The Hostarius (alternatively, Usher, Doorward or Durward) was an office in
medieval Scotland
Scotland in the Middle Ages concerns the history of Scotland from the departure of the Romans to the adoption of major aspects of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century.
From the fifth century northern Britain was divided into a series ...
whose holders, eventually hereditary, had the theoretical responsibility of being warden of the king's door: protecting the king's property. This is a list of ''hostarii''.
* Malcolm de
Molle
MOLLE (pronounced ,, homophonic with the name Molly) is an acronym for Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment. It is used to define the current generation of load-bearing equipment and backpacks used by a number of NATO armed forces, esp ...
, uncle of
Alan fitz Walter, 2nd High Steward of Scotland[Balfour Paul vol.I p. 11]
* Jocelin, reign of
William the Lion
William the Lion, sometimes styled William I and also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough"''Uilleam Garbh''; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Scots from 11 ...
*
Thomas de Lundin (son of Máel Coluim son of
Gille Críst, Earl of Mar), d. 1231
*
Alan Durward (son of Thomas), d. 1275
The family of "Durward" (a later name for ''hostarius'') may have held the office hereditarily after Thomas of Lundie, and certainly kept the title as a surname (in
Norman French, ''l'Ussier'' ("the Usher"); in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, ''Durward'') The office was no longer hereditary by the second half of the 13th century, and indeed, by then, there were many ''hostarii''. Unlike many other hereditary royal office holders, the "Durward" family were not of
Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to:
*Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066
* Anglo-Norman language
**Anglo-Norman literature
* Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 10 ...
or
French origin but native
Gaelic origin. It was a sept of the
native comital dynasty of Mar.
References
Notes
Sources
*
Balfour Paul, Sir James, ''Scots PeerageIX vols. Edinburgh 190
* Hammond, Matthew H., "The Durward family in the thirteenth century", in Steve Boardman and Alasdair Ross (eds.), ''The Exercise of Power in Medieval Scotland, c.1200–1500'', (Dublin/Portland, 2003). pp. 118–37
See also
*
Clann-an-oistir
*
Ostiarius
An ostiarius, a Latin word sometimes anglicized as ostiary but often literally translated as porter or doorman, originally was a servant or guard posted at the entrance of a building. See also gatekeeper.
In the Roman Catholic Church, this "por ...
Scotland in the High Middle Ages
{{Scotland-noble-stub