Count of the Stable
Encyclopedia
The Count of the Stable was a late Roman
and Byzantine
office responsible for the horses and pack animals intended for use by the army and the imperial court. From Byzantium, it was adopted by the Franks, and is the origin of the post and title of constable
, via the Old French
conestable.
(14.10.8 and 20.2.5), they ranked equal to the tribunes of the Scholae Palatinae
guards regiments. In the Notitia Dignitatum
(Pars Orient. XIV.6) they are listed as the praepositi gregum et stabulorum under the comes rerum privatarum. By the early 5th century, as attested in the Codex Theodosianus
, they were raised to comites
with the rank of vir clarissimus, but the older title of tribune remained in parallel use for some time (cf. Cod. Theod., 6.13.1).
Eight holders of the office are known from the 4th century, including the emperor Valens
(r. 364–378) and his brothers-in-law Cerealis and Constantinianus. Evidently the post was closely associated with the imperial family. Thus Stilicho
was appointed to it when he married the adopted niece of Theodosius I
(r. 378–395), Serena. Holders are relatively rarely mentioned thereafter however. The great general Flavius Aetius
held the post in 451, and in the 6th century, the variant "Count of the Imperial Grooms" was conferred on leading generals such as Belisarius
and Constantinianus, while Baduarius
, a relative of Justin II
(r. 565–578), is recorded by the 9th-century chronicler Theophanes the Confessor
to have held the post of Count of the Imperial Stables. The office reappears in the sources in the 820s, when the "prōtospatharios
and komēs tou basilikou hippostasiou" Damian lead an unsuccessful expedition against the Arabs in Crete
.
The Byzantine office of the komēs tou staulou is best known during the 9th and 10th centuries, when it was classed as belonging to the group of military officials known as stratarchai. Along with the Logothete of the Herds (logothetēs tōn agelōn), he was responsible for the imperial horses in the capital, Constantinople
, and for the horse ranches in the great army camp (aplēkton
) at Malagina
in Bithynia
. He usually held the dignity of patrikios, and ranked 51st in the overall imperial hierarchy. During imperial processions, as well as during war, he escorted the emperor along with the prōtostratōr
, and played a role in the receptions of foreign ambassadors.
In the 13th century, the Latin-inspired office of the konostaulos
seems to have replaced the komēs tou staulou, but another title, the komēs tōn basilikōn hippōn appears in the 14th-century treatise on offices of pseudo-Kodinos. Aside from bringing the emperor his horse and holding it while he mounted it, the functions of this office are unknown. He does not appear to have held a rank within the court hierarchy, but his proximity to the emperor did apparently lead to some influence, as in the case of Constantine Chadenos, who rose from this post to high political offices under Michael VIII (r. 1259–1282).
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
and Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
office responsible for the horses and pack animals intended for use by the army and the imperial court. From Byzantium, it was adopted by the Franks, and is the origin of the post and title of constable
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
, via the Old French
Old French
Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories that span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from the 9th century to the 14th century...
conestable.
History and functions
The post first appears in the 4th century as the tribunus [sacri] stabuli ("tribune of the [sacred] stable"), initially responsible for the levying of horses from the provinces. According to Ammianus MarcellinusAmmianus Marcellinus
Ammianus Marcellinus was a fourth-century Roman historian. He wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from Antiquity...
(14.10.8 and 20.2.5), they ranked equal to the tribunes of the Scholae Palatinae
Scholae Palatinae
The Scholae Palatinae , were an elite military guard unit, usually ascribed to the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great as a replacement for the equites singulares Augusti, the cavalry arm of the Praetorian Guard...
guards regiments. In the Notitia Dignitatum
Notitia Dignitatum
The Notitia Dignitatum is a unique document of the Roman imperial chanceries. One of the very few surviving documents of Roman government, it details the administrative organisation of the eastern and western empires, listing several thousand offices from the imperial court down to the provincial...
(Pars Orient. XIV.6) they are listed as the praepositi gregum et stabulorum under the comes rerum privatarum. By the early 5th century, as attested in the Codex Theodosianus
Codex Theodosianus
The Codex Theodosianus was a compilation of the laws of the Roman Empire under the Christian emperors since 312. A commission was established by Theodosius II in 429 and the compilation was published in the eastern half of the Roman Empire in 438...
, they were raised to comites
Comes
Comes , plural comites , is the Latin word for companion, either individually or as a member of a collective known as comitatus, especially the suite of a magnate, in some cases large and/or formal enough to have a specific name, such as a cohors amicorum. The word comes derives from com- "with" +...
with the rank of vir clarissimus, but the older title of tribune remained in parallel use for some time (cf. Cod. Theod., 6.13.1).
Eight holders of the office are known from the 4th century, including the emperor Valens
Valens
Valens was the Eastern Roman Emperor from 364 to 378. He was given the eastern half of the empire by his brother Valentinian I after the latter's accession to the throne...
(r. 364–378) and his brothers-in-law Cerealis and Constantinianus. Evidently the post was closely associated with the imperial family. Thus Stilicho
Stilicho
Flavius Stilicho was a high-ranking general , Patrician and Consul of the Western Roman Empire, notably of Vandal birth. Despised by the Roman population for his Germanic ancestry and Arian beliefs, Stilicho was in 408 executed along with his wife and son...
was appointed to it when he married the adopted niece of Theodosius I
Theodosius I
Theodosius I , also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule over both the eastern and the western halves of the Roman Empire. During his reign, the Goths secured control of Illyricum after the Gothic War, establishing their homeland...
