Spatharokandidatos on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
( gr, σπαθαροκανδιδᾶτος), Latinized as , was a mid-ranking
( gr, σπαθαροκανδιδᾶτος), Latinized as , was a mid-ranking 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 ...
court dignity used in the 7th–11th centuries.
History
The title was created as aportmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words. The earliest references to the title occur in the ''History'' of
Sebeos
Sebeos () was a 7th-century Armenian bishop and historian.
Little is known about the author, though a signature on the resolution of the Ecclesiastical Council of Dvin in 645 reads 'Bishop Sebeos of Bagratunis.' His writings are valuable as one ...
and in a letter by Pope Gregory II
Pope Gregory II ( la, Gregorius II; 669 – 11 February 731) was the bishop of Rome from 19 May 715 to his death.
to 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 ...
(). John B. Bury
John Bagnell Bury (; 16 October 1861 – 1 June 1927) was an Anglo-Irish historian, classical scholar, Medieval Roman historian and philologist. He objected to the label "Byzantinist" explicitly in the preface to the 1889 edition of his ''Lat ...
accepted a creation in the early 7th century, but the title is clearly attested only from the early 9th century on. In the 9th-century lists of precedence ('' Taktika''), the dignity ranks below that of and above that of among the dignities intended for 'bearded men' (i.e. non-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 ...
s). Its distinctive insigne () was a golden chain () worn around the chest.
The dignity was not given to eunuchs, for whom the corresponding dignity was that of . Judging from sigillographic
Sigillography, also known by its Greek-derived name, sphragistics, is the scholarly discipline that studies the wax, lead, clay, and other seals used to authenticate archival documents. It investigates not only aspects of the artistic design a ...
evidence, the dignity was associated mostly with mid-level ranks, such as and lower judges. In the lists of offices known as the ''Taktika'', the dignity corresponds to specific positions in the lower tier of the senior civil and military hierarchy, such as those of (senior secretary), (commander of a frontier district), (deputy commander) of a , or (divisional commander) of a . The last attested mention of the title is in 1094, and it was dropped from use at the latest in the 12th century.
References
Sources
* * {{ODB , last=Kazhdan , first=Alexander , authorlink=Alexander Kazhdan , title = Spatharokandidatos , page = 1936 Byzantine court titles Guards units of the Byzantine Empire Medieval bodyguards