Pedesecus

Pedesecus
Lit. 'beside, by the feet'. Title of a person of apparently lowly position, sitting at someone's feet, but borne by a *thegn, close to his king. A grant of land made by King Aethelbert in 858 was witnessed amongst others by Eastmund, described as pedesecus. In the list of subscribers, Eastmund was third, following only the king himself, and Aethelmod, *ealdorman. In common with titles of apparently low status, the pedesecus, being a thegn, was likely very close to his lord. [< Lat. pes = foot + secus = by, alongside] -

Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases. .

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Sequipedus — Lit. beside, by the feet . Title of a person of apparently lowly position, sitting at someone s feet, but borne by a *thegn, close to his king. A grant of land made by King Aethelbert in 858 was witnessed amongst others by Eastmund, described as… …   Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases

  • Aerendraca — A king s agent or messenger, though perhaps not officially so as was the *nuncius regis of later times; rather a legatus regis, or ambassador perhaps, charged with specific tasks. The rank is now unclear but was akin to that of *staller and… …   Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases

  • -setla — The second element of words such as *cotsetla and *ansetla, meaning someone who sits or dwells. Thus cotsetla = a person who dwells in a cottage; *ansetla = someone who dwells alone, i.e. a *hermit. There is also fotsetla which suggests someone… …   Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases

  • Staller — Lit. a place man . An important officer of the royal household, perhaps equiv. to the 10c *pedesecus. The title s origin is disputed; since the earliest known stallers were Danes, it was perhaps introduced in the time of Cnut. Since it is not… …   Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”