The ''skouterios'' ( el, σκουτέριος, "shield-bearer") was a

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 office in the 13th–14th centuries, whose role was to carry the emperor's personal standard, the ''

divellion The ''divellion'' or ''dibellion'' ( gr, διβέλλιον) was a symbol of the late Byzantine Empire, the Emperor's personal banner. It was carried by the ''skouterios'' ("shield-bearer"), alongside the Imperial shield, on official events. Emp ...

''.

History and functions

The office is very obscure, and is rarely mentioned in the sources. Although it is attested from the 13th century on in the Empire of Nicaea, most of what is known about it comes from the ''Book of Offices'', written by

pseudo-Kodinos George Kodinos or Codinus ( el, Γεώργιος Κωδινός), also Pseudo-Kodinos, ''kouropalates'' in the Byzantine court, is the reputed 14th-century author of three extant works in late Byzantine literature. Their attribution to him is mere ...

in the middle of the 14th century. According to pseudo-Kodinos, the ''skouterios'' was responsible for bearing the emperor's banner, the so-called ''

'' (διβέλλιον) and the emperor's shield (σκουτάριον, ''skoutarion''), not only in ceremonial processions, but whenever the emperor went about in public, including on campaign. The ''skouterios'' preceded the emperor, and the

Varangian Guard The Varangian Guard ( el, Τάγμα τῶν Βαράγγων, ''Tágma tōn Varángōn'') was an elite unit of the Byzantine Army from the tenth to the fourteenth century who served as personal bodyguards to the Byzantine emperors. The Varangi ...

followed behind the ''divellion''. In imperial ceremonies, a number of other standards were also used, but the ''skouterios'' and the ''divellion'' always preceded them. The only exception was when the emperor visited a monastery, where the imperial bootmaker carried the ''divellion''; the reason for this custom was unknown even to Kodinos. In pseudo-Kodinos' work, the post occupies the 42nd place in the imperial hierarchy, between the '' prōtokynēgos'' and the '' amēralios''. His court uniform was typical of the mid-level courtiers: a gold-brocaded hat (''skiadion''), a plain silk ''

kabbadion The ''kabbadion'' ( el, καββάδιον) was a caftan-like garment of oriental origin which became a standard part of court costume in the last centuries of the Byzantine Empire. The first known reference to the ''kabbadion'' occurs in the ''K ...

'', and a ''skaranikon'' (domed hat) covered in golden and lemon-yellow silk and decorated with gold wire and images of the emperor in front and rear, respectively depicted enthroned and on horseback. From the few holders known, the post was given to military commanders and fiscal officials. The term is also attested as a family name in Chalcidice,

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

, as well as in Trebizond.

List of known ''skouterioi''

References

Sources

* * * * * {{Byzantine offices after pseudo-Kodinos Byzantine court titles Greek words and phrases