ARTICLE VII.

THE QUEEN'S COURT AND HOUSEHOLD.

1. Notitia Imperii Romani.-(A Royal or rather Imperial Kalendar of the Roman Empire, being a list of the seve

ral civil and military magistrates and officers*.

2. The Pictorial History of England.

C. Knight & Co., 1838.

Vol. i. London,

دو

3. The Official Kalendar for 1831. By JOHN BURKE, ESQ., author of " A Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage.' London, 1831.

4. The Royal Kalendar for the year 1838.

5. The Glory of Regality: an Historical Treatise of the anointing and crowning of the Kings and Queens of England. By ARTHUR TAYLOR, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. London, 1820.

6. Chapters on Coronations; comprising their Origin, Nature and History. London, 1838.

7. Regal Records; or, a Chronicle of the Coronations of the Queens Regnant of England. By J. R. PLANCHÉ, F.S.A., author of the "History of British Costume," &c. London, 1838.

THE commencement of a new reign, with an approaching coronation, seems a not unfit occasion for a few remarks on the subject of the Royal Household, of which, though now it may seem to lead to an inquiry rather curious than important, nevertheless, as it originally comprehended the whole machinery of the Government, including the legislative and judicial as well as administrative establishments, some accurate knowledge is more necessary than is commonly imagined to the full comprehension, not only of the nature of the English Government, but of the whole structure of modern European society. In the following article we shall make use of an investigation in Chapter III. Book III. of the Pictorial History of England at present in course of publication, which has thrown quite a new light upon one part of the subject.

In the first ages after the Conquest, the business of the state, both administrative and judicial, and, indeed, legislative

* The best edition is that with the Commentary of Pancirolus, given in vol. vii. of the Roman Antiquities of Grævius.

too,-for in the early stages of society the judicial and legislative are not very distinctly separated,-was performed by the great officers of the king's court or household. This was called the Curia Regis, literally the king's court, council or senate; and there appears to be little or no foundation for the supposition that this was a different body from what is termed by old writers the Commune Concilium, the Common Council of the realm. In order fully to understand the composition of the above courts or council, it is necessary to trace the thing to its primary elements. The Anglo-Normans borrowed from the Normans, the Normans from the Franks; and the Franks, in addition to what they had of their own, borrowed, probably, something from the courts of the Roman emperors.

If they took at least in part the idea of that complex gradation of offices from the Roman empire, they did not retain, in all respects, the same order of the scale which prevailed under the empire, as made known to us by that curious document called Notitia Imperii, a species of Imperial Kalendar, containing a list of the various officers and magistrates. For instance, according to that document, which is of about the same date with the Theodosian Code, the first officer of the empire was the Præpositus sacri cubiculi, (the Great Chamberlain,) while the Comes castrensis (Count of the palace or household,) held a rank subordinate not only to him, but to other officers; whereas, among the Franks, the highest officer in power, as in dignity, was, as the name implies, the grand seneschal, corresponding to the Comes castrensis above named.

But we incline to think it may be a question whether the Gothic monarchs had any regard at all to the empire in the formation of their scale of offices. Besides that the order of the scale, as well as the offices, is essentially different from the imperial; even the Latin names which they gave to the offices are quite different from the names in the Notitia Imperii Romani. The reader will perceive this at once by comparing the following list of officers from the Notitia with the lists which will be given presently of the officers of the household of the Anglo-Norman kings. We follow M. Guizot's*

*Cours d'Histoire Moderne, tom. iv. p. 213. Also the Notitia with Pancirolus's Commentary, in volume vii. of the Roman Antiquities of Grævius.

arrangement, who says: "I have taken for the basis of this "table the empire of the East, more complete and better "known; taking care to indicate here and there the circum"stances which distinguish the empire of the West."

IMPERIAL Court.

I. Præpositus sacri cubiculi. Great Chamberlain.
Under him were the following:

1. Primicerius sacri cubiculi. First Chamberlain. He
was at the head of all those who served the emperor
in his apartments.

2. Comes castrensis palatii (maire du palais). Count of the palace or household. A sort of steward who superintended the imperial table, cuisine, &c.

Under him were:

1. Primicerius mensarum, the chief of those who, when the emperor travelled, went before to make preparation for him on his route.

