''Pinkernes'' (), sometimes also ''epinkernes'' (, ''epinkernēs''), was a high

Byzantine 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 the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

court position. The term derives from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

verb (''epikeránnymi'', "to mix ine), and was used to denote the

cup-bearer A cup-bearer was historically an officer of high rank in royal courts, whose duty was to pour and serve the drinks at the royal table. On account of the constant fear of plots and intrigues (such as poisoning), a person had to be regarded as thor ...

of the

Byzantine emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

. In addition, descriptive terms such as (''ho tou basileōs oinochoos'', "the emperor's wine-pourer"), (''archioinochoos'', "chief wine-pourer"), κυλικιφόρος (''kylikiphoros'', "bearer of the ''

kylix In the pottery of ancient Greece, a kylix ( , ; ; also spelled ''cylix''; : kylikes , ) is the most common type of cup in the period, usually associated with the drinking of wine. The cup often consists of a rounded base and a thin stem under ...

''"), and, particularly at the court of the

Empire of Nicaea The Empire of Nicaea (), also known as the Nicene Empire, was the largest of the three Byzantine Greeks, Byzantine Greek''A Short history of Greece from early times to 1964'' by Walter Abel Heurtley, W. A. Heurtley, H. C. Darby, C. W. Crawley, C ...

, (''ho epi tou kerasmatos'', "the one in charge of the drink") were often used instead. The position is attested already in the ''Klētorologion'' of 899, where a ''pinkernēs'' of the emperor (, ''pinkernēs tou despotou'') and of the '' Augusta'' (, ''pinkernēs tēs Augoustēs'') are listed among the

eunuchs A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2 ...

of the palace staff. As the name suggests, the principal charge of the ''pinkernēs'' was the pouring of wine for the emperor; he accompanied the emperor, bearing a

goblet A chalice (from Latin 'cup', taken from the Ancient Greek () 'cup') is a drinking cup raised on a stem with a foot or base. Although it is a technical archaeological term, in modern parlance the word is now used almost exclusively for the ...

suspended on a chain, which he gave to the emperor when the latter wanted to drink. His position at court was not very high, but he had an extensive staff, the παροινοχόοι (''paroinochoi'', "assistant wine-pourers"). The post was imitated in the staff of the

Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople () is the archbishop of Constantinople and (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that comprise the Eastern Orthodox Church. The ecumenical patriarch is regarded as ...

and in the households of great magnates. The spouse of a ''pinkernēs'' bore the feminine form of his title: ''pinkernissa'' (πιγκέρνισσα). During the early

Komnenian period The Byzantine Empire was ruled by emperors of the Komnenos dynasty for a period of 104 years, from 1081 to about 1185. The ''Komnenian'' (also spelled ''Comnenian'') period comprises the reigns of five emperors, Alexios I, John II, Manuel I, ...

, the post ceased to be restricted to eunuchs, and gradually became a title of distinction, even awarded to the Byzantine emperor's relatives. Several senior generals of the

Palaiologan period The Byzantine Empire, officially known as the Roman Empire, was ruled by the Palaiologos dynasty in the period between 1261 and 1453, from the restoration of Byzantine rule to Constantinople by the usurper Michael VIII Palaiologos following its r ...

, such as Michael Tarchaneiotes Glabas, Alexios Philanthropenos and Syrgiannes Palaiologos, were awarded the title. According to pseudo-Kodinos, in the 14th century, the ''pinkernēs'' had risen considerably, and occupied the 14th place in the palace hierarchy, between the '' prōtosebastos'' and the '' kouropalatēs''. According to Rodolphe Guilland, this rise to the highest ranks of the emperor's cup-bearer, along with the rise of the masters of the hunt ('' prōtokynēgos'') and of the falcons ('' prōtoierakarios'') is an indication that the Byzantine court of the time resembled more and more the chivalric mores of the Western feudal courts. At the same time, the ''pinkernēs'' also had assumed some of the responsibilities of the defunct position of the '' domestikos epi tēs trapezēs'', having under his command some of the ''domestikoi'' of the ''domestikion'', the household service. By the 15th century, however, it had apparently become a purely honorific charge, since holders of the post are attested being sent on missions to the provinces.

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* * * {{Byzantine offices after pseudo-Kodinos Byzantine court titles Byzantine palace offices Food services occupations Ceremonial occupations Cup-bearers