Blackwood's Magazine/Volume 1/Issue 2/On the Nature of the Office of Mareschal

ON THE NATURE OF THE OFFICE OF MARESCHAL.

The learned Selden has traced the etymology of Marshal under all its variations of Mariscaldus, Marscaldus, and Marscalcus, from the Teutonic "schalk," a servant, and "maere," a horse, or rather a mare—the mare, it seems, being always the better horse^[1], and therefore very properly used generically to designate the species—adding, that the term strictly describes a person who busied himself about horses and the manege.

This popular derivation is, in some degree, countenanced by the epithet having been applied to innkeepers, grooms, farriers, and horse-doctors, as is proved by sundry passages from Becanus^[2], the capitularies of Charlemagne, and other authorities. It is, however, at the same time, evinced to have very early received other significations, having no reference either to the above quadrupeds or to their attendants.

Marshal notoriously denoted a civil officer whose jurisdiction lay alone within the state rooms of a palace—"marechal de palais"—an adept in the ceremonies and forms of court etiquette; and, at the same time, any superior domestic servant, or steward, in which last sense it is used in this passage from Barbour:

"He callit his marschall till him tyt,
And bad him luke on all maner;
That he ma till his gem gud cher;
For he wald in his chambre be,
A weill gret quhile in private."

Barbour, II. 4. MS.^[3]

Edward the Second's valet is called "marescallus aule regis."^[4] It was indiscriminately given to stewards of bishops and abbots,^[5] governors of jails and prisons,^[6] and officers attending upon courts of law,^[7] &c. &c.

These were not unfrequently deputies of the hereditary marshal of the kingdom, but most commonly they were "servientes" or functionaries of rather a higher order.

There was also an old English office, of a singular import to modern ears, held heritably by grand sergeantry, and attached to a manor,—"marescallus de meretricibus in hospitio regis."

An ancient roll of Edward the Third indicates, that "Johannes de Warblynton, filius et hæres Thomæ de Warblyntone, fecit finem cum rege, &c. quod dictus Thomas tenuit manerium de Shirefield, tanquam marescallus de meretricibus in hospitio regis."^[8]

Such an establishment was then an ordinary appendage of court etiquette; it was as indispensable as a foreign orchestra, or a regiment of grenadiers to any German prince and their imitators in our own times.

His most Christian Majesty, however, was not so very Turkish as to permit the superintendence to one of his own sex, as we find from the royal expenditure of his household at the commencement of the sixteenth century.^[9]

"A Olive Sainte, dame des filles de joye suivant la cour du roy^[10], 90 livres, par lettres données a Watteville le 12. May 1535, pour lui aider, et auxdites filles a vivre et supporter les depenses qu'il leur convient faire a suivre ordinairement la cour. Alius, an. 1539.—A Cecile Viefville, dame des filles de joye suivant la cour, 90 livres, par lettres du 6. Janv. 1538, tant pour elle, que pour les autres femmes, et filles de sa vacation, a departir entr'elles pour leur droit, du 1. jour de May dernier passé, qui etoit dû a cause du bouquet qu'elles presenterent au roy ledit jour, que pour leurs estrains, du 1. Janvier; ainsi qu'il est accoustumé de faire de tout temps. Eadem occurrunt annis 1540, 41, 42, 44, 46."

The old adage in papal times, "Judœi vel meretrices," was not always equally vilifying. Carpentier remarks, "Quæ (sc. meretrices) hic uti infumes habentur, de comitatu regio fuerunt, pensionibus etiam donisque dotatæ."^[11]

The said John Warblington must have been as versatile and expansive as Mercury; for he not only performed the more familiar duties of this delicate charge, but also the high legal office of coroner within the liberties of the palace—was clerk of the market to the household, or purveyor-general thereof—broke condemned felons upon the wheel—exercised the duties of a gauger, and enforced the observance of his self-regulated standard of weights and measures.^[12]

The etymology, then, of the excellent Selden would appear not to be altogether conclusive; and Wachter^[13] would seem to be more fortunate, in deducing the term from "mer, mar," major vel princeps, and schalk, as before, a servant, i. e. officer of any kind—thus making it to signify any considerable officer or superintendent, or, according to Jameson (who seems rather to incline to this deduction), upper servant, or steward—not necessarily of the crown alone; a much more extended signification, and one which accounts for the term having characterised so many various and heterogeneous employments.

I have forgot to allude to the more ordinary sense, indicative of high military command,^[14] either as exercised by the marshal of Scotland over the royal guards, previous to the union, or by field marshals, or marshals of armies, personages familiar to all. An office of a similar nature,—to compare small things with great,—would appear formerly to have been common in the Highlands of Scotland, as we learn from the following amusing description in an ancient MS. History of the Name of Mackenzie, composed before the year 1667, by John Mackenzie of Applecross, extant in the Advocates' Library.

