The ''spatharii'' or ''spatharioi'' (singular: ; , literally " spatha-bearer") were a class of Late Roman imperial bodyguards in the court in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

in the 5th–6th centuries, later becoming a purely honorary dignity in the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

History

Originally, the term was probably applied to both private and imperial bodyguards.. The original imperial ''spatharioi'' were probably or later became also the

eunuch A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2 ...

'' cubicularii'' (Greek: ''koubikoularioi''), members of the ''sacrum cubiculum'' (the imperial "sacred chamber") charged with military duties. They are attested from the reign of Emperor

Theodosius II Theodosius II ( ; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450), called "the Calligraphy, Calligrapher", was Roman emperor from 402 to 450. He was proclaimed ''Augustus (title), Augustus'' as an infant and ruled as the Eastern Empire's sole emperor after the ...

(r. 408–450), where the eunuch Chrysaphius held the post. The existence of the specific title of ''spatharokoubikoularios'' for eunuchs in 532 probably suggests the existence by then of other, non-eunuch, ''spatharioi'' in imperial service. The various generals and provincial governors also maintained military attendants called ''spatharioi'', whilst those of the emperor were distinguished with the prefix ''basilikoi'' ("imperial ones"). The officer leading the imperial ''spatharioi'' held the title '' prōtospatharios'' ("first ''spatharios''"), which became a separate dignity probably in the late 7th century. By the early 8th century, these titles had lost their original military connotations and become honorific titles. The title of ''spatharios'' ranked initially quite high, being awarded for instance by Emperor Justinian II (r. 685–695) to his friend and future emperor

Leo III the Isaurian Leo III the Isaurian (; 685 – 18 June 741), also known as the Syrian, was the first List of Byzantine emperors, Byzantine emperor of the Isaurian dynasty from 717 until his death in 741. He put an end to the Twenty Years' Anarchy, a period o ...

(r. 717–741). It gradually declined, however, and in the '' Klētorologion'' of 899, it occupies the seventh-highest place in the hierarchy of ranks for non-eunuchs, above the '' hypatos'' and below the '' spatharokandidatos''. According to the ''Klētorologion'', the insignia of the dignity was a gold-hilted

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

. At the same time, the term ''oikeiakos spatharios'' still designated a

bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an very important person, important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public offic ...

of the imperial ''oikos'' ("household"), as distinct from the ''basilikoi spatharioi'' who now were the holders of the honorary dignity. The term ceased to be used in these contexts after circa 1075, and by the time

Anna Komnene Anna Komnene (; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine Greek historian. She is the author of the '' Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos. Her work constit ...

wrote her '' Alexiad'' in the early 12th century, a ''spatharios'' was held to be completely insignificant.

Other occurrences

* In the '' Lex Alemannorum'' (79.7), a ''spatharius'' is a swordsmith. * In medieval

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

, the ''Spătar'' was the keeper of the royal

and bludgeon, commander of the cavalry and second-in-command of the army after the

voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

. *

Ælfric of Eynsham Ælfric of Eynsham (; ; ) was an English abbot and a student of Æthelwold of Winchester, and a consummate, prolific writer in Old English of hagiography, homilies, biblical commentaries, and other genres. He is also known variously as '' ...

glosses ''spatharius'' as "sword-bearer": "''swyrd-bora. Id est, Ensifer.''" * In the 12th century, the '' Milites Ordinis Militaris S. Jacobi de la Spatha'', a Portuguese

chivalric order An order of chivalry, order of knighthood, chivalric order, or equestrian order is a society, fellowship and college of knights, typically founded during or inspired by the original Catholic military orders of the Crusades ( 1099–1291) and pai ...

, were known as ''Spatharii''.

References

Sources

* *

History

Other occurrences

See also

References

Sources

Further reading