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Valet De Chambre
''Valet de chambre'' (), or ''varlet de chambre'', was a court appointment introduced in the late Middle Ages, common from the 14th century onwards. Royal households had many persons appointed at any time. While some valets simply waited on the patron, or looked after his clothes and other personal needs, itself potentially a powerful and lucrative position, others had more specialized functions. At the most prestigious level it could be akin to a monarch or ruler's personal secretary, as was the case of Anne de Montmorency at the court of Francis I of France.Reginald Blomfield and L. C., "Valet de Chambre," '' The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs'', vol. 21, no. 109 (Apr., 1912), p. 55. For noblemen pursuing a career as courtiers, like Étienne de Vesc, it was a common early step on the ladder to higher offices. For some this brought entry into the lucrative court business of asking for favours on behalf of clients, and passing messages to the monarch or lord heading t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Livery
A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol, or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery often includes elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or corporate body featured in the livery. Alternatively, some kind of a personal emblem or badge, or a distinctive colour, is featured. The word itself derives from the French language, French ''livrée'', meaning ''dispensed, handed over''. Most often it would indicate that the wearer of the livery was a servant, dependant, follower or friend of the owner of the livery, or, in the case of objects, that the object belonged to them. In the late medieval phenomenon of bastard feudalism, livery badges worn by the "retainers" of great lords, sometimes in effect private armies, became a great political concern in England. Etymology "In the ''Black Book'' of 1483, it was laid down that each person should receive '... for his Livery at night, h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter The Great
Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned jointly with his half-brother Ivan V of Russia, Ivan V until 1696. From this year, Peter was an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch, an autocrat who remained the ultimate authority and organized a well-ordered police state. Much of Peter's reign was consumed by lengthy wars against the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman and Swedish Empire, Swedish empires. His Azov campaigns were followed by the foundation of the Imperial Russian Navy, Russian Navy; after his victory in the Great Northern War, Russia annexed a Treaty of Nystad, significant portion of the eastern Baltic Sea, Baltic coastline and was officially renamed from a Tsardom of Russia, tsardom to an Russian Empire, empire. Peter led a cultural revolution that replaced some of the traditionalist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stolnik
Stolnik (, , , , ) was a court office in Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and Russia, responsible for serving the royal table, then an honorary court title and a district office. It approximately corresponds to English term wikt:pantler, "pantler". Stolnik in Crown of Poland In the Crown of Poland under the first Piast dynasty, Piast dukes and kings, this was a court office. From the 14th century, it was an honorary court title in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland, since the 16th century. * Grand Stolnik of the Crown () * Stolnik of the Crown () * Court Stolnik of the Crown () According to the 1768 district office hierarchy, the Stolnik's position in the Crown of Poland was superior to that of Deputy cup-bearer and inferior to that of district judge. Stolnik in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania In Lithuania, the Stolnik's position emerged in the late 15th century, comparatively later than Marshal, Treasurer (Eastern Europe), Treasurer, and Cup-bearer, with the fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tsardom Of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia, also known as the Tsardom of Moscow, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of tsar by Ivan the Terrible, Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter the Great in 1721. From 1550 to 1700, Russia grew by an average of per year. The period includes the Time of Troubles, upheavals of the transition from the Rurik Dynasty, Rurik to the House of Romanov, Romanov dynasties, wars with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Swedish Empire, Sweden, and the Ottoman Empire, and the Russian conquest of Siberia, to the reign of Peter the Great, who took power in 1689 and transformed the tsardom into an empire. During the Great Northern War, he implemented government reform of Peter I, substantial reforms and proclaimed the Russian Empire after Treaty of Nystad, victory over Sweden in 1721. Name While the oldest Endonym and exonym, endonyms of the Grand Principality of Moscow used in its documents were "Rus'" () and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
History Of Bavaria
