In the Middle Ages, a familiaris (plural familiares), more formally a familiaris regis ("familiar of the king") or familiaris curiae[1] ("familiar of the court"), was, in the words of the historian W. L. Warren, "an intimate, a familiar resident or visitor in the [royal] household, a member of the familia, that wider family which embraces servants, confidents, and close associates."[2] Warren adds that the term "defies adequate translation", but is distinct from courtier, "for the king employed his familiares on a variety of administrative tasks."[3]
The familiares of a king are collectively referred to as the familia regis, which evolved into a private royal council—in England during the reign of Henry III (1216–72) and in France during that of Philip V (1316–22). In England, it was known as the concilium familiare or concilium privatum (Privy Council) and in France as the magnum consilium (great council, the Conseil du Roi).[4] The familiares regis may have already formed an inner royal council in Sicily during the reign of Roger II (1130–54).[5]
Notes
- ^ In medieval documents, curiae may also be spelled curiæ or curie.
- ^ Takayama 1989, p. 357.
- ^ Takayama 1989, p. 357 n. 4.
- ^ Takayama 1989, pp. 357–58.
- ^ Takayama 1989, p. 358.
Sources
- Takayama, Hiroshi (1989). "Familiares Regis and the Royal Inner Council in Twelfth-Century Sicily". The English Historical Review. 104 (411): 357–72. doi:10.1093/ehr/civ.ccccxi.357
- Prestwich, J. O. (1981). "The Military Household of the Norman Kings". The English Historical Review. 96 (378): 1–35. doi:10.1093/ehr/xcvi.ccclxxviii.1
- Prestwich, J. O. (1963). "Anglo-Norman Feudalism and the Problems of Continuity". Past and Present. ' (26): 39–57. doi:10.1093/past/26.1.39
- Hollister, C. W. & Baldwin, J. W. (1978). "The Rise of Administrative Kingship: Henry I and Philip Augustus". The American Historical Review. 83 (4): 867–905. doi:10.2307/1867650. JSTOR 1867650
Further reading
- Bournazel, Eric. Le Gouvernement Capétien au XIIe siècle, 1108–1180: Structures sociales et mutations institutionelles. Paris: 1975.
- Chalandon, F. Histoire de la domination normande en Italie et Sicile. 2 vols. Paris: 1907.
- Chibnall, M. "Mercenaries and the Familia regis under Henry I". History 62 (1977), 15–23.
- Garufi, C. A. "Sull'ordinamento amministrativo normanno in Sicilia, Exchiquier o diwan? Studi storico diplomatici". Archivio storico italiano, 5th series, 27 (1901), 225–63.
- Green, Judith A. The Government of England under Henry I. Cambridge: 1986.
- Hollister, C. W. The Military Organization of Norman England. Oxford: 1965.
- Jolliffe, J. E. A. Angevin Kingship. New York: 1955.
- Olivier-Martin, François. Histoire du droit français des origines à la Révolution. 2nd ed. Paris: 1951.
- Warren, W. L. Henry II. Berkeley: 1973.
- Warren, W. L. The Governance of Norman and Angevin England, 1086–1272. London: 1987.