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In the United Kingdom, the Great Officers of State are traditional ministers of The Crown who either inherit their positions or are appointed to exercise certain largely ceremonial functions or to operate as members of the government. Separate Great Officers of State exist for England and for Scotland, and formerly for Ireland. Many of the Great Officers became largely ceremonial because historically they were so influential that their powers had to be resumed by the Crown or dissipated.
The Central Statistics Office is the statistical agency responsible for the gathering of "information relating to economic, social and general activities and conditions" in Ireland, in particular the National Census which is held every five years. The office is answerable to the Taoiseach and has its main offices in Cork.
A comptroller is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior-level executive who acts as the head of accounting, and oversees the preparation of financial reports, such as balance sheets and income statements.
A mangle or wringer is a mechanical laundry aid consisting of two rollers in a sturdy frame, connected by cogs and, in its home version, powered by a hand crank or electricity. While the appliance was originally used to wring water from wet laundry, today mangles are used to press or flatten sheets, tablecloths, kitchen towels, or clothing and other laundry.
A larder is a cool area for storing food prior to use. Originally, it was where raw meat was larded—covered in fat—to be preserved. By the eighteenth century, the term had expanded. Now a dry larder was where bread, pastry, milk, butter, or cooked meats were stored. Larders were commonplace in houses before the widespread use of the refrigerator.
A royal household or imperial household is the residence and administrative headquarters in ancient and post-classical monarchies, and papal household for popes, and formed the basis for the general government of the country as well as providing for the needs of the sovereign and their relations. It was the core of the royal court, though this included many courtiers who were not directly employed by the monarch as part of the household.
"Comes", plural "comites", is the Latin word for "companion", either individually or as a member of a collective denominated a "comitatus", especially the suite of a magnate, being in some instances sufficiently large and/or formal to justify specific denomination, e. g. a "cohors amicorum". "Comes" derives from "com-" ("with") and "ire" ("go").
The term cupboard was originally used to describe an open-shelved side table for displaying dishware, more specifically plates, cups and saucers. These open cupboards typically had between one and three display tiers, and at the time, a drawer or multiple drawers fitted to them. The word cupboard gradually came to mean a closed piece of furniture.
The office of Royal Librarian, in the Royal Collection Department of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, is responsible for the care and maintenance of the books and manuscripts in the Royal Library, a collection spread across all the palaces, occupied and unoccupied. In addition to his or her role overseeing the librarians in the Royal Library, the Librarian is also Deputy Keeper of the Royal Archives and is responsible for the management of the Royal Archives and its collections.
A captaincy is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires. It was instituted as a method of organization, directly associated with the home-rule administrations of medieval feudal governments in which the monarch delimited territories for colonization that were administered by men of confidence.
A saucery was the office in a medieval household responsible for sauces, as well as the room in which the preparation of sauces took place. It was headed by a saucerer. The office was subordinated to the kitchen, and existed as a separate office only in larger households. It was closely connected with other offices of the kitchen, such as the spicery and the scullery. The term is largely obsolete today.
A spicery was the office in a medieval or Renaissance household responsible for spices, as well as the room in which the spices were kept. It was headed by a spicerer. The office was subordinated to the kitchen or the wardrobe, and existed as a separate office only in larger households. It was closely connected with other offices of the kitchen, such as the saucery and the scullery. The term is largely obsolete today, and if used at all is more often simply a synonym for spices.
A chandlery was originally the office in a wealthy medieval household responsible for wax and candles, as well as the room in which the candles were kept. It could be headed by a chandler. The office was subordinated to the kitchen, and only existed as a separate office in larger households. Whether a separate office or not, the function was naturally an important one, in a time before electric light, and when production of candles was often done privately. It was closely connected with other offices of the household, such as the ewery and the scullery. While this usage is obsolete today, the term can refer to a candle business. The current meaning of "chandler" is a person who sells candles. By the 18th century, most commercial chandlers dealt in both candles and soap, while many were becoming general dealers. As these provided ships' stores, chandlery came to refer to a shop selling nautical items for ships and boats, although for a time they were called ship-chandleries to distinguish them. Americans used the term chandlery for these ship-chandleries, but tended to prefer the term chandler's shop. Both terms are still in use. The job function and title, chandler, still exists as someone who works in the chandlery business or manages a chandler's shop. The term chandelier, at one time a ceiling fixture that held a number of candles, is still used. However, today chandeliers are usually based on electrical lighting.
A scalding house was the office in a medieval household responsible for scalding the carcasses of animals, as well as utensils. It was also the room in which this activity took place. It was headed by a scalder. The office was subordinated to the kitchen, and existed as a separate office only in larger households. It was closely connected with other offices of the kitchen, such as the saucery and the scullery.
A poultry was the office in a medieval household responsible for the purchase and preparation of poultry, as well as the room in which the poultry was stored.
Napery is linen used for household purposes, such as table linen. Historically it was the office in a medieval household responsible for the washing and storage of these items. It was headed by a naperer. This office worked closely together with the offices of the laundry and the ewery, and the three could be concurrent in smaller households.
The medieval household was, like modern households, the center of family life for all classes of European society. Yet in contrast to the household of today, it consisted of many more individuals than the nuclear family. From the household of the king to the humblest peasant dwelling, more or less distant relatives and varying numbers of servants and dependents would cohabit with the master of the house and his immediate family. The structure of the medieval household was largely dissolved by the advent of privacy in early modern Europe.
In medieval Europe, within the Holy Roman Empire, a Hofmeister was an official who acted as an aide to royalty or to a senior nobleman or cleric. Later it became a term for a schoolmaster who looked after the welfare of students in addition to their education.
The vestararius was the manager of the medieval Roman Curia office of the vestiarium, responsible for the management of papal finances as well as the papal wardrobe. The vestiarium is mentioned as the papal treasury as early as the seventh century, during the period of Byzantine cultural hegemony in the West called the "Byzantine Papacy", but the vestararius itself is attested to only from the eighth century.
Chancery or chancellery is a general term for a medieval writing office, responsible for the production of official documents. The title of chancellor, for the head of the office, came to be held by important ministers in a number of states, and remains the title of the heads of government in modern Germany and Austria. Chancery hand is a term for various types of handwriting associated with chanceries.
References
- ↑ Woolgar, C. M. (1999). The Great Household in Late Medieval England. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. p. 144. ISBN 0-300-07687-8.
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