The Groom of the Stool was a male servant in the household of an English monarch who, among other duties, "preside[d] over the office of royal excretion,"[1] that is, he had the task of cleaning the monarch's anus after defecation.[2][3]
In the early years of Henry VIII's reign, the title was awarded to minions of the King, court companions who spent time with him in the Privy chamber. These were the sons of noblemen or important members of the gentry. In time they came to act as virtual personal secretaries to the King, carrying out a variety of administrative tasks within his private rooms. The position was an especially prized one, as it allowed one unobstructed access to the King's attention.[4] David Starkey writes: "The Groom of the Stool had (to our eyes) the most menial tasks; his standing, though, was the highest ... Clearly then, the royal body service must have been seen as entirely honorable, without a trace of the demeaning or the humiliating."[5] Further, "the mere word of the Gentleman of the Privy Chamber was sufficient evidence in itself of the king's will," and the Groom of the Stool bore "the indefinable charisma of the monarchy."[6]
Henry VIII, a "reckless" collector of expensive and opulent objects, was also in the possession of a magnificent collection of stools, according to David Starkey, who would include Henry VIII's stools in his "fantasy art collection": "Central to the inventory accounts are the Close Stools, covered in silk and satins, padded with swans' down, trimmed with gilt nails, with Venetian gold fringing and elaborate systems of cisterns and pots."[7]
In 1558, the male domination of royal private quarters came to an end, and Kat Ashley was appointed First Lady of the Bedchamber by Elizabeth I of England, a position that put her "in charge of the bedchamber," a duty formerly performed by the Groom of the Stool.[8] The office effectively came to an end when it was "neutralized" in 1559.[9]
The position survived in a less scatological but much more senior form, the Groom of the Stole (a Victorian spelling[7]), until 1901. These were always senior noblemen. In the French royal court, a similar position was called "porte-coton."
Grooms of the stool under Henry VIII
- William Compton (1509–1526)[10]
- Sir Henry Norris (1526–1536)[11]
- Sir Thomas Heneage (1536–1546)[3]
- Sir Anthony Denny (1546–1547)[12]
- Sir Michael Stanhope (1547–1551)[13][14]
See also
References
- ^ Bruce Boehrer, "The Privy and Its Double: Scatology and Satire in Shakespeare's Theatre," in Dutton, Richard; Jean Elizabeth Howard (2003). A Companion to Shakespeare's Works: Poems, problem comedies, late plays. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 78. ISBN 9780631226352. http://books.google.com/books?id=OrWRYciM5GsC&pg=PA78.
- ^ "David Starkey: An appointment with Dr Rude". The Independent. 2004-06-28. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/david-starkey-an-appointment-with-dr-rude-733738.html. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
- ^ a b Weir, Alison (2002). Henry VIII: The King and His Court. Random House. p. 81. ISBN 9780345437082. http://books.google.com/books?id=JW-seRfZ9toC&pg=PA81.
- ^ Weir, Alison (2002). Henry VIII: The King and His Court. Random House. p. 42. ISBN 9780345437082. http://books.google.com/books?id=JW-seRfZ9toC&pg=PA42.
- ^ Quoted in Patterson, Orlande (1982). Slavery and Social Death: A Comparative Study. Harvard UP. p. 330.
- ^ Sharpe, Kevin M.; Steven N. Zwicker (2003). Reading, Society and Politics in Early Modern England. Cambridge UP. p. 51.
- ^ a b Starkey, David (2004-12-21). "Majesty in all its magnificence". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/3633793/Majesty-in-all-its-magnificence.html. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
- ^ Brimacombe, Peter (2000). All the queen's men: the world of Elizabeth I. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 25. ISBN 9780312232511. http://books.google.com/books?id=sB3MM0b4zo8C&pg=PA25.
- ^ Nicholls, Mark (1999). A history of the modern British Isles, 1529-1603: the two kingdoms. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 194. ISBN 9780631193340. http://books.google.com/books?id=3-bmU1s5T3EC&pg=PA194.
- ^ Weir, Alison (2002). Henry VIII: The King and His Court. Random House. p. 97. ISBN 9780345437082. http://books.google.com/books?id=JW-seRfZ9toC&pg=PA97.
- ^ Ives, Eric William (2004). The life and death of Anne Boleyn: 'the most happy'. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 207. ISBN 9780631234791. http://books.google.com/books?id=UVSSK7ZgQLsC&pg=RA1-PA207.
- ^ Weir, Alison (2002). Henry VIII: The King and His Court. Random House. p. 486. ISBN 9780345437082. http://books.google.com/books?id=JW-seRfZ9toC&pg=PA486.
- ^ Matthew, Henry Colin Gray; Brian Howard Harrison (2004). Oxford dictionary of national biography: in association with the British Academy: From the earliest times to the year 2000. Oxford UP. p. 135. ISBN 9780198614029.
- ^ Nicholls, Mark (1999). A history of the modern British Isles, 1529–1603: the two kingdoms. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 131. ISBN 9780631193340. http://books.google.com/books?id=3-bmU1s5T3EC&pg=PA131.
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