''Pinkernes'' ( grc, πιγκέρνης, pinkernēs), sometimes also ''epinkernes'' (, ''epinkernēs''), was a high

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

court position. The term derives from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

verb (''epikeránnymi'', "to mix ine), and was used to denote the

cup-bearer A cup-bearer was historically an officer of high rank in royal courts, whose duty was to pour and serve the drinks at the royal table. On account of the constant fear of plots and intrigues (such as poisoning), a person must have been regarded as ...

of the

Byzantine emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as ...

. In addition, descriptive terms such as (''ho tou basileōs oinochoos'', "the emperor's wine-pourer"), (''archioinochoos'', "chief wine-pourer"), κυλικιφόρος (''kylikiphoros'', "bearer of the '' kylix''"), and, particularly at the court of the

Empire of Nicaea The Empire of Nicaea or the Nicene Empire is the conventional historiographic name for the largest of the three Byzantine Greek''A Short history of Greece from early times to 1964'' by W. A. Heurtley, H. C. Darby, C. W. Crawley, C. M. Woodhous ...

, (''ho epi tou kerasmatos'', "the one in charge of the drink") were often used instead. The position is attested already in the ''Klētorologion'' of 899, where a ''pinkernēs'' of the emperor (, ''pinkernēs tou despotou'') and of the '' Augusta'' (, ''pinkernēs tēs Augoustēs'') are listed among the

eunuchs A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

of the palace staff. As the name suggests, the principal charge of the ''pinkernēs'' was the pouring of wine for the emperor; he accompanied the emperor, bearing a goblet suspended on a chain, which he gave to the emperor when the latter wanted to drink. His position at court was not very high, but he had an extensive staff, the παροινοχόοι (''paroinochoi'', "assistant wine-pourers"). The post was imitated in the staff of the

Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...

and in the households of great magnates. The spouse of a ''pinkernēs'' bore the feminine form of his title: ''pinkernissa'' (πιγκέρνισσα). During the early Komnenian period, the post ceased to be restricted to eunuchs, and gradually became a title of distinction, even awarded to the Byzantine emperor's relatives. Several senior generals of the

Palaiologan period The Byzantine Empire was ruled by the Palaiologos dynasty in the period between 1261 and 1453, from the restoration of Byzantine rule to Constantinople by the usurper Michael VIII Palaiologos following its recapture from the Latin Empire, founde ...

, such as Michael Tarchaneiotes Glabas,

Alexios Philanthropenos Alexios Doukas Philanthropenos ( el, ) was a Byzantine nobleman and notable general. A relative of the ruling Palaiologos dynasty, he was appointed commander-in-chief in Asia Minor in 1293 and for a time re-established the Byzantine position t ...

and Syrgiannes Palaiologos, were awarded the title. According to pseudo-Kodinos, in the 14th century, the ''pinkernēs'' had risen considerably, and occupied the 14th place in the palace hierarchy, between the '' prōtosebastos'' and the '' kouropalatēs''. According to Rodolphe Guilland, this rise to the highest ranks of the emperor's cup-bearer, along with the rise of the masters of the hunt ('' prōtokynēgos'') and of the falcons ('' prōtoierakarios'') is an indication that the Byzantine court of the time resembled more and more the

chivalric Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is an informal and varying code of conduct developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It was associated with the medieval Christian institution of knighthood; knights' and gentlemen's behaviours were governed ...

mores of the Western feudal courts. At the same time, the ''pinkernēs'' also had assumed some of the responsibilities of the defunct position of the '' domestikos epi tēs trapezēs'', having under his command some of the ''domestikoi'' of the ''domestikion'', the household service. By the 15th century, however, it had apparently become a purely honorific charge, since holders of the post are attested being sent on missions to the provinces.

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* * * {{Byzantine offices after pseudo-Kodinos Byzantine court titles Byzantine palace offices Food services occupations Ceremonial occupations Cup-bearers