A cup-bearer was historically an officer of high rank in , whose duty was to pour and serve the drinks at the royal table. On account of the constant fear of plots and intrigues (such as poisoning), a person had to be regarded as thoroughly trustworthy to hold the position. He would guard against poison in the king's cup, and was sometimes required to swallow some of the drink before serving it. His confidential relations with the king often gave him a position of great influence.
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Egyptian hieroglyph for a cup-bearer
The cup-bearer as an honorific role, for example as the Egyptian hieroglyph for "cup-bearer", was used as late as 196 BC in the Rosetta Stone for the Kanephoros cup-bearer Areia, daughter of Diogenes; each Ptolemaic Decree starting with the Decree of Canopus honored a cup-bearer. A much older role was the appointment of Sargon of Akkad as cup-bearer in the 23rd century BC.
In the Bible
Cup-bearers are mentioned several times in the Bible.
The position is first mentioned in Genesis 40:1, although the Hebrew word (elsewhere translated as "cup-bearer") is here sometimes rendered as "butler". The phrase "chief of the butlers" () accords with the fact that there were often a number of such officials under one as chief.[compare ] In the Post-exilic period, Nehemiah rose to the high ranking palace position of cup-bearer to King Artaxerxes, the sixth King of the Median / Persian Empire. The position placed his life on the line every day, but gave Nehemiah authority and high pay. He was held in high esteem by Artaxerxes, as the record shows. His financial ability
Cup-bearers are mentioned further in , and , where they, among other evidences of royal splendor, are stated to have impressed the Queen of Sheba with Solomon's glory. The title Rabshakeh (), once thought to mean "chief of the cup-bearers" is now given a different derivation and explained as "chief of the officers" or "princes".[see BDB under the word Rabshakeh.][See further on cupbearers:
]
In Greek myth
In
Greek mythology, Hebe, the goddess of youth, was the original cup-bearer to the Greek gods of
Mount Olympus, serving them
nectar and
ambrosia. Hebe is the daughter of
Zeus and
Hera and is described performing her duties as cup-bearer in the
Iliad:
Hêbê's role of cup bearer ended when she was then replaced by Ganymede. She then married the deified hero Heracles, who joined Hêbê among the gods and goddesses and started a family.
Hephaestus, Hermes, Iris, and Athena have all been depicted as cupbearers at various points in time. Hephaestus poured nectar for his mother Hera and the other gods in the Iliad. Hermes poured ambrosia for the wedding of Peleus and Thetis in the poems of Sappho. Iris poured wine for Hera across various artistic representations. And Athena may have done so in the works of Bacchylides.
The Roman mythology are also closely related to Greek mythology, with the Roman goddess of youth Juventas being the counterpart to Greek Hebe.
In Byzantium
As palatine officers in Visigothic Spain
One of the
palatine officers who was in the service of the Visigothic kings was called
Comes Scanciorum, or "Count of the Cup-bearers." The count headed the
scancia (singular
scancium), which in English would be called cellars or buttery and in French
échansonnerie, which is a cognate to the Latinized Gothic term used in Spain. The count would have poured the king's wine or drink personally while the other cup-bearers served other distinguished guests at the royal table.
As a Great Office in the Holy Roman Empire
Schenk or
Schenck (Latin pincerna), also
Mundschenk, was originally a Germanic court office and was associated, among other things, with the supervision of the court
wine cellars and
. The King of Bohemia ranked as Arch-Cupbearer of the Holy Roman Empire. His duties were normally performed only during coronations. At other times, the Count of Limpurg and, after 1714,
Althann served as cupbearers for the
Emperor.
In Anglo-Saxon England
The office of butler or cup-bearer (
pincerna in
Medieval Latin) in Anglo-Saxon England was occupied by aristocrats who were in charge of drinks at royal feasts. In the tenth and eleventh centuries they were appointed from among the
, the third rank of nobles, after the king and
ealdormen.
In Shakespeare
Camillo in
The Winter's Tale is cup-bearer to Leontes, King of Sicily, and Polixenes, King of Bohemia. When Leontes becomes convinced of his wife Hermione's infidelity with Polixenes, he entreats Camillo to use his privileged position as his cup-bearer to poison Polixenes:
In Ireland
Theobald Walter was the first Chief Butler of Ireland. Although the terms "cup-bearer" and "butler" are sometimes used interchangeably, they were two distinct roles at the coronation feast.
[ National archives]
Kingdom of Hungary
The
pohárnokmester (Master of the Cupbearers), also called the
főpohárnok, was the supervisor of the cup-bearers at court and across the royal court system, a chief court officer/dignitary. The first mention of him dates from 1148.
Poland and Lithuania
The cup-bearer (, ) was a court office in
Poland and
Lithuania until the end of the 13th century. The holder was responsible for the wine cellar of the King and Grand Duke, serving him cups of wine at banquets. Since the 14th century, it has been an honorary court title in the Crown of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
-
cześnik koronny – King's Cup-Bearer of the Crown
-
cześnik litewski – Grand Duke's Cup-Bearer of Lithuania
-
cześnik ziemski – District King's Cup-Bearer
According to the district office hierarchy in 1768, the position in the Crown was over Łowczy and under Podstoli; In the Grand Duchy of Lithuania over Horodniczy (Gorodnyčius) and under Podczaszy (Pataurininkis).
See also
External links
