal
A cereal is any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more foo ...
s and
fodder
Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food given to the animals (including ...
, while the ''clucer de pivniţă'' and ''clucer de jigniţă'' organized, respectively, the supply in beverages and food for the military forces. In time, the title became purely symbolic, and faded out of use during the 19th century.
Romanian noble titles
Romanian words and phrases
{{Romania-stub
ru:Ключник