The ''spatharii'' or ''spatharioi'' (singular: la, spatharius; el, σπαθάριος, literally " spatha-bearer") were a class of Late

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

imperial bodyguards in the court in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

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

Byzantine Empire 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 ...

History

Signet Ring of John, Imperial Spatharios MET LC 1992 239 s8

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 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 2nd millenni ...

'' 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 ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος, Theodosios; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450) was Roman emperor for most of his life, proclaimed ''augustus'' as an infant in 402 and ruling as the eastern Empire's sole emperor after the death of his ...

(r. 408–450), where the eunuch

Chrysaphius Chrysaphius ( el, Χρυσάφιος) was a eunuch in the Eastern Roman court who became the chief minister of Theodosius II (r. 402–450). Having a great influence on the rule of the empire during his ascendancy, he pursued a policy of appeasement ...

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 Justinian II ( la, Iustinianus; gr, Ἰουστινιανός, Ioustinianós; 668/69 – 4 November 711), nicknamed "the Slit-Nosed" ( la, Rhinotmetus; gr, ὁ Ῥινότμητος, ho Rhinótmētos), was the last Eastern Roman emperor of the ...

(r. 685–695) to his friend and future emperor

Leo III the Isaurian Leo III the Isaurian ( gr, Λέων ὁ Ἴσαυρος, Leōn ho Isauros; la, Leo Isaurus; 685 – 18 June 741), also known as the Syrian, was Byzantine Emperor from 717 until his death in 741 and founder of the Isaurian dynasty. He put an e ...

(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 ( gr, σπαθαροκανδιδᾶτος), Latinized as , was a mid-ranking Byzantine court dignity used in the 7th–11th centuries. History The title was created as a portmanteau of the titles and , both of which were types of palace guard ...

''. According to the ''Klētorologion'', the insignia of the dignity was a gold-hilted

sword A sword is an 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 blade with a pointed ti ...

. 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 a person or a group of people — usually witnesses, high-ranking public officials or officers, ...

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 ( gr, Ἄννα Κομνηνή, Ánna Komnēnḗ; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine princess and author of the ''Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, the Byzantine emperor, ...

wrote her ''

Alexiad The ''Alexiad'' ( el, Ἀλεξιάς, Alexias) is a medieval historical and biographical text written around the year 1148, by the Byzantine princess Anna Komnene, daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. It was written in a form of artificial ...

'' 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 ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

, 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 ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...

. *

Ælfric of Eynsham Ælfric of Eynsham ( ang, Ælfrīc; la, Alfricus, Elphricus; ) 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 ...

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 an order of knights, typically founded during or inspired by the original Catholic military orders of the Crusades ( 1099–1291) and paired with medieval conc ...

, were known as ''Spatharii''.

References

Sources

* *

History

Other occurrences

References

Sources

Further reading