ministerialis

Forms

ministeriālis (neuter ministeriāle); third-declension two-termination adjective; as a noun ministeriālis, genitive ministeriālis, masculine^[1][2] Medieval spellings include ministrālis, ministrāllus, mistrālis, misteriālis and menestrālis.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin ministerium (“service, office”) + -ālis.^[1][4][5] The TLL lists Romance descendants such as Engadine mastrel and Provençal menestral.^[4] Through the medieval form ⟨ministrālis⟩ and Old French menestrel it is the source of English minstrel.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in the Itala (after 220 AD),^[6] in the Letter to the Hebrews, where the angels are called ministeriālēs spīritūs, “ministering spirits”.^[4][7]

Semantic evolution

In Late Latin the masculine plural ministeriālēs named imperial officers,^[1] and the noun could mean a servant.^[7]

In medieval Latin ministeriālis was a servant in a lord's household, free or unfree, and above all an unfree man of higher standing than ordinary serfs; such men often ran a manor as bailiffs, and the adjective came to mean “belonging to the class of ministeriāles”.^[2] It also described what served divine worship,^[2][8] and the liber ministeriālis was the pontifical.^[9][10] In Poland the noun was used for a court bailiff who delivered summonses.^[11]

Timeline

• after 220 AD – The Itala calls angels ministeriālēs spīritūs.^[4][6]
• c. 345–411/412 AD – Rufinus uses the same phrase.^[1][4][6]
• 425–433 AD – The Notitia dignitatum uses the noun for a servant.^[7][6]
• 438 AD – The Theodosian Code uses ministeriālēs for imperial officers.^[1][6]
• 643 – The Edict of Rothari has the adjective.^[6]
• 816 – A synod calls the pontifical the liber ministeriālis.^[9][10]
• c. 1177 – A Hungarian charter names the king's ministeriālēs among his attendants.^[12]
• c. 1200 – English minstrel appears, at first meaning “a servant”.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (Late Latin) Ministering, serving.^[4][1][7]
2. (Medieval Latin, of a serf) Serving in his master's household.^[2]
3. (Medieval Latin, of a tenancy) Granted to a manorial agent.^[2]
4. (Medieval Latin) Belonging to or typical of the class of ministeriālēs.^[2]
5. (Medieval Latin) Serving divine worship;^[2][9] liber ministeriālis, the pontifical.^[2][9]

Noun

1. (Late Latin) An imperial officer; a servant.^[1][7]
2. (Medieval Latin) A household servant, especially an unfree man of higher standing than a serf.^[2][6]
3. (Medieval Latin) A manorial bailiff; a monk in charge of an obedience.^[2]
4. (Medieval Latin) An official.^[9]
5. (Medieval Latin, Poland) A court bailiff who delivered summonses.^[11]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
3. ^ Novum Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis ab anno DCCC usque ad annum MCC (1957–), Copenhagen / Geneva / Paris: Union Académique Internationale; IRHT
4. ^ a b c d e f Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c d e Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
8. ^ Latinitatis medii aevi lexicon Bohemorum / Slovník středověké latiny v českých zemích (1977–), Prague: Academia; electronic version, Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences
9. ^ a b c d e Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
11. ^ a b Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
12. ^ Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE