Mace-bearer
Encyclopedia
A Mace-bearer, or Macebearer, is a person who carries a mace, either a real weapon or ceremonial
.
.
Thus in French
and Dutch
, a massier (armed with a masse d'armes 'weapon-mace') could be a member of a formally so-styled guard corps, as in the court of the Dukes of Brabant
.
Otherwise, a normally more domestic servant could double (arming trusted household staff was not unusual) as macebearer, as in the case of the prophet Mohammed's first muezzin
, Bilal ibn Ribah
s, which symbolise the power or status of a Monarch
, institution or high dignitary, the duty to carry them in procession or other formal occasions may either be occasional and vested in an office otherwise named, or give its name to the office, either as a sinecure
or in conjunction with other duties (sometimes indeed as an alternative title, as with some University Officers, e.g. at St Andrews, the Bedelis is the chief mace bearer and at Oxford the Bedel
s). His main day-to-day duties may be rather that of a general assistant, like say a driver's. In the Anglo-Saxon
tradition, there usually is one post of mace-bearer per mace, and rarely more than one mace in use at the same time per master, or only in specific different contexts.
In French, the above-mentioned title massier is nowadays used for a mere huissier (a lowly post, door-keeper or usher) who occasionally carries a 'masse' when taking part in formal ceremonies, rather like a staff of office, as the mace is not given the same reverence as in the Anglo-Saxon tradition, indeed there may be several ones carried at the same time by staff of the same master, without any symbolism or tradition concerning the individual maces.
Ceremonial mace
The ceremonial mace is a highly ornamented staff of metal or wood, carried before a sovereign or other high official in civic ceremonies by a mace-bearer, intended to represent the official's authority. The mace, as used today, derives from the original mace used as a weapon...
.
Armed
When the mace was still in actual use as a weapon, it was deemed fit for close-protection, and hence a mace-bearer could be a bodyguardBodyguard
A bodyguard is a type of security operative or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous, wealthy, or politically important figure—from assault, kidnapping, assassination, stalking, loss of confidential information, terrorist attack or other threats.Most important public figures such...
.
Thus in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
, a massier (armed with a masse d'armes 'weapon-mace') could be a member of a formally so-styled guard corps, as in the court of the Dukes of Brabant
Duke of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was formally erected in 1183/1184. The title "Duke of Brabant" was created by the German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I, son of Godfrey III of Leuven . The Duchy of Brabant was a feudal elevation of the since 1085/1086 existing title of Landgrave of Brabant...
.
Otherwise, a normally more domestic servant could double (arming trusted household staff was not unusual) as macebearer, as in the case of the prophet Mohammed's first muezzin
Muezzin
A muezzin , or muzim, is the chosen person at a mosque who leads the call to prayer at Friday services and the five daily times for prayer from one of the mosque's minarets; in most modern mosques, electronic amplification aids the muezzin in his task.The professional muezzin is chosen for his...
, Bilal ibn Ribah
Bilal ibn Ribah
Bilal ibn Rabah or Bilal al-Habashi was an Ethiopian born in Mecca in the late 6th century, sometime between 578 and 582.The Islamic prophet Muhammad chose a former African slave Bilal as his muezzin, effectively making him the first muezzin of the Islamic faith...
Ceremonial
As for ceremonial maceCeremonial mace
The ceremonial mace is a highly ornamented staff of metal or wood, carried before a sovereign or other high official in civic ceremonies by a mace-bearer, intended to represent the official's authority. The mace, as used today, derives from the original mace used as a weapon...
s, which symbolise the power or status of a Monarch
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
, institution or high dignitary, the duty to carry them in procession or other formal occasions may either be occasional and vested in an office otherwise named, or give its name to the office, either as a sinecure
Sinecure
A sinecure means an office that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service...
or in conjunction with other duties (sometimes indeed as an alternative title, as with some University Officers, e.g. at St Andrews, the Bedelis is the chief mace bearer and at Oxford the Bedel
Bedel
The bedel was, and is to some extent still, an administrative official at universities in several European countries, and often had a policiary function at the time when universities had their own jurisdiction over...
s). His main day-to-day duties may be rather that of a general assistant, like say a driver's. In the Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
tradition, there usually is one post of mace-bearer per mace, and rarely more than one mace in use at the same time per master, or only in specific different contexts.
In French, the above-mentioned title massier is nowadays used for a mere huissier (a lowly post, door-keeper or usher) who occasionally carries a 'masse' when taking part in formal ceremonies, rather like a staff of office, as the mace is not given the same reverence as in the Anglo-Saxon tradition, indeed there may be several ones carried at the same time by staff of the same master, without any symbolism or tradition concerning the individual maces.
Sources
- Larousse, Pierre (1952) Nouveau petit Larousse illustré : dictionnaire encyclopédique, Ed. spéciale réalisée pour les cinquantes ans de l'ouvrage de Claude et Paul Augé: refondue et augmentée par E. Gillon et al., Paris : Larousse, 1791 p. [encyclopaedic dictionary, in French]