2. Primicerius cellariorum, chief of those employed in
the kitchens and offices.

3. Primicerius pædagogiorum, chief of the young pages
educated for service in the interior of the palace.
4. Primicerius lampadariorum, chief of those who su-
perintended the lighting of the palace.

3. Comes sacræ vestis, count of the sacred wardrobe, i. e.
master of the robes.

4. Chartularii cubiculi, secretaries of the chamber. Al-
though occupied with public business, they were un-
der the superintendence of the Præpositus sacri cubi-
culi, because their service was personal, or they were
considered as the private secretaries of the emperor.
5. Decuriones III. silentiariorum, whose business was to
prevent noise in the palace.

6. Comes domorum per Cappadociam, the superintendant
of the property of the emperor in Cappadocia, which
was very considerable.

II. Comites domesticorum equitum peditumque, counts of the cavalry and infantry of the palace, i, e. commanders of the emperor's life or body guards.

CENTRAL GOVERNMENT.

1. Magister officiorum, the master of the offices. A minister whose functions were very extensive. He administered justice to the palatini, i. e. those of the imperial household, received appeals from privileged citizens, presented the senators to the prince, &c.; so that it appears his functions very much resembled one portion of those of the Dapifer or lord steward of the household, while another portion of the latter officer's functions belonged to the Comes castrensis. This high officer had a very great number of employés under him, whom it is unnecessary here to particularize. II. Quæstor, the questor. He gave judgment along with the Præfectus prætorio, and sometimes alone in cases referred to the prince; he composed the laws and edicts which the prince was to promulgate; signed the rescripts, &c. He was a sort of lord high chancellor, as the officer last mentioned, the Magister officiorum, was a sort of lord high steward.

III. Comes sacrarum largitionum, the count of the sacred largesses. He was the lord high treasurer of the empire. IV. Comes rerum privatarum, the treasurer of the crown. The public treasury was called ærarium; the private treasury of the emperor, or perhaps, as we should say in England, the privy purse, was called fiscus. Consequently, while the Comes sacrarum largitionum would correspond to the lord treasurer, the Comes rerum privatarum would correspond to the privy purse. Of the various subordinates in the department of this officer we shall notice only one class, as making one among the many strong points of difference between the Roman and the modern gradation of offices. The class to which we allude was called the Præpositi stabulorum, gregum, et armentorum, and it included in it an officer called Comes stabuli; from which words the modern Constable is supposed to be derived. As we shall see presently, however, the constable of the northern courts was a far higher officer than this Comes stabuli. V. Primicerius notariorum, first secretary of state.

But this does not yet give either a complete view of the whole of the vast machinery by which the Titanic govern

ment of the Roman empire, about the beginning of the fifth century, did its herculean work, or a precise idea of the relative places of all the officers whom we have named in the foregoing abstract. The deficiency will be supplied by the following table of the order of precedence of ranks and titles in the Roman empire*.

I. NOBILISSIMI.

This was the highest title, and confined to members and allies of the imperial family.

II. ILLUSTREs.

1. Præfectus Prætorio Orientis.

2. Præfectus Prætorio Illyrici.

3. Præfectus Prætorio Italiæ.

4. Præfectus Prætorio Galliarum.

5. Præfectus urbis Constantinopolitana.
6. Præfectus urbis Romæ.

7-11. Magistri militum Orient. v.

12. Magister equitum Occident.

13. Magister peditum Occident. 14. Magister equitum per Gallias. 15-16. Præpositi sacri cubiculi 11. 17-18. Magistri officiorum 11. Orient. et Occid.

19-20. Quæstores II.

Orient. et Occid.

Orient. et Occid.

21-22. Comites largitionum 11. Orient. et Occid.

23-24. Comites rerum privatarum 11. Orient. et Occid. 25-26. Comites domesticorum equitum II. Orient. et

3-4. Comites castrenses palatii 11.

Orient. et Occid.

Orient. et Occid.

5-6. Primicerii notariorum II. Orient. et Occid.

11.

7-13. Magistri scriniorum, Orient. et Occid., VII.

14-16. Proconsules III.

17. Comes Orientis.

* See the Notitia, with the Commentary of Pancirolus, lib. i. c. 1, and lib. ii. c. 1.