Leah Rutchick <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>I have seen prior and cellerer signatures in charters, though I can't recall
now if I have found an ostiarius in this role.
me neether, but i suppose that there would be no reason why he might not
witness one --esp. one which concerned matters associated with his
office. though most in-house charters seem to have been drawn up _in
capitulum_ and he might have been frequently absent, given his duties.
>But just because he is senex doesn't mean that its a lowly position
(puh-lease!) (:-)
right.
aux contraire, ma frere.
my thought is that, in a house of modest size and resources, his would have
been a relatively modest role --though still, as one of the "dignataries"
specifically mentioned in the Rule, he would have had substantial standing
within the community.
otOh, in a Mother House of vast wealth and size (e.g., Cluny,
Marmoutier), the office would have expanded to fit the duties, in typical
middlevil fashion --he might have had a staff of quite a few brothers and
conversi and never, himself, have ever so much as carried a bag.
i take Benny's use of _senex_ here to refer to the sobriety of character and
sang froid which this particular office would call for.
best,
christopher
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