View source for Royal household under the Merovingians and Carolingians

{{Short description|Household of the early kings of the Franks}}
The '''royal household''' of the early kings of the Franks is the subject of considerable discussion and remains controversial.  This discussion is aimed at identifying the major categories of participants in the administration and those who made the major historical impacts. Every king of the Franks from [[Clovis I]] to [[Charles the Bald]] had a large cadre of advisors and bureaucrats that helped implement their regime.  These supporters of the crown are frequently unknown, but often are ancestors of the later rulers of France.  This is not intended to be a complete list of those supporting the kings but to serve as a guide for further study.  A general discussion of the [[Merovingian dynasty|Merovingian]] and [[Carolingian dynasty|Carolingian]] dynasties can be found in the associated main articles.  See also [[Government of the Carolingian Empire]].
'''[[Mayor of the palace]].'''  Under the Merovingian kings, the mayor of the palace (''maior palatii'' or “great man of the palace") was the manager of the household of the Frankish king. The office existed from the sixth century, and during the seventh it evolved into the power behind the throne.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Shorter Cambridge Medieval History, Volume 1|editor-last=Previte-Orton|editor-first=C. W. |publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1952|location=Cambridge|pages=155}}</ref>  Some of the more significant mayors were:
* [[Pepin of Landen]], mayor under Dagobert I and Sigebert III
* [[Grimoald the Elder]], son of the previous
* [[Pepin of Heristal]]
* [[Charles Martel]], son of the previous and father of the first of the Carolingian kings [[Pepin the Short]], father of [[Charlemagne]].
'''Counselors to the King'''.  After the ascendance of the mayors of the palace to the heads of government, future kings understandingly did not place so much power in their underlings, but still relied on senior councillors (or counselors), mostly from the clergy.  Major players included:
* [[Saint Fulrad]], counselor to both Pepin the Short and Charlemagne
* [[Ebbo, Archbishop of Reims]], counselor to [[Louis the Pious]]
* [[Adalard of Corbie]], grandson of Charles Martel, played a key role in the rule of Louis the Pious
* [[Hincmar, Archbishop of Reims]], principal advisor, friend, and chief propagandist for Charles the Bald.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Charles the Bald|last=Nelson|first=Janet|publisher=Longman Press|year=1992|location=London|pages=43–50}}</ref>
'''Lord Chancellor'''.  The officer of state responsible for the judiciary and was responsible for seeing that royal decrees were enrolled and registered by the sundry parlements, the provincial appellate courts.  Some significant lord chancellors include:
* [[Saint Remigius|Saint Rémigius]], [[Bishop of Reims]] and Apostle of the Franks
* [[Romanus of Rouen|Saint Romanus of Rouen]], [[Bishop of Rouen]]
* [[Ansbert of Rouen|Saint Ansbert]], [[Bishop of Rouen]]
* [[Audoin (bishop)|Saint Audoin]], [[Bishop of Rouen]]
* [[Bonitus (bishop)|Saint Bonitus]], [[Bishop of Auvergne]]
* [[Chrodbert (count palatine of Chlothar III)|Robert II]], ancestor of the Robertians
* [[Fulrad]], [[Basilica of St Denis|Abbot of St. Denis]]
* [[Alcuin]], Abbot of Tours
* Fridgise, chancellor to Charlemagne, then to Louis the Pious
* [[Adalard the Seneschal]]
* [[Renaud de Vendôme]], [[Bishop of Paris]]
* Gerbert d'Aurillac, later [[Pope Sylvester II]].
See the main article [[Lord Chancellor of France]].
'''Seneschal'''. The royal officer in charge of justice and control of the administration (in French, ''sénéchal'').  Some important seneschal were:
* [[Hugobert]] (under [[Theuderic III|Theoderic III]] and his son [[Childebert III]])
* [[Adalard the Seneschal]] (under [[Louis the Pious]])
See the main article [[Seneschal]].
'''Administrator of the Fisc'''.  Also known as the Master of the Coin. The [[fisc]] was the system applied to the [[royal demesne]] which paid taxes from which the royal household was meant to be supported.  The only recorded Administrator of the Fisc is:<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Annals of St-Bertin|last=Nelson|first=Janet L. (Translator)|publisher=Manchester University Press|year=1991|location=Manchester|pages=188–189}}</ref>
* [[Engelram, Chamberlain of France|Engelram]] (under Charles the Bald), grandfather of [[Otto, Duke of Lorraine]].
