The Manglabites or Manglavites (, ''manglabitai''; sing. μαγ ��αβίτης, ''manglabitēs'') were a corps of bodyguards in the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

Etymology

Their name derives from the term ''manglabion'' (μαγγλάβιον, "cudgel") which was also used to designate the entire corps. The origin of the term itself is debated: one theory regards it as deriving from

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

''mijlab'' ("whip"), while another from

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''manus'' ("hand") and ''clava'' ("cudgel").

History

The ''manglabitai'' first appear in the 9th century, when, along with the imperial '' Hetaireia'', they were responsible for the personal safety of the emperor. Armed with swords, the ''manglabitai'' preceded him in ceremonies and were responsible for the unlocking of certain gates of the imperial palace, the Great Palace of Constantinople, every morning.

Structure

An individual ''manglabitēs'' was of relatively lowly origin and status, often even illiterate. However, their commander, known as ''prōtomanglabitēs'' (πρωτομαγγλαβίτης, "first ''manglabitēs''") or ''epi tou manglabiou'' (, "in charge of the ''manglabion''"), ranked high in the imperial hierarchy due to his proximity to the emperor. The ''manglabitai'' as an imperial bodyguard appear to have disappeared by the late 11th century, but there is

sigillographic Sigillography, also known by its Greek-derived name, sphragistics, is the scholarly discipline that studies the Sealing wax, wax, lead, clay, and other Seal (emblem), seals used to authenticate archive, archival documents. It investigates not o ...

evidence for "''manglabitai'' of the Great Church" (i.e. the Patriarchate of Constantinople) from the 11th through the 13th centuries.

Notable members

The perhaps most famous ''manglabitēs'' was the Norwegian king

Harald Hardrada Harald Sigurdsson (; – 25 September 1066), also known as Harald III of Norway and given the epithet ''Hardrada'' in the sagas, was List of Norwegian monarchs, King of Norway from 1046 to 1066. He unsuccessfully claimed the Monarchy of Denma ...

, who received the title in recognition of his services in the

Varangian Guard The Varangian Guard () 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 Varangian Guard was known for being primarily composed of recruits from Nort ...

in the 1030s.

References

{{Byzantine-stub Military units and formations established in the 9th century Medieval bodyguards Guards units of the Byzantine Empire