Macebearer
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{{Short description, Royal court official with a ceremonial or real mace A mace-bearer, or macebearer, is a person who carries a mace, either a real weapon or
ceremonial A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin . Religious and civil (secular) ceremoni ...
.


Armed

When the mace was still in actual use as a weapon, it was deemed fit for close-protection, and hence a mace-bearer could be a
bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an very important person, important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public offic ...
. Thus in
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
and
Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...
, a ''massier'' (armed with a ''masse d'armes'' 'weapon-mace') could be a member of a formally so-styled guard corps, as in the court of the
Dukes of Brabant The Duke of Brabant (, ) was the ruler of the Duchy of Brabant since 1183/1184. The title was created by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I of the House of Reginar, son of Godfrey III of Leuven (who was duke of L ...
. In
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, a macero were originally an armed guard protecting the
King of Castile This is a list of kings regnant and queens regnant of the Kingdom of Castile, Kingdom and Crown of Castile. For their predecessors, see List of Castilian counts. Kings and Queens of Castile Jiménez dynasty House of Ivrea / Burgundy ...
; they were called ''macero'' due to the weapon they wielded, a ''maza'' (i.e., a mace). Otherwise, a normally more domestic servant could double (arming trusted household staff was not unusual) as macebearer, as in the case of the prophet
Mohammed Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monotheistic teachings of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, ...
's first
muezzin The muezzin (; ), also spelled mu'azzin, is the person who proclaims the call to the daily prayer ( ṣalāt) five times a day ( Fajr prayer, Zuhr prayer, Asr prayer, Maghrib prayer and Isha prayer) at a mosque from the minaret. The muezzin ...
, Bilal ibn Ribah


Ceremonial

A
ceremonial mace A ceremonial mace is a highly ornamented staff of metal or wood, carried before a Head of state, sovereign or other high officials in civic ceremonies by a mace-bearer, intended to represent the official's authority. The mace, as used today, der ...
symbolises the power or status of a
monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...
, institution or high dignitary. A swordbearer is similar to a mace-bearer but carries a
ceremonial sword A ceremonial weapon is an object used for ceremonial purposes to display power or authority. They may be used in parades and as part of military dress uniforms, or presented as gifts on formal occasions. Although they are descended from weapons ...
rather than a ceremonial mace. The duty to carry ceremonial weapons in procession or other formal occasions may either be occasional and vested in an office otherwise named, or give its name to the office, either as a
sinecure A sinecure ( or ; from the Latin , 'without', and , 'care') is a position with a salary or otherwise generating income that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval church, ...
or in conjunction with other duties (sometimes indeed as an alternative title, as with some university officers, e.g. at St Andrews, the Bedelis is the chief mace bearer and at Oxford the
bedel The bedel (from medieval Latin ''pedellus'' or ''bidellus'', occasionally ''bidellus generalis'', from Old High German ''bital'', ''pital'', "the one who invites, calls"; cognate with beadle) was, and is to some extent still, an administrative ...
s). His main day-to-day duties may be rather that of a general assistant, like say a driver's. In the
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
tradition, there usually is one post of mace-bearer per mace, and rarely more than one mace in use at the same time per master, or only in specific different contexts. In French, the above-mentioned title ''massier'' is nowadays used for a mere ''huissier'' (a lowly post, door-keeper or usher) who occasionally carries a 'masse' when taking part in formal ceremonies, rather like a staff of office, as the mace is not given the same reverence as in the Anglo-Saxon tradition, indeed there may be several ones carried at the same time by staff of the same master, without any symbolism or tradition concerning the individual maces. In Spain, the ''macero'' mentioned above evolved to become the symbol of civil authority, usually associated with extra-royal institutions such as municipalities, local authorities, etc. When these institutions celebrate a formal ceremony, the ''macero'' will head any parade or surround the figures of authority. Similar to the French case, albeit they always wield a 'maza' (a mace), the mace itself does not bear the ceremonial reverence it does in the Anglo-Saxon tradition. Typically, the ''maceros'' are dressed in characteristic 15th century garment, and wear a
tabard A tabard is a type of short coat that was commonly worn by men during the late Middle Ages and early modern period in Europe. Generally worn outdoors, the coat was either sleeveless or had short sleeves or shoulder pieces. In its more developed ...
with the coat of arms of the institution they represent.


See also

* Bearer of the Mace in Han Dynasty *
Serjeant-at-arms A serjeant-at-arms or sergeant-at-arms is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word "serjeant" is derived from the Latin , which means "servant". Historically, serjeants-at-ar ...


Sources

*Larousse, Pierre (1952) ''Nouveau petit Larousse illustré : dictionnaire encyclopédique'', special edition for the fiftieth anniversary of the book of
Claude Claude may refer to: People and fictional characters * Claude (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Claude (surname), a list of people * Claude Callegari (1962–2021), English Arsenal supporter * Claude Debussy (1862–1918), ...
and
Paul Augé Paul Augé (4 July 1881, L'Isle-Jourdain – 23 July 1951, Cabourg) was a 20th-century French publisher, romanist and lexicographer. In 1920, Paul Augé took over the publishing of the dictionary and lexicum of the Éditions Larousse Édition ...
: refondue et augmentée par E. Gillon ''et al.'', Paris : Larousse, 1791 p. ncyclopaedic dictionary, in French Titles *