'''Master of the Doorkeepers.''' There is no real record of this function in France, although it was prominent in [[Master of the doorkeepers|Hungary]].  The only known people with this title are:<ref>{{Cite book|title=Charles the Bald|last=Nelson|first=Janet L.|publisher=Longman|year=1992|location=London|pages=265}}</ref>
* [[Engelram, Chamberlain of France|Count Engelram]]
* [[Boso of Provence|Boso of Provennce]]
'''Count Palatine''' ( in Latin, ''comes palatines''). The Merovingian kings employed a high official, the [[Count palatine|Count Palatine]], who at first assisted the king in his judicial duties and, at a later date, discharged many of these himself.  Some notable Counts palatine were:
* [[Chrodbert (count palatine of Chlothar III)|Chrodobertus II]]
* [[Robert I, Count of Hesbaye]]
* [[Wigeric of Lotharingia]].
See the main articles [[Count palatine|Count Palatine]] and [[Elector of the Palatinate]].
'''Grafio'''.  It is not clear what the duties of this position were, nor have any ''grafio'' been recorded other than in the charter of 28 February 693 of Clovis III.
'''Domesticus.'''  Again mentioned in the charter of Clovis III, known people with this title include:
* [[Ansegisel]], serving [[Sigebert III|Sigebert III of Austrasia]] as duke and ''domesticus''
* Dodo, father (or brother) of [[Alpaida]], mistress of [[Pepin of Herstal]], murdered by the family of [[Lambert of Maastricht]].
'''Referendiary'''.  Officers of the palace who made the report of the royal letters in the chancelleries in order to decide whether they should be signed and distributed.  Some of the more significant refendiaries were:
* [[Saint Remigius|Saint Rémigius]], [[Bishop of Reims]]
* [[Ansbert of Rouen|Ansbert]], [[Bishop of Rouen]], in the court of [[Clothar II]]
* [[Robert I, Bishop of Tours]], in the courts of [[Dagobert I]] and [[Clovis II]]
* [[Bonitus (bishop)|Bonitus]], [[Bishop of Auvergne]], in the court of [[Sigebert III|Sigebert III, King of Austrasia]]
* [[Chrodbert (count palatine of Chlothar III)|Robert II]], in the court of [[Chlothar III]].
See the main article [[Référendaire of France]].
'''Grand Référendaire.'''  Presumably, an officer responsible for multiple référendaire.  The only known Grand Référendaire is:
* [[Audoin (bishop)|Audoin]], [[Bishop of Rouen]], Grand Référendaire of [[Dagobert I]] and [[Clovis II]].
'''Magister Ostiariorum (Master of Porters)'''.  Directed the palace staff and controlled access to the king.  The only known holder of this position is:
* [[Boso of Provence]] ([[Louis the Stammerer]]).
'''Chamberlain.'''  In the late Middle Ages, the position of chamberlain (see [[Grand Chamberlain of France]]) was associated with the maintenance of the king’s chamber and his wardrobe.  It is not clear that the early roles in this position were limited to this, as they were filled with powerful counts.  Nevertheless, the following are known chamberlains from this period:
* Reginar (Rainier) ([[Louis the Pious]]), executed for plotting with [[Bernard of Italy]] against the crown<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Cambridge Medieval History, Volume III|editor-last=Bury|editor-first=J. B. |publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1924|location=Cambridge|pages=11}}</ref>
* Vivian (Charles the Bald)<ref>{{Cite book|title=Charles the Bald|last=Nelson|first=Janet L.|publisher=Longman Press|year=1992|location=London|pages=265}}</ref>
* [[Engelram, Chamberlain of France|Engelram]] (Charles the Bald), ousted by [[Richilde of Provence|Richilde]] in favor of her brother Boso
* [[Boso of Provence]] (Charles the Bald, Louis the Stammerer).
'''Missi Domininici'''. A final category of members of the court are the [[Missus dominicus|''Missi Domininici'']] (the palace inspectors), who travelled to the far reaches of the kingdom to promulgate royal doctrine.  See the [[Capitulary of Servais]] for a listing of the bishops, abbots and counts that supported Charles the Bald in his attempts to manage the outlands, as well as the [[Carolingian Empire#Capitularies|Capitularies of Charlemagne]], and the [[Capitularies of Charles the Bald]].
== Sources ==
Bury, J. B. (Editor), ''The Cambridge Medieval History, Volume II:  The Rise of the Saracens and the Foundation of the Western Empire'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1913
Bury, J. B. (Editor), ''The Cambridge Medieval History, Volume III: Germany and the Western Empire,'' Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1924
Previte-Orton, C. W. (Editor), ''The Shorter Cambridge Medieval History, Volume I:  The Later Roman Empire to the Twelfth Century'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1952
Nelson, Janet L., ''Charles the Bald'', Longman Press, 1992
Nelson, Janet L. (Translator), ''The Annals of St-Bertin'', Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1991
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Merovingians|state=collapsed}}
{{Carolingians footer}}
{{Carolingian Empire}}
[[Category:Francia]]
[[Category:Medieval chancellors (government)]]
[[Category:Medieval organizations]]