Staller (title)

Staller is an Anglo-Saxon title whose origin, and exact meaning, is disputed. One suggestion is it derives from the Latin comes stabuli, or Count of the Stable, a title used in the Byzantine Empire, and later adopted by the Franks.[1]

Another theory is it is refers to a seat, or steall in the kings hall, one of the privileges granted a thegn, or royal retainer. However, this is unproved.[2]

It seems likely it was a different term for an existing position; the first confirmed occurrence in England was by Edward the Confessor, who used it for senior members of his personal household.[3] Their duties appear to have been flexible; on a charter witnessed by stallers Ansgar, Bondi, Robert FitzWimarc, and Ralph in 1065, they are described as Royal stewards.[4]

Anglo-Saxon office-holders

• Ansgar the Staller (fl 1044-1066)
• Bondi the staller (fl 1065)
• Eadnoth the Constable (died 1068), also known as Eadnoth the Staller
• Ralph the Staller (1011–1068)
• Robert FitzWimarc (died before 1075), also known as Robert the Staller;
• Osgod clapa, London [4]

References

1. Barnwell 2006, p. 23.
2. Williams 2008, p. FN78.
3. Hull Domesday Project.
4. Williams 2008, p. FN80.

Sources

• Barnwell, PS (2006). Emperor, Prefects & Kings: The Roman West, 395-565. The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0807820711.
• "Constable, or Staller". Hull Domesday Project. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
• Williams, Ann (2008). The World Before Domesday: The English Aristocracy 900-1066. Continuum. ISBN 978-1847252395.