The court officials of the

Kingdom of Navarre The Kingdom of Navarre (; , , , ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona (), was a Basque kingdom that occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, alongside the Atlantic Ocean between present-day Spain and France. The medieval state took ...

, five in number, were in charge of the smooth functioning of various aspects of the royal court at

Pamplona Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region. Lying at near above ...

. 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 Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

titles by which they were known in royal

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

s, to which they often appeared as witnesses. While earlier officials tended to move on to inherit

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or ar ...

ships 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 (), herald (), chamberlain (), chamber clerk (), majordomo (), chaplains (), chef (), , , cup-bearer (), treasurer ( or ), butcher (), confessor (), pages (), equerry (), and grooms (). The office of constable (, from , originally ) was brought over from France.Carlos Sánchez-Marco (2005)
''Medieval History of the Kingdom of Navarre''
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.

Majordomo

The

majordomo A majordomo is a person who speaks, makes arrangements, or takes charge for another. Typically, this is the highest (''major'') person of a household (''domūs'' or ''domicile'') staff, a head servant who acts on behalf of the owner of a large ...

(Latin ) 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.

Cup-bearer

The

cup-bearer A cup-bearer was historically an officer of high rank in royal courts, whose duty was to pour and serve the drinks at the royal table. On account of the constant fear of plots and intrigues (such as poisoning), a person must have been regarded as ...

(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.

Butler

The

butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some a ...

(Latin ''botellarius'' or ''botecarius'') was the official in charge of the

wine cellar A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae, or plastic containers. In an ''active'' wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control system. ...

, 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.

Armour-Bearer

The armour-bearer (Latin ''armiger'' or ''armentarius'') was in charge of the royal

armoury An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and possibly also the king's guard. The connection 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 frequency 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.

Marshal

The

marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

(Latin ''stabularius'') had charge of the royal

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

s. While there is no direct evidence of rotation in this office, no individual held it for more than three years.

Notes

Sources

*{{MLCC , warning=1 , url=http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/NAVARRE%20NOBILITY.htm#_Toc206990366 , title-date= , title= Nobility of Navarre: Introduction, date=August 2012 Navarre Lists of office-holders Navarre Court officials