Comitatus

For other uses, see Comitatus (disambiguation).
See also: County (disambiguation)

In ancient times, comitatus was an armed escort or retinue, especially in the context of Germanic warrior culture for a warband tied to a leader by an oath of fealty.[1] The concept describes the relations between a lord and his retainers, or thanes (OE þegn); scholars generally consider it more of a literary trope rather than one of historical accuracy.[2][3]

Scholars Bruce Mitchell and Fred C. Robinson describe the comitatus more fully:

A heroic warrior brought up in this [comitatus] tradition would show a reckless disregard for his life. Whether he was doomed or not, courage was best, for the brave man could win lof [glory among men] while the coward might die before his time. This is the spirit which inspired the code of the comitatus. While his lord lived, the warrior owed him loyalty unto death. If his lord were killed, the warrior had to avenge him or die in the attempt. The lord in his turn had the duty of being generous to his warriors. He had to be the great fighter to attract men, a man of noble character and a generous giver of feasts and treasure to hold them.[4]

The comitatus ideal is seen in Old English heroic literature, such as The Battle of Maldon, Beowulf, The Battle of Brunanburh,The Battle of Finnsburh, and the story of "Cynewulf and Cyneheard." The comitatus is also examined through a Christian context in works such as Dream of the Rood, where Christ is depicted more as a warrior-king doing battle with the Devil and accepts physical defeat for spiritual victory. The rood, or cross, in the poem acts as a retainer "who is forced by his very loyalty to become the instrument of his beloved Lord's execution."[5]

In late Roman and early medieval times, the Latin word comitatus referred to an office or jurisdiction held by a comes or count. In later medieval and modern times, "comitatus" became the Latin term for a geographical region or county where the jurisdiction of the count was effective.

Posse comitatus ("power/force of the county"; comitatus is 4th declension so the genitive termination is ūs), usually shortened to posse, is a group of people helping a sheriff or other official representing the county to enforce the law.

  1. ^ S. H. Steinberg, A New Dictionary of British History (London 1963) p.78
  2. ^ Chickering, Howell (January 1999). "Reviewed Work: The Lords of Battle: Image and Reality of the "Comitatus" in Dark Age Britain. by Stephen S. Evans". Speculum. 74 (1): 158–160. doi:10.2307/2887295. JSTOR 2887295 – via JSTOR.
  3. ^ Battles, Paul (2011). ""Contending Throng" Scenes and the Comitatus Ideal in Old English Poetry, with special attention to The Battle of Maldon 122a". Studia Neophilologica. 83 (1). Routledge: 41–53. doi:10.1080/00393274.2011.570022 – via EBSCOhost.
  4. ^ Mitchell, Bruce; Robinson, Fred C. (2012). A Guide to Old English (8 ed.). West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. p. 129. ISBN 9780470671078.
  5. ^ Mitchell, Bruce; Robinson, Fred C. (2012). A Guide to Old English (8 ed.). West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 264–265. ISBN 9780470671078.