Chartoularios
Encyclopedia
The chartoularios or chartularius , Anglicized as chartulary, was a late Roman
and Byzantine
administrative official, entrusted with administrative and fiscal
duties, either as a subaltern official of a department or province or at the head of various independent bureaus.
, the officium
of the magister militum
, etc.). Originally lowly clerks, by the 6th century they had risen in importance, to the extent that Peter the Patrician
, when distinguishing between civil and military officials, calls the former chartoularikoi. From the 7th century on, chartoularioi could be either employed as heads of departments within a fiscal department (sekreton or logothesion), as heads of independent departments, or in the thematic (provincial) and tagmatic administration, although the occasional appointment of chartoularioi at the head of armies is also recorded. The ecclesiastic counterpart was called a chartophylax
, and both terms were sometimes used interchangeably.
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
and Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
administrative official, entrusted with administrative and fiscal
Finance
"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...
duties, either as a subaltern official of a department or province or at the head of various independent bureaus.
History
The title derives from Latin charta (Greek: χάρτης), a term used for official documents, and is attested from 326, when chartularii were employed in the chanceries (scrinia) of the senior offices of the Roman state (the praetorian prefecturePraetorian prefecture
The praetorian prefecture was the largest administrative division of the late Roman Empire, above the mid-level dioceses and the low-level provinces. Praetorian prefectures originated in the reign of Constantine I The praetorian prefecture was the largest administrative division of the late Roman...
, the officium
Officium
Officium is a Latin word with various meanings in Ancient Rome, including "service", " duty", "courtesy", "ceremony" and the like...
of the magister militum
Magister militum
Magister militum was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine. Used alone, the term referred to the senior military officer of the Empire...
, etc.). Originally lowly clerks, by the 6th century they had risen in importance, to the extent that Peter the Patrician
Peter the Patrician
Peter the Patrician was a senior East Roman or Byzantine official, diplomat and historian. A well-educated and successful lawyer, he was repeatedly sent as envoy to Ostrogothic Italy in the prelude to the Gothic War of 535–554. Despite his diplomatic skill, he was not able to avert war, and was...
, when distinguishing between civil and military officials, calls the former chartoularikoi. From the 7th century on, chartoularioi could be either employed as heads of departments within a fiscal department (sekreton or logothesion), as heads of independent departments, or in the thematic (provincial) and tagmatic administration, although the occasional appointment of chartoularioi at the head of armies is also recorded. The ecclesiastic counterpart was called a chartophylax
Chartophylax
A chartophylax , sometimes also referred to as a chartoularios, was an ecclesiastical officer in charge of official documents and records in the Greek Orthodox Church in Byzantine times....
, and both terms were sometimes used interchangeably.
Chartoularioi
- The chartoularioi tou [oxeōs] dromou (Greek: , "chartularies of the course"), subaltern officials in the department of the dromos ("the Course") under the logothetēs tou dromouLogothetes tou dromouThe logothetēs tou dromou , in English usually rendered as Logothete of the Course/Drome/Dromos or Postal Logothete, was the head of the department of the Dromos, the Public Post , and one of the most senior ministers of the Byzantine Empire.- History and functions :The exact origin and date of...
. - The so-called chartoularioi megaloi tou sekretou (Greek: , "grand chartularies of the department"), as heads of the various bureaus of the department of the genikon ("the General [Fisc]"), and the chartoularioi tōn arklōn (Greek: ) or exō chartoularioi (Greek: , "outer chartularies") as the senior treasury officials posted in the provinces ("outer" meaning outside ConstantinopleConstantinopleConstantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
). - The chartoularios tou oikistikou (Greek: ) or simply ho oikistikos, whose precise functions are unknown, is also attested under the genikon; it did become an independent bureau by the 11th century, but disappears after that. It is recorded that he was in charge of tax exemptions, and had various juridical duties in some themata in the 11th century; the office may have been associated with the imperial domains (oikoi).
- The chartoularioi [megaloi] tou sekretou (Greek: ), as the senior subaltern officials of the department of the logothetēs toū stratiōtikouLogothetes tou stratiotikouThe logothetēs toū stratiōtikou , rendered in English as the Logothete of the Military or Military Logothete, was a Byzantine imperial official in charge of the pay and provisioning of the Byzantine army.-History and functions:...
, who supervised the military fisc, and further chartoularioi of the individual themata (Greek: ) and tagmata (Greek: ), supervising the financial affairs of the thematic troops and the imperial tagmata, respectively. - The chartoularios tou sakelliou (Greek: ), in charge of the Sakellion treasury.
- The chartoularios tou vestiariou (Greek: ), in charge of the Vestiarion treasury.
- The chartoularios tou kanikleiou (Greek: ), in charge of the imperial inkpot (the kanikleion), a post given to one of the most trusted aides of the Byzantine emperor.
- The chartoularios tou stablou (Greek: , "chartulary of the stable"), initially a subaltern official under the komēs tou stablou ("Count of the Stable"), in the 11th century the epithet megas was added and he became head of his department, supervising the imperial stud farms (mētata or chartoularata) in the BalkansBalkansThe Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
and Asia MinorAsia MinorAsia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
and being responsible for the provisioning of the imperial baggage train. A further chartoularios, in charge of the large army encampment (aplēktonAplektonAplekton was a Byzantine term used in the 10th–14th centuries for a fortified army base and later in the Palaiologan period for the obligation of billeting soldiers....
) at MalaginaMalaginaMalagina , in later times Melangeia , was a Byzantine district in the valley of the Sangarius river in northern Bithynia, which served as a major encampment and fortified staging area for the Byzantine army...
(Greek: ), was subordinated to him. - Two chartoularioi, one for each of the two dēmoi, the Blues and Greens, of the Byzantine capital, Constantinople.
- The megas chartoularios was a Palaiologan-era honorary court title, recorded by pseudo-Kodinos, which entailed no specific office or function.