A Truly Royal Retinue: Using Wardrobe Rolls to Determine the Size and Composition of the Household of Henry III of England

Abstract

The organisation and size of the medieval English royal household have long been debated. Unfortunately, between the Constitutio Domus Regis of c.1135 and the Household Ordinance of 1279, no single document describes the composition or structure of the monarch’s domestic establishment. Using a previously unstudied roll of liveries which describes the cloth entitlements of the officials and servants attending King Henry III between C.1234–1236, this article attempts a new calculation of the size of the English royal household during the first half of the thirteenth century. The article also sheds new light on the role of livery to demarcate status both within and outside the royal household. A full transcription of the roll of liveries is appended.

Notes

* I am grateful to Professor David Carpenter, Professor Robert Stacey, Dr Michael Ray and Dr Huw Ridgeway for commenting on a draft of this article. Remaining muddles and omissions are my own.