The Hostarius (alternatively, Usher, Doorward or Durward) was an office in
medieval Scotland
Scotland in the Middle Ages concerns the history of Scotland from the departure of the Romans to the adoption of major aspects of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century.
From the fifth century northern Britain was divided into a serie ...
. Its holders who eventually became hereditary, had the theoretical responsibility of guarding the king's door, thereby protecting the king's property. This is a list of ''hostarii''.
* Malcolm de
Molle
Modular lightweight load-carrying equipment, or MOLLE (pronounced ), is the current generation of load-bearing equipment used by the United States Army.
MOLLE equipment uses Pouch Attachment Ladder System (PALS)-type webbing – rows of hea ...
, uncle of
Alan fitz Walter, 2nd High Steward of Scotland
Alan fitz Walter (1120 – 1204) was hereditary High Steward of Scotland and a crusader.
Life
Alan was the son and heir of Walter fitz Alan. From 1178, the time of his succession to his father, until he died in 1204, Alan served as Steward o ...
[Balfour Paul vol.I p. 11]
* Jocelin, reign of
William the Lion
William the Lion (), sometimes styled William I (; ) and also known by the nickname ; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Alba from 1165 to 1214. His almost 49 ...
*
Thomas de Lundin (son of Máel Coluim son of
Gille Críst, Earl of Mar
Gille Críst of Mar is the fourth-known mormaer of Mar, from 1183 to 1203.
His relationship to the previous mormaer, Morggán, is not totally clear, but Gille Críst was not the son of Morggán, and so his succession could probably be explained ...
), d. 1231
*
Alan Durward
Alan Hostarius (or Alan Durward) () (died after 1264, or in 1275) was the son of Thomas de Lundin, a grandson of Gille Críst, Mormaer of Mar. His mother's name is unknown, but she was almost certainly a daughter of Máel Coluim, Mormaer of ...
(son of Thomas), d. 1275
The family of "Durward" (a later name for ''hostarius'') may have held the office hereditarily after Thomas of Lundie, and certainly kept the title as a surname (in
Norman French
Norman or Norman French (, , Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a '' langue d'oïl'' spoken in the historical and cultural region of Normandy.
The name "Norman French" is sometimes also used to describe the administrative languages of '' Angl ...
, ''l'Ussier'' ("the Usher"); in
English, ''Durward''). However, by the second half of the 13th century, the office was no longer hereditary. This led to many individuals serve as ''hostarii'' during this period. Unlike many other hereditary royal office holders, the "Durward" family were not of
Anglo-Norman or
French origin but native
Gaelic
Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to:
Languages
* Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...
origin. It was a sept of the
native comital dynasty of Mar.
References
Notes
Sources
*
Balfour Paul, Sir James, ''Scots PeerageIX vols. Edinburgh 190
* Hammond, Matthew H., "The Durward family in the thirteenth century", in Steve Boardman and Alasdair Ross (eds.), ''The Exercise of Power in Medieval Scotland, c.1200–1500'', (Dublin/Portland, 2003). pp. 118–37
See also
*
Clann-an-oistir
*
Ostiarius
An ostiarius, a Latin word sometimes anglicized as ostiary but often literally translated as porter or doorman, originally was an enslaved person or guard posted at the entrance of a building, similarly to a gatekeeper.
In the Roman Catholic C ...
Scotland in the High Middle Ages
{{Scotland-noble-stub