Paladin

All you want to know about Paladin

For other uses, see Paladin (disambiguation).

A paladin (from Latin palatinus, plural palatini; cf. derivative spellings below) was a high-level official in numerous countries of medieval and early modern Europe.[citation needed]

The term palatinus was first used in Ancient Rome for a chamberlain of the Emperor,[1] and also for the imperial palace guard, called the Scholae Palatinae by Constantine I. In the early Middle Ages, the meaning changed and the term was used for one of the highest officials of the Catholic Church in the Pope's service and also for some important noblemen of the Holy Roman Empire, who were named Counts Palatine. Similar titles were later used in 18th century Poland, 19th century Hungary and in the German Empire and United Kingdom during the early 20th century.

In medieval literature, the paladins, or Twelve Peers, were known in the Matter of France as the retainers of Charlemagne. Based on this usage, the term can also refer to an honorable knight, which has been used in contemporary fantasy literature.

Contents

Derivative terms

The different spellings originate from the different languages that used the title throughout the ages (a phenomenon called lenition). The word "paladin"/"paladine" evolved from the Latin word palatinus, meaning "belonging to Palatine Hill", where the house of the Roman emperor was situated since Augustus (hence "palace").[2] The meaning of the term hardly changed, since Latin was the dominant language in medieval writing. But its spelling slightly changed in European languages: Latin palatinus, plural palatini was still an office in Merovingian times, today referred to as the Count Palatine. The word became in French palaisin, and with the Norman dynasty entered the English language as paladin and paladine.

The word palatinus and its derivatives also translate the titles of certain great functionaries in eastern Europe, such as the Slavic voivode, a military governor of a province. In Poland the title of Palatyn (Comes Palatinus) has merged with that of Wojewoda (Dux Exercituum).

History

Ancient Rome: palatinus

Official and ceremonial hat of the Salii, later adopted by the Catholic Church
Official and ceremonial hat of the Salii, later adopted by the Catholic Church

The members of the Imperial Guard were named after Palatine Hill, the mythical founding place of Rome. On the same hill lived the members of the older of two schools of the ancient Salii brotherhood of God of War Mars, which had some symbolism in common with that of the imperial palace.[3] Military training schools were the scholae, and the Imperial Guard was called Scholae Palatinae. It was a personal army that the emperor was allowed to use personally on campaigns.[4]

Holy Roman Empire: comes palatinus

From the Middle Ages on, the term palatine was applied to various different officials across Europe. The most important of these was the comes palatinus, the count palatine, who in Merovingian and Carolingian times (5th through 10th century) was an official of the sovereign's household, in particular of his court of law in the imperial palaces (see kaiserpfalz).[5] The count palatine was the official representative at proceedings of the court such as oath takings or judicial sentences and was in charge of the records of those developments. At first he examined cases in the king's court and was authorized to carry out the decisions, in time, these rights extended to having his own judicial rights. In addition to those responsibilities, the count palatine had administrative functions, especially concerning the king's household.

In the ninth century Carolingean rule came to an end and the title of Holy Roman emperor with it. About a century later the title was resurrected by Otto I though the new empire was now centered in Germany rather than France. Under the German kings of the Saxon and Salian dynasties (10th to 12th century), the function of the counts palatine corresponded to those of the missi dominici at the Carolingian Court. They had various tasks: representatives of the king in the provinces, they were responsible for the administration of the royal domain and for the protecting and guiding the legal system in certain duchies, such as Saxony and Bavaria, and, in particular, Lotharingia. Later other palatine rights were absorbed by ducal dynasties, by local families, or, in Italy, by bishops. Increasingly, the count palatine of Lotharingia, whose office had been attached to the royal palace at Aachen from the 10th century onward, became the real successor to the Carolingian count palatine. From his office grew the Countship Palatine of the Rhine, or simply the Palatinate, which became a great territorial power from the time of the emperor Frederick I (Barbarossa) (d. 1190) on. The term palatine reoccurs under Charles IV, but they had only voluntary jurisdiction and some honorific functions.

Catholic Church: judices palatini

Main article: Palatinus (Roman Catholic Church)

In the Middle Ages, the judices palatini (papal palace judges) were the highest administrative officers of the pope's household.

Modern usage: paladin(e)

In Early Modern England, the term palatinate, or county palatine, was also applied to counties of lords who could exercise powers normally reserved to the crown.[6] Likewise, there were palatine provinces among the English colonies in North America: Cecilius Calvert, Lord Baltimore, was granted palatine rights in Maryland in 1632, as were the proprietors of the Carolinas in 1663.[7]

In 19th century Britain and Germany, paladin was an official rank and considered an honorary title for a man in service of his emperor. It was a Knight with additional honours, they were entitled to exercise powers normally reserved to the crown.[8]

During the German Third Reich, Hermann Göring was also given the title “Paladin”, referring to the tradition of a title that made the carrier second to the monarch.[9]

Fiction

Roland is girt with a sword by Charlemagne; from a manuscript of a chanson de geste.
Roland is girt with a sword by Charlemagne; from a manuscript of a chanson de geste.

