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IN THE ROMAN PAGAN RELIGION ''SOLI INVICTO COMITI'', ''Comes'' to the Sol Invictus god.]] ''Comes'' was a common Epitheton (title, added to the name, as Catholicism still does with Jesus and much-venerated saints, such as in Our Lady of Lourdes) for a Hero or a (usually minor) divinity, marking it out as linked to a (usually major or equal) divinity, or several celestials to each other, e.g. as a nuclear family. On Constantine I 's coinage, the emperor is declared ''comes'' to the Sun God . IMPERIALLY BESTOWED COURT TITLES AND VARIOUS OFFICES OF ''COMITES'' Historically more significant, ''Comes'' became a profane title given to trusted (ex-)courtiers and others, as a mark of imperial confidence, developing into a formal rank, rather equivalent to the hellenistic '' Philos (Basilikos)'' or the Carolingian (knight) Paladine , and therefore the title was retained when one was appointed—often promoted—to a post away from court, often in the field or provincial administration; next, it seemed logical to link it to specific charges calling for an incumbent of high rank, and even to make it part of the official title. As the court grew in size and gained political influence, the emperors established a casual practice of appointing loyal servants to various posts. This process had already been utilized elsewhere, as with the Prefect of the Praetorian Guard and the Amici Principis . As the imperial system expanded, however, new offices were needed and decentralization demanded change. The result was the creation of the rank of "comes". The ''comites'' (often translated as counts, though neither feudal nor hereditary) became leading officials of the Roman Empire. They wielded posts of every description, from the army to the civil service, while never surrendering their direct links and access to the emperors. Constantine took the final step of certifying the posts so that they were permanent fixtures of imperial government. They are listed in full for the beginning of the fifth century in the Notitia Dignitatum , and a schematic map of comital military posts in English translation is available at The Friesian project . At later dates, additional posts have been created. The following are examples of the various types of ''comites'' At court or in the imperial domains Several of the major departments of an imperial court and household had a chief styled Comes, with an Officium (staff) quite similar to that of a governor In the western empire these incuded:
In the western empire these department heads included :
Exceptionally, a gubernatorial position was styled Comes:
Furthermore, some less important section chiefs under the authority of otherwise styled, high-ranking territorial officials could be styled Comes, e.g. under the Praefectus Urbis of Rome (a vir illustris) were a Comes formarum, a Comes riparum et alvei Tiberis et cloacarum and a Comes portus. The title ''comes consistorianus'' indicated Comites who advised the Emperor in his council for official (mainly legal) matters, called Consistorium , whether on an occasional basis, ''ex officio'' (as main court department heads) or in the case of his adsessor ('chief counsel') as a distinct job. Comes rei militaris These comites held military appointments, but of similar rank, i.e. higher than Dux , but under Magister Peditum / Magister Equitum ; they were the superiors of a series of military posts, each commanded by a praepositus limitis (border commander), and/or unit commanders, such as tribunes of cohorts, ''alae'' (auxiliary equivalent), ''numeri'', in the eastern empire even legions : The Notitia Dignitatum (early fifth century) mentions six such positions, of the rank Vir Spectabilis , in the western empire (Comes Italiae, Comes Africae, Comes Tingitaniae, Comes Tractus Argentoratensis, Comes Britanniarum and Litoris Saxonici per Britannias) and two in the eastern empire: Comes (limitis) Aegypti, Comes Isauriae = - per Isauria).
As the number of comites grew, the rank was devaluated, which led to he introduction of the notion of classes of comites; first, second and third ''ordines'' Horse guards corps of Comites The ''Comites dominorom nostrorum'' (plural of ''Comes D.N.;'' literally "Companions of our Lords {Link without Title} ') were a mounted imperial body guard during Diocletian's Tetrarchy (c. 300). MEDIEVAL USAGES Frankish Gaugraf The Frankish kings of the Merovingian dynasty retained a good deal of the Roman system of administration, including the title ''comes'' preserved its original meaning: a companion of the king, a royal servant of high rank. Under the early Frankish kings some comites did not exercise any definite functions; they were merely attached to the kings person and executed his orders. Others filled the highest offices, e.g. the ''comes palatii'' and ''comes stabuli'' (survives in the title Constable ). The kingdom was divided for administrative purposes into small areas called '' Pagus '' (hence French pays; German Gau), corresponding generally to the Roman Civitas . At the head of the pagus was the ''comes'', corresponding to the German Graf (in full ''Gaugraf''. The Comes was appointed by the king and removable at his pleasure, and was chosen originally from all classes, sometimes from enfranchised serfs. His essential functions were judicial and executive, and in documents he is often described as the kings agent (''agens publicus'') or royal judge (''judex publicus/fiscalis''). As the delegate of the executive power he had the right to military command in the king's name, and to take all the measures necessary for the preservation of the peace, i.e. to exercise the royal ban (''bannus regis''). He was at once public prosecutor and judge, was responsible for the execution of the sentences of the courts, and as the king's representative exercised the royal right of protection (''mundium regis'') over churches, widows, orphans and the like. He enjoyed a triple wergeld, but had no definite salary, being remunerated by the receipt of certain revenues, a system which contained the germs of discord, on account of the confusion of his public and private duties. The AS. gerefa, however, meaning ''illustrious, chief'', has apparently, according to philologists, no connection with the German Graf, which originally meant servant (cf. knight, valet, &c). It is the more curious that the gerefa should end as a subservient reeve, the Graf as a noble count. Feudalism In the feudal tradition, Latin was often used, especially in legal documents, as (sometimes sole) official language, so the rendering in Latin was no less important than the original in the spoken vernacular. Thus, ''comes'' has been used as the Latin equivalent (or part of it) of all titles of comital rank, whether containing Count (or some other word etymologically derived from Comes, or in many other languages from Graf ).
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