"Alexander McKenzie of Coull was a naturall son of Collin, the 12 laird of Kintail, gotten wyt Marie McKenzie, daughter to Rovie McKenzie of Davoch-maluack. His first patrimonie was his sword and bow, quherewith he did such worthie service, that he conqueist first the love of his chieffe and broyer, the lard of Kintail, wyt the love of all his countreymen; so as his broyer made choise of him to be his mareschall of all his armie in all ye wares he had wyt Glengarrie and McLeod of the Lewis. He commanded sexscore of the prettiest men that ware in his broyer's armie, and especiallie the Clanwurchie were under his command, quho served him as under officers to discharge the dutie of marischall. His dutie wes, that in ye armies marching to ye enemies land, he should still guard the rier; and as the armie rested in ther camp, he still went in expeditiones to bring them hership^[15] and provision, quhilk herschips were distributed as he liked, with the consent of the superior. His own pert of the hership was ilk cow quhose ear wes longer then hir horn, ilk black cow that had not a white spott in her bodie, ilk white cow that hald not a black spott in her bodie, and ilk horse that wes wytin three years; and his under officers had all the hedes of all the cowes that were killed in the camp. But sometimes he distributed his part of the herships amongst the best deshervin of the shouldiers, quhilk made the shouldiers so desperat quich were under his command, that they resolved ayer to die or be victorious quhenever they ingadged. He had power to fine all the shouldiers that did not goe right in ther cloathes and armes, and wytall to decern all the contravershies; quhilk place he managed so fortunatlie, that he was sent in all expeditiounes, and in everie expeditioune he wes victorious. His good service gott him the reall affectioune of his breyer, so that his breyer, in his death-bed, left him his own sword, quhilk was the gretest merit a kinsman could haive, to have the sword of such a braive conqueror, as a testimonie of faithfull service."

The situation appears to have been lucrative; for he adds, "Ane estate from his brother he needed not; ffor befor his broyer's death, by his oune prudent managment of ye benefit of ye impleyment he had, and of quhatever fell to his hand, he conqueist to himself a reasonable estate, quhilk he dailie augmented during the rest of his worthie dayes. He married to his first wife Annabel MMcKenzie, daughter to Murdo MMcKenzie of Fairburn, and relich," &c. &c. &c.

The place was not hereditary; at least the historian, himself a male descendant and grandson of the marshal, does not affirm that it was ever again held by any of his kindred.

(To be continued.)

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1. Marescalcus, equorum minister vel potius equarum, quod præstare olim videbatur genus fæmineum, ut apud Graecos in Jovis Olympiad certaminibus," &c. Seld. Glossar.
2. Bec. Lib. Francicorum.
3. Quoted by Dr Jameson under this word. Vid. also Du Cange, voce Marescallus.
4. "Rex concessit valetto Galfrido de Mildenhall, marescallo aule regis, unum messuagium—in Bredon." (17 Ed. II. Abbreviat. Rot. Orig. Scaccar.)
5. Marescallus Episcopi," "Marescallus Abbatis," with their explanations. Du Cange.
6. "Marescallus Banci Regis," in statuto Edwardi III. ar. 5, c. 8. Cui potissimum incarceratorum incumbebat. Inde "Mareschalcia," dictus ipse carcer Londoniensis. Ib.
7. "Marescallus Curiæ," in Bulla Aurea Caroli IV. Imper. cap. 27. Ib.
8. It is noticed in Borthwick's Remarks on British Antiquities, but more fully in Madoxe's Baronia Anglica, p. 242, note, where the office is proved to have existed as far back as the time of Henry II.
9. Comput. ærarii Reg. ap. Carpentier, vocc. Meretricialis, Vestis.
10. Hence the origin of courtezan, now only used in a restricted and bad sense.
11. Selden, quoth Lord Lyttelton, (Life of Henry II. vol. iv. p. 50), would not have admitted among the grand sergeantries Warblington's office, "of the meanest and most dishonourable nature; and he is angry with Madox for having so classed it!—This is a good illustration of Chalmer's remark, (Cal. vol. i. 626), that this lord's "notions and language are altogether modern." Independently of other considerations, it may be stated, that Blount, in his Tenures, has quoted an old deed, where it is expressly said to be held by "grand sergeantry."
12. Johannes de Warblington, coronator marescalciæ ac clericus mercati hospitii regis ad placitum.
    "Idem tenet in feodo serjantiam essendi marescalli meretricum in hospitio, et dismembrandi malefactores adjudicatos, et mensurandi galones et bussellos." Rot. Pat. 22, Ed. III.
13. Wachter, Glossar. voc. Marescallus.
14. Marescalli—postea dicti, qui excrcitibus, et copiis militaribus praeerant." Du Cange.
15. "Herschip, Heirschip, Heiriscip, the act of plundering, devastation.—Booty, prey, &c." Jameson.