Court officials of the Kingdom of Navarre

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The court officials of the Kingdom of Navarre, five in number, were in charge of the smooth functioning of various aspects of the royal court at Pamplona. In the tenth and eleventh centuries these officials were often the youthful sons of the high nobility, for whom a period at court served as an education. Officials were often rotated, but rarely can their dates of appointment be determined precisely. Rather they are known from the official Latin titles by which they were known in royal charters, to which they often appeared as witnesses. While earlier officials tended to move on to inherit lordships and leave court, in the late eleventh century individuals appear in the same office for longer periods of time and may have been appointed for life.

The chronological lists below are not exhaustive, since there exist large gaps in the historical record. The Latin title connected to an office could vary. Instances where the same official bore a different title are noted, as are the dates of the atypical charters.

In 1362 the court officials of Charles II were the butler (botellero), herald (maestro de escudería), chamberlain (chambarlen), chamber clerk (clérigo de cámara), majordomo (maestre hostal), chaplains (capellanes), chef (maestro de cocina), forrero, escudero de la forrería, cup-bearer (chanzón del hostal), treasurer (cambradineros or tesorero), butcher (escudero trinchant), confessor (confesor), pages (pajes), equerry (paloafrenero mayor y guarda de los caballos mayores), and grooms (palafreneros). The office of constable (condestable, from connestable, originally comte d'estable) was brought over from France.^[1]