The Grand Chamberlain of France (french: Grand Chambellan de France) was one of the

Great Officers of the Crown of France The Great Officers of the Crown of France (french: Grands officiers de la couronne de France) were the most important officers of state in the French royal court during the ''Ancien Régime'' and Bourbon Restoration. They were appointed by the ...

, a member of the ''

Maison du Roi The Maison du Roi (, "King's Household") was the royal household of the King of France. It comprised the military, domestic, and religious entourage of the French royal family during the Ancien Régime and Bourbon Restoration. Organisation ...

'' ("King's Household"), and one of the Great Offices of the Maison du Roi during the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

. It is similar in name, but should not be confused with, the office of

Grand Chamberman of France The Great Officers of the Crown of France (french: Grands officiers de la couronne de France) were the most important officers of state in the French royal court during the ''Ancien Régime'' and Bourbon Restoration. They were appointed by the ...

({{Lang, fr, Grand Chambrier de France), although both positions could accurately be translated by the word

chamberlain Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...

. At its origin, the position of Grand Chamberlain entailed oversight of the king's chamber and his wardrobe, but in October 1545, the position absorbed the duties of the position of Grand Chambrier, which was suppressed by

François I Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once ...

, and the Grand Chamberlain became responsible for signing charters and certain royal documents, assisting at the trial of

peers Peers may refer to: People * Donald Peers * Edgar Allison Peers, English academician * Gavin Peers * John Peers, Australian tennis player * Kerry Peers * Mark Peers * Michael Peers * Steve Peers * Teddy Peers (1886–1935), Welsh international ...

, and recording the oaths of homage to the Crown, among other duties. The Grand Chamberlain also played an important role during

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a coronation crown, crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the ...

: he ceremonially admitted the clerical peers to the room of the king, and fitted the king with boots,

dalmatic The dalmatic is a long, wide-sleeved tunic, which serves as a liturgical vestment in the Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, United Methodist, and some other churches. When used, it is the proper vestment of a deacon at Mass, Holy Communion or other ...

, and mantle for coronation. In the protocol of the reign of

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

, the Grand Chamberlain was in the second rank during ambassadorial receptions, he served the king at table, and, at the ceremony of the

Levée A levee (), dike (American English), dyke (Commonwealth English), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure that is usually earthen and that often runs parallel to the course of a river in its floodplain or along low-lying coastlin ...

or royal awakening, he presented the king with a shirt. The position played a key role in state affairs in the sixteenth century, but became merely honorific in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The political importance of the Grand Chamberlain stemmed from his having permanent access to the King's Chamber. His symbol of office was the keys to the royal apartments, which he always carried; in token of which, he was permitted to place two gold keys in saltire behind his

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

. He also was entitled to carry the banner of France. In rank, the position was between the

Grand Maître de France The Grand Master of France (french: Grand Maître de France) was, during the and Bourbon Restoration in France, one of the Great Officers of the Crown of France and head of the "", the king's royal household. The position is similar to that of L ...

and the Grand Écuyer. During a

lit de justice In France under the Ancien Régime, the ''lit de justice'' (, "bed of justice") was a particular formal session of the Parliament of Paris, under the presidency of the king, for the compulsory registration of the royal edicts. It was named thus ...

, he sat at the king's feet. In the first half of the 16th century, the position was always held by a member of the Orléans-Longueville family, then by the

Duke of Guise Count of Guise and Duke of Guise (pronounced �ɥiz were titles in the French nobility. Originally a seigneurie, in 1417 Guise was erected into a county for René, a younger son of Louis II of Anjou. While disputed by the House of Luxembourg ...

, and finally – until the end of the monarchy – by a member of the La Tour d'Auvergne-Bouillon family.

List of Grand Chamberlains of France

* Renaud de Clermont (b. 1010, d. 1087; Served ?–1087, Reign of King Henry I of France) *

Pierre de La Broce Pierre de la Broce or de la Brosse (died 30 June 1278) was a royal favorite and councilor during the early reign of Philip III of France. De la Broce was from a family of petty nobility in Touraine, and was a minor household official for Louis IX ...

(?–1278) * Raoul of Clermont (1283–1302) *

Enguerrand de Marigny Enguerrand de Marigny, Baron Le Portier (126030 April 1315) was a French chamberlain and minister of Philip IV. Early life He was born at Lyons-la-Forêt in Normandy, of an old Norman family of the smaller baronage called Le Portier, which to ...

(?–1315) * Hugues III de Bouville (?–1331) *

Louis I, Duke of Bourbon Louis I, called the Lame (1279 – 22 January 1341) was a French '' prince du sang'', Count of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis and La Marche and the first Duke of Bourbon, as well as briefly the titular King of Thessalonica from 1320 to 1321. Life L ...