Paladin as a word referring to a champion or warrior of the European Middle Ages is often used to describe Charlemagne's legendary retainers, the Twelve Peers of medieval chansons de geste and romances. In the original version in Latin, palatinus was used, and the number resembles that of the twelve Salii priests mentioned above. These characters and their associated exploits are largely later fictional inventions, with some basis on historical Frankish retainers of the 8th century and events such as the Battle of Roncevaux Pass and the confrontation of the Frankish Empire with Umayyad Al-Andalus in the Marca Hispanica

The names of the twelve paladins vary from romance to romance, and often more than twelve paladins are named. The number is popular because it resembles the twelve Apostles – giving the king the position of Jesus not out of arrogance, but the conscience of the holy mission a king has. All Carolingian paladine stories feature paladins by the names of Roland and Oliver. Other recurring characters are Archbishop Turpin, Ogier the Dane, Huon of Bordeaux, Fierabras, Renaud de Montauban, and Ganelon. Tales of the paladins of Charlemagne once rivaled the stories of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table in popularity. Ludovico Ariosto and Matteo Maria Boiardo, whose works were once as widely read and respected as William Shakespeare's, contributed most prominently to the literary/poetical reworking of the tales of the epic deeds of the paladins.

The death of Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux, from an illustrated manuscript of the 1450s
The death of Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux, from an illustrated manuscript of the 1450s

The twelve paladins of Charlemagne are listed in the Old French Chanson de Roland as follows:[10] Roland, Charlemagne's nephew and the chief hero among the paladins, Oliver, Roland's friend and strongest ally, and Gérin, Gérier, Bérengier, Otton, Samson, Engelier, Ivon, Ivoire, Anséis, Girard (similar spellings are possible).

The Italians Ariosto and Boiardo listed the paladins quite differently, but kept the number of twelve:[11]

The Celtic revival of the 1880s benefited the Arthurian material and encouraged its reworking and recirculation. No such aura of latter-day romance could assist the Charlemagne material, which remained strongly Christian and triumphant in its presentation in contrast to the melancholy of the ultimate failure of the Arthurian heroes, and their ambiguous position at the transition from Celtic paganism to Christianity. As a result, contemporary readers know Arthur and his Camelot well while hearing little of the paladins of Charlemagne, who once enjoyed similar renown.

Present day

The official title has gone out of fashion, but the word "paladin" is still used to describe a benevolent, heroic champion, or the defender of a good cause.

Numerous modern role playing games as well as pieces of fantasy literature make use of a "paladin" character class based on this concept. This type of paladins are typically skilled in melee swordfighting and possess great healing powers, and are exclusively depicted as holy swordsmen who fight for "the" just cause. The paladin typically has the role of a preserver, protector or exorcist in in-game universes.

Examples of contemporary use of the term

Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, uses the nickname "Paladins" for their athletic teams. The Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario, is represented in Canadian Interuniversity Sport by the RMC Paladins logo. Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, of DC Comics fame, are called Paladins in the newly released DC Comic, "Trinity", issue #1. In the late 1950s and early 1960s an American television series, "Have Gun – Will Travel," starred Richard Boone as a "knight without armor" called "Paladin".[12] In the 2008 movie Jumper, paladins are agents who track down and kill individuals with the ability to "jump" directly to locations around the world at their leisure.[13]

Notes

  1. ^ "palatine." Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008.
  2. ^ Brockhaus Encyclopedia, Mannheim 2004, paladin
  3. ^ Frank, R.I., Scholae Palatinae. The Palace Guards of the Later Roman Empire Rome, 1969
  4. ^ Bleicken, Dahlheim etc, Roman History, ISBN 3506739271
  5. ^ "palatine." Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008.
  6. ^ "palatine." Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008.
  7. ^ John Krugler, English and Catholic, the Lords Baltimore in the seventeenth century, Baltimore 2004.
  8. ^ Brockhaus, ibidem.
  9. ^ Stefan Marthens, Erster Paladin des Führers und Zweiter Mann im Reich, Paderborn 1985, ISBN 3-506-77474-3, and Wolfgang Paul, Hermann Goering: Hitler's Paladin or Puppet?, London 1998, ISBN 1-85409-429-7
  10. ^ Conradus the priest (12th century), Song of Roland. ISBN 3-920153-02-2
  11. ^ Frank, Grace, La Passion du Palatinus : mystère du XIVe siècle, in : Les Classiques français du moyen âge (30) Paris 1922.
  12. ^ Have Gun – Will Travel closing theme song, http://www.hgwt.com/ballad.wav. imdb entry
  13. ^ Jumper (2008) Warner Movies
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