Niermeyer gives as his fifth definiton of "bajulus" the word "bailiff,
princely or seignorial agent in charge of manorial, financial, adminstrative
or judicial duties" (p. 78). Perhaps this might work in the texts given.
Thomas Sullivan, OSB
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Christopher Crockett [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Friday, December 29, 2000 7:49 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Bajulus was Re: Recent titles (last list of 2000)
>
> "B.M.COOK" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> >I have two references, in both cases he appears to be a member of the
> entourage of the Abbot of Marmoutier (St Martin of Tours).
>
> Dear Brenda,
>
> although the Benedictine abbey of Marmoutier (_majoris monasterii_) was,
> indeed, dedicated to St. Martin and was, indeed, in (actually in the
> Northern
> suburb, just across the river from) Tours, it was not *The* "St. Martin of
> Tours", alas: http://www.francebalade.com/tours/trsnord.htm#marmoutier .
>
> in its heyday (2nd half of the 11th - early 12th cc.) Marmoutier had more
> than
> 100 (200??) priories all over france and abroad (second only to
> Cluny in the size of its "order"??), which generated a quite *immense*
> _fonds_
> of charters --which were kept in the muniments room of the Mother House
> and
> then dispersed *back* to the regions/departements from which they came at
> the
> time of the revolution (e.g., the 11th-12th cc. _fonds of the priories of
> Marmoutier in the ancient diocese of Chartres
> is probably second only to that from the Cathedral Chapter in the
> Eure-et-Loir
> archives).
>
> but it was the magnificent basilica of St. Martin,
> http://www.francebalade.com/tours/stmartin.htm#basilique , which housed
> the
> important pilgrimage site of the tomb of the Saint and which is what one
> usually means by "St. Martin of Tours," and it was, i *believe* a
> collegial
> abbey, housing "secular" canons, headed by (again i *believe*), not an
> Abbot,
> but rather a layman who styled himself "Treasurer"
> (Gannelon of Montigny in the early 11th c., when the place was "restored"
> by
> him. (i'm not sure what the situation was in later decades/centuries,
> however.)
>
> >The references are to witnesses:
>
> >(1) [Unnamed] - "Dominus Abbas Bernardus et bajulus ejus." c. 1096.
>
> "Lord Abbot Bernardus and his _bajulus_"
>
> >(2) Reginald - "Reginaldus abbatis bajulus." 1143x1147.
>
> "Reginald _bajulus_ [of the] Abbot. [??]"
>
> >The translation I have personally come up with is "courier" or
> "transport manager". How does this strike skilled Latinists ?
>
> have to ask one --not me, certainly-- but i rather like the suggestion
> which
> Br. Alexis (of all people) made earlier, to the effect that every
> monastery
> (not just Franciscans, btw) had a "porter;" and that, by extension, what
> you
> might be looking at here is either the "porter" of
> the monastery itself or, perhaps, a "porter" attached to the personal
> household of the Abbot.
>
> perversely, and for no particular reason, i rather prefer the former --in
> spite of what would seem to be (literally) the styling of both of these
> guys
> in the documents which you cite.
>
> the only way to tell for certain would be to have enough documents from
> MM around the same time to enable one to reconstruct the list of the
> holders
> of the *monastic* office of _bajulus_ --or, alternatively, the holders of
> the
> office within the various Abbots' households.
>
> actually, this could be done, i believe, but would require an immense
> amount
> of work, since the charters from MM are both widely dispersed and not
> completely published. (i once heard a few years ago that there was a
> project
> at Harvard [???] or somedangwhere to try and organize the publication of
> the
> MM documents. anyone on the list know anything about this, or did i just
> hallucinate it --again?? i just *hate* it when that happens.)
>
> best to all from here,
>
> christopher
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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