(r. 378–395), Serena. Holders are relatively rarely mentioned thereafter however. The great general Flavius Aetius
Flavius Aëtius
Flavius Aëtius , dux et patricius, was a Roman general of the closing period of the Western Roman Empire. He was an able military commander and the most influential man in the Western Roman Empire for two decades . He managed policy in regard to the attacks of barbarian peoples pressing on the Empire...
held the post in 451, and in the 6th century, the variant "Count of the Imperial Grooms" was conferred on leading generals such as Belisarius
Belisarius
Flavius Belisarius was a general of the Byzantine Empire. He was instrumental to Emperor Justinian's ambitious project of reconquering much of the Mediterranean territory of the former Western Roman Empire, which had been lost less than a century previously....
and Constantinianus, while Baduarius
Baduarius
Baduarius was an East Roman aristocrat, the son-in-law of Byzantine emperor Justin II . Theophanes the Confessor erroneously calls him a brother.- Life :...
, a relative of Justin II
Justin II
Justin II was Byzantine Emperor from 565 to 578. He was the husband of Sophia, nephew of Justinian I and the late Empress Theodora, and was therefore a member of the Justinian Dynasty. His reign is marked by war with Persia and the loss of the greater part of Italy...
(r. 565–578), is recorded by the 9th-century chronicler Theophanes the Confessor
Theophanes the Confessor
Saint Theophanes Confessor was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy, who became a monk and chronicler. He is venerated on March 12 in the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Church .-Biography:Theophanes was born in Constantinople of wealthy and noble iconodule parents: Isaac,...
to have held the post of Count of the Imperial Stables. The office reappears in the sources in the 820s, when the "prōtospatharios
Protospatharios
Prōtospatharios was one of the highest court dignities of the middle Byzantine period , awarded to senior generals and provincial governors, as well as to foreign princes.-History:...
and komēs tou basilikou hippostasiou" Damian lead an unsuccessful expedition against the Arabs in Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
.
The Byzantine office of the komēs tou staulou is best known during the 9th and 10th centuries, when it was classed as belonging to the group of military officials known as stratarchai. Along with the Logothete of the Herds (logothetēs tōn agelōn), he was responsible for the imperial horses in the capital, Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, and for the horse ranches in the great army camp (aplēkton
Aplekton
Aplekton was a Byzantine term used in the 10th–14th centuries for a fortified army base and later in the Palaiologan period for the obligation of billeting soldiers....
) at Malagina
Malagina
Malagina , in later times Melangeia , was a Byzantine district in the valley of the Sangarius river in northern Bithynia, which served as a major encampment and fortified staging area for the Byzantine army...
in Bithynia
Bithynia
Bithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine .-Description:...
. He usually held the dignity of patrikios, and ranked 51st in the overall imperial hierarchy. During imperial processions, as well as during war, he escorted the emperor along with the prōtostratōr
Protostrator
Prōtostratōr was a Byzantine court office, originating as the imperial stable master, which in the last centuries of the Empire evolved into one of the senior military offices...
, and played a role in the receptions of foreign ambassadors.
In the 13th century, the Latin-inspired office of the konostaulos
Konostaulos
Konostaulos or konostablos , later corrupted to kontostaulos , was a late Byzantine title, adopted from the Normans...
seems to have replaced the komēs tou staulou, but another title, the komēs tōn basilikōn hippōn appears in the 14th-century treatise on offices of pseudo-Kodinos. Aside from bringing the emperor his horse and holding it while he mounted it, the functions of this office are unknown. He does not appear to have held a rank within the court hierarchy, but his proximity to the emperor did apparently lead to some influence, as in the case of Constantine Chadenos, who rose from this post to high political offices under Michael VIII (r. 1259–1282).
Subordinate officials
The staff (officium) of the Count of the Stable is not explicitly mentioned in Byzantine sources, but its composition for the 9th and 10th centuries can be inferred, at least in part. It included:- two chartoularioiChartoulariosThe chartoularios or chartularius , Anglicized as chartulary, was a late Roman and Byzantine administrative official, entrusted with administrative and fiscal duties, either as a subaltern official of a department or province or at the head of various independent bureaus.-History:The title derives...
, one for ConstantinopleConstantinopleConstantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
and one for Malagina ( or , "the outer (i.e. provincial) chartoularios").
- the epeiktes, in seals often epiktes , responsible for fodder, watering and other related supplies like horseshoes or saddles.
- the saphramentarios (σαφραμεντάριος), the origin of whose title and his functions are unknown. In the sources, he seems to be responsible for outfitting the imperial mules prior to an expedition.
- the four counts (komētesComesComes , plural comites , is the Latin word for companion, either individually or as a member of a collective known as comitatus, especially the suite of a magnate, in some cases large and/or formal enough to have a specific name, such as a cohors amicorum. The word comes derives from com- "with" +...
) of Malagina .
- forty grooms , also known as the "grooms of the two stables" . These were probably subaltern officers charged with leading detachments of mules.
- the kellarios (κελλάριος) or apothetēs of the imperial stable, responsible for the stables' granary.