The officers (or great officers) of the

County of Edessa The County of Edessa (Latin: ''Comitatus Edessanus'') was one of the Crusader states in the 12th century. Ferdinandi, Sergio (2017). La Contea Franca di Edessa. Fondazione e Profilo Storico del Primo Principato Crociato nel Levante (1098-115 ...

were the appointed officials in charge of various aspects of the government of the county. The offices they held pertained to the management of the count's household and the military defence of the county. The same offices existed in the other Crusader states, but given the early collapse of Edessa (1144) they are poorly attested there.Monique Amouroux-Mourad, ''Le comté d'Edesse, 1098–1150'' (Paul Guethner, 1988), pp. 114–116. Among the offices recorded at Edessa are those of castellan, chancellor, constable and marshal. Two constables are known: Hervé from 1134 and Roger from 1141. Also known from 1141 are the marshal Hubert, the chancellor Raoul and the castellan Isembard.

Emmanuel Guillaume-Rey Baron Alban Emmanuel Guillaume-Rey (28 May 1837 – 4 April 1916) was a French archaeologist, topographer and orientalist. He is known for his historical works on Crusader states and on military fortifications in the Near East. He is considered by ...

''Sommaire du supplément aux Familles d'outre-mer''
(Durand Frères, 1881), p. 19. A charter of the lordship of Marash from the 1140s names a certain Guiscard as "''dapifer'' of the count", which would seem to indicate the steward of the count of Edessa.George T. Beech, "The Crusader Lordship of Marash in Armenian Cilicia, 1104–1149", ''Viator'' 27 (1996): 35–52. The offices of bailiff, butler,

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 ...

and seneschal, found in the other Crusader states, are not mentioned at Edessa in any surviving source. This does not mean that they did not exist. In Edessa, the treasury was known as either the ''secretarium'' (after

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

usage) or the ''

divan A divan or diwan ( fa, دیوان, ''dīvān''; from Sumerian ''dub'', clay tablet) was a high government ministry in various Islamic states, or its chief official (see ''dewan''). Etymology The word, recorded in English since 1586, meanin ...

'' (after Arabic usage). In 1099, Count Baldwin I was accompanied by a "secretary" (''secretarius'') named Gerard, perhaps the master of the ''secretarium'' and hence treasurer. Likewise, when he acquired Edessa in 1098 Baldwin was accompanied by a chaplain,

Fulcher of Chartres Fulcher of Chartres (c. 1059 in or near Chartres – after 1128) was a priest who participated in the First Crusade. He served Baldwin I of Jerusalem for many years and wrote a Latin chronicle of the Crusade. Life Fulcher was born c. 1059. His app ...

, who most likely supervised his chancery and acted as ''de facto'' chancellor.

Notes

{{reflist County of Edessa People of the Crusader states

See also

Notes