Vestes
Vestes (
The term is etymologically connected to the vestiarion, the imperial wardrobe, but despite earlier attempts to connect the vestai and the related title of vestarches, the head of the class of the vestai,[1] with the officials of the vestiarion,[2] no such relation appears to have existed.[3]
The title is first attested for the reign of Emperor
As with other titles of the middle Byzantine period, the prestige of vestes declined towards the end of the 11th century, when it is attested as being held by lower-ranking officials. To counter this devaluation, the superior title of protovestes (Greek: πρωτοβέστης, 'first vestes') appeared at the same time. Both titles, however, do not appear to have survived the reign of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118).[3]
References
- ^ Oikonomides 1972, pp. 294, 299.
- ^ Bréhier 2000, pp. 81, 111.
- ^ a b c d Kazhdan 1991, p. 2162.
- ^ McGeer, Nesbitt & Oikonomides 2005, p. 24.
Sources
- ISBN 978-2-226-04722-9.
- ISBN 0-19-504652-8.
- McGeer, Eric; Nesbitt, John; ISBN 0-88402-309-5.
- Oikonomides, Nicolas (1972). Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles(in French). Paris: Editions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.