(1310–1342) *

Peter I, Duke of Bourbon Peter I of Bourbon (Pierre Ier, Duc de Bourbon in French; 1311 – 19 September 1356) was the second Duke of Bourbon, from 1342 to his death. Peter was son of Louis I of Bourbon, whom he also succeeded as Grand Chamberlain of France, and Ma ...

(1342–1356) *

Arnaud Amanieu, Lord of Albret Arnaud Amanieu (also ''Arnold'' and ''Amaneus'', 4 August 1338–1401) was the Lord of Albret from 1358. Amanieu held lands in Gascony which by the Treaty of Brétigny (1360) were obtained by Edward III of England. Edward III appointed his son E ...

(1381–1401) *

James II, Count of La Marche James II of Bourbon-La Marche (1370 – 1438 in Besançon) was count of La Marche. He was captured at the battle of Nicopolis in 1396, later being ransomed. In 1403, James led an attack on English soil and burned Plymouth. He married Joanna o ...

(1397–1438) *

Louis, Count of Vendôme Louis de Bourbon (Louis I, Count of Vendôme) (1376 – December 21, 1446), younger son of John I, Count of La Marche and Catherine de Vendôme, was a French '' prince du sang'', as well as Count of Vendôme from 1393, and Count of Castres from 14 ...

(1408–1427) * Georges de la Trémoïlle (1427–1439) *

Jean Dunois Jean d'Orléans, Count of Dunois (23 November 1402 – 24 November 1468), known as the "Bastard of Orléans" (french: bâtard d'Orléans) or simply Jean de Dunois, was a French military leader during the Hundred Years' War who participated in ...

, Count of Dunois and Longueville (1439–1468) *

Jean V de Bueil Jean V de Bueil (after 17 August 1405 and before 18 August 1406 - 1478), called ''le Fléau des Anglais'' "plague of the English", count of Sancerre, viscount of Carentan, lord of Montrésor, Château-en-Anjou, Saint-Calais, Vaujours, Ussé and ...

(1469–1474) * Pierre de Guenand, seigneur de

La Celle-Guenand La Celle-Guenand () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Population See also * Château de La Celle-Guenand *Communes of the Indre-et-Loire department The following is a list of the 272 communes of the Indre-et- ...

(?–1486) * Jean Dax, seigneur d'Axat, (1487–1495) *

Louis I d'Orléans, duc de Longueville Louis I d'Orléans, Duke of Longueville (1480 – Beaugency, 1 August 1516), was a French aristocrat and general, Grand Chamberlain of France and governor of Provence. Louis was the second son of François I, Duke of Longueville, and Agnes of Savo ...

(1512–1516) *

Francis, Duke of Guise Francis de Lorraine II, the first Prince of Joinville, also Duke of Guise and Duke of Aumale (french: François de Lorraine; 17 February 1519 – 24 February 1563), was a French general and statesman. A prominent leader during the Italian War of ...

(1551–1563) * Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne (1563–1589) * Henry I of Orléans, Duke of Longueville (1589–1595) *

Henry of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne Henry of Mayenne or Henry of Lorraine, (Dijon, 20 December 1578 – Montauban, 20 September 1621) was a French noble from the House of Lorraine and more particularly from the House of Guise. He was the eldest son of Charles, Duke of Mayenne and ...

(1596–1621) *

Claude, Duke of Chevreuse Claude de Lorraine (5 June 1578 – 24 January 1657), also called ''Claude de Guise'', was a French noble and husband of Marie de Rohan. He was the Duke of Chevreuse, a title which is today used by the Duke of Luynes. Biography He was the thir ...

(1621–1643) * Louis, Duke of Joyeuse (1643–1654) *

Henry II, Duke of Guise Henry II de Lorraine, 5th Duke of Guise (4 April 1614, in Paris – 2 June 1664, in Paris) was a French aristocrat and archbishop, the second son of Charles, Duke of Guise and Henriette Catherine de Joyeuse. Life At the age of fifteen, he became ...

(1655–1658) * Godefroy-Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne, duc de Bouillon (1658–1715) * Emmanuel Théodose de La Tour d'Auvergne, duc de Bouillon (1715–1728) * Charles-Godefroy La Tour d'Auvergne, duc de Bouillon (1728–1747) * Godefroy-Charles-Henri La Tour d'Auvergne, duc de Bouillon (1747–1775) *

Henri Louis Marie de Rohan Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry (given name), Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the 'List_of_rulers_named_Henry#France, List of rulers named Henry ...

, duc de Montbazon (1775–1782) * Godefroy-Charles-Henri La Tour d'Auvergne, duc de Bouillon (1782–1789)

References

:''This article is based in part on the articles Grand chambellan de France and Liste des grands chambellans de France from the

French Wikipedia The French Wikipedia (french: Wikipédia en français) is the French-language edition of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. This edition was started on 23 March 2001, two months after the official creation of Wikipedia. It has article ...

, retrieved on September 6, 2006.''

External links

Great Officers of the Crown
Court titles in the Ancien Régime