The history of Bavaria stretches from its earliest Human settlement, settlement and its formation as a stem duchy in the 6th century through its inclusion in the Holy Roman Empire to its status as an independent kingdom and finally as a large ''States of Germany, Bundesland'' (state) of the Federal Republic of Germany. Originally settled by Celts, Celtic peoples such as the Boii, by the 1st century BC it was eventually conquered and incorporated into the Roman Empire as the Roman province, provinces of Raetia and Noricum. Early settlements and Roman Raetia There have been numerous palaeolithic discoveries in Bavaria. The earliest inhabitants known from surviving written sources were the Celts, participating in the widespread La Tène culture. The Roman Empire under Augustus made the Danube, which runs through Bavaria, its northern boundary. What is now southern Bavaria was in the northern half of the Roman province of Raetia, which was the land of the Vindelici. The main Roman c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is also referred to as the Austrian monarchy, the Austrian Empire () or the Danubian monarchy. The history of the Habsburg monarchy can be traced back to the election of Rudolf I of Germany, Rudolf I as King of the Romans, King of Germany in 1273 and his acquisition of the Duchy of Austria for the Habsburgs in 1282. In 1482, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian I acquired the Habsburg Netherlands, Netherlands through marriage. Both realms passed to his grandson and successor, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, who also inherited the Monarchy of Spain, Spanish throne and Spanish Empire, its colonial possessions, and thus came to rule the Habsburg empire at its greatest territorial extent. The abdication of Charles V in 1556 led ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Groom Of The Robes
Groom of the Robes is an office in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of England (later Great Britain, ultimately the United Kingdom). In 1953, the Groom of the Robes to Elizabeth II had the task of bringing forward the robes and other items of ceremonial clothing worn by the monarch at various points in the coronation service, ready to hand them over to the Mistress of the Robes and the Lord Great Chamberlain (who assisted The Queen in putting them on) and to receive and remove those which were no longer required. The post was in abeyance after 1954, although an Equerry was usually designated 'Acting Groom of the Robes' on occasions (such as the State Opening of Parliament) when robes are worn. It returned to active use for the Coronation of Charles III in 2023 when Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Thompson was appointed. List of Grooms of the Robes ''(incomplete)'' * Thomas Purcell * Piers Curteys *John Hart Henry VIII * Richard Cecil 1530 * John Copinger *William Sharington 1540 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Groom Of The Stool
The Groom of the Stool (formally styled: "Groom of the King's Close Stool") was the most intimate of an English monarch's courtiers, initially responsible for assisting the king in excretion and hygiene. The physical intimacy of the role naturally led to his becoming a man in whom much confidence was placed by his royal master and with whom many royal secrets were shared as a matter of course. This secret information—while it would never have been revealed, for it would have led to the discredit of his honour—in turn led to his becoming feared and respected and therefore powerful within the royal court in his own right. The office developed gradually over decades and centuries into one of administration of the royal finances and, under Henry VII, the Groom of the Stool became a powerful official involved in setting national fiscal policy, under the "chamber system". In the 17th century, the office was renamed Groom of the Stole. History Origins The Groom of the Stool was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Groom Of The Chamber
Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Household of the monarch in early modern England. Other ''Ancien Régime'' royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In France, the Duchy of Burgundy, and in England while French was still the language of the court, the title was varlet or valet de chambre. In German, Danish and Russian the term was "Kammerjunker" and in Swedish the similar "Kammarjunkare". In England after the Restoration, appointments in the King's Household included Groom of the Great Chamber, Groom of the Privy Chamber and Groom of the Bedchamber. The first two positions were appointed by Lord Chamberlain's warrant; the third, of greater importance, was a Crown appointment. Medieval and early-modern England Traditionally, the English Court was organized into three branches or departments: # the Household, primarily concerned with fiscal more than domestic matters, the "royal purse"; # the Chamber, concerned with the ''Pres ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer ( ; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He was the first writer to be buried in what has since come to be called Poets' Corner, in Westminster Abbey. Chaucer also gained fame as a philosopher and astronomer, composing the scientific ''A Treatise on the Astrolabe'' for his 10-year-old son, Lewis. He maintained a career in public service as a bureaucrat, courtier, diplomat, and member of parliament, having been elected as Knight of the shire, shire knight for Kent. Among Chaucer's many other works are ''The Book of the Duchess'', ''The House of Fame'', ''The Legend of Good Women'', ''Troilus and Criseyde'', and ''Parlement of Foules''. He is seen as crucial in legitimising the literary use of Middle English when the dominant literary languages in England were still Anglo-Norman Fren ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
