The '''{{lang|la|vestitor}}''', Hellenized as '''{{Transliteration|el|vestētōr}}''' ({{langx|el|βεστήτωρ}}) was a lowly Byzantine palace position and rank.
As their name suggests, the {{lang|la|vestitores}} were originally officials of the imperial wardrobe ({{langx|la|vestiarium}}, adopted into Greek as {{Transliteration|el|vestiarion}}), and are first attested as such in the 6th century.{{sfn|Bury|1911|p=25}} By the 9th century, the title had also become an honorary dignity ({{lang|el|δια βραβείου άξια}}, {{Transliteration|el|dia brabeiou axia}}) intended for "bearded men" (i.e. non-eunuchs), marked in the ''Klētorologion'' of 899 as the third-lowest of the imperial hierarchy, coming between the {{Transliteration|el|silentiarios}} and the {{Transliteration|el|mandatōr}} (both also classes of palace officials). Its distinctive insignia was a {{lang|la|fiblatorium}}, a cloak fastened by a fibula brooch.{{sfn|Bury|1911|p=22}}
According to the ''Klētorologion'', together with the {{Transliteration|el|silentiarioi}}, the {{Transliteration|el|vestētores}} were under the command of the court official known as the {{Transliteration|el|epi tēs katastaseōs}}. The later ''De Ceremoniis'' of Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos ({{reign|913|959}}) indicates that they assisted the {{Transliteration|el|praipositos}} in dressing the emperor, while the chronicler Theophanes the Confessor calls them wardens of the imperial crown.<ref name="ODB">{{harvnb|Kazhdan|1991|p=2164}}.</ref> From sigillographic evidence, in the 9th century the rank was held by senior provincial officials, i.e. {{Transliteration|el|prōtonotarioi}} (heads of the civil administration) and {{Transliteration|el|kommerkiarioi}} (customs officials) of the themes. The term last occurs in the 10th century.<ref name="ODB"/>
==References== {{reflist|2}}
== Sources == {{refbegin|2}} * {{The Imperial Administrative System of the Ninth Century}} * {{Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium|last=Kazhdan|first=Alexander|authorlink=Alexander Kazhdan|title=Vestitor|page=2164}} {{refend|2}}
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Category:Byzantine court titles Category:Byzantine palace offices