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A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from castellanus.[1] A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1194, Beatrice of Bourbourg inherited her father's castellany of Bourbourg upon the death of her brother, Roger.[2] Similarly, Agnes became the castellan of Harlech Castle upon the death of her husband John de Bonvillars in 1287. The title of "governor" is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant of the medieval idea of the castellan as head of the local prison.[3]
- ^ Pirenne, Henri. "Medieval Cities". Princeton University Press, 1952. p. 73.
- ^ Jordan, Erin L. "Female Founders: Exercising authority in Thirteenth-century Flanders and Hainaut." Church History and Religious Culture, Vol. 88, No. 4, Secular Women in the Documents for Late Medieval Religious Women (2008), pp. 546. Jordan, 559, later says, though, that women holding castellanies may be more prevalent in Flanders and Hainalt than in other parts of Western Europe.
- ^ Friar, Stephen (2003). The Sutton Companion to Castles, Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 47. ISBN 978-0-7509-3994-2.