Chamberlain's key (sign of the court title of chamberlain), Russia. International Military Historical Association What the chamberlain wore

Chamberlain's key from the reign of Nicholas II. Bronze, gilding partially preserved. The eagle has been repaired, the pin is missing; an ear is soldered instead. The Imperial Crown is also missing.
Rare.

Ancient chamberlain keys are unique antiques that were an important attribute of the court rank. Their name comes from the German word "Kammerherr". Such a key meant that the chamberlain had the right to enter all the personal apartments of his monarch. At a time when St. Petersburg was the capital Russian Empire, the chamberlains received special symbolic keys at their disposal during a special ceremony at court. Of course, the chamberlain’s keys did not fit into any door in the imperial residence.
Although, initially, the history of the chamberlain position still began with real chamberlain keys, intended not for opening chambers, but for storeroom doors. In the sixteenth century, at the Spanish courts, there was the position of camarero, the holder of which was in charge of the king’s treasury and carried the key to it. At the courts of European emperors and kings, “cameriers” or “camerarius” served, later renamed “chamberlains” and becoming “room nobles”. At this time, the chamberlains inherited keys from previous times, which had already become symbolic.
Having lost their functionality, the chamberlain's keys became more elegant and were particularly beautiful. Ancient keys began to be made using gilding, and their heads were decorated with monograms and coats of arms of monarchs. The rank of chamberlain in Russia appeared in 1711 after the official marriage of Peter the Great with Marta Skavronskaya, who almost immediately began reforming the existing court staff in accordance with European standards. So, chamberlains began to replace ordinary lawyers with keys, room sleeping bags and stewards. Since uniforms for court servants did not yet exist in those days, the main symbol of the position was the chamberlain’s key.
In 1762, Catherine II came to the throne and immediately began to redevelop the farm. She determined the list of duties of the chamberlains and granted them the rank of conditional major general, obliged to stand at the throne and carry the train behind the empress. The chamberlains received not only a general's uniform, but also a golden key, which served as a sign of correcting the title of the position.
The chamberlains' keys could be different. Servants who managed to achieve the rank of chief chamberlain received golden keys encrusted with diamonds from the empress. They were worn on a special gold chain with two massive tassels. Both during the reign of Katerina and under Alexander I, chamberlain keys were made by craftsmen from gold, and their cost in 1805 was five hundred rubles.
Historians and antiquarians have found that until 1833 there was no single example of a chamberlain key. Under Alexander I, such keys were most often made arbitrarily or based on tradition. This caused dissatisfaction among the employees, so it was decided to work on the production of a single sample of the chamberlain's key, which was eventually approved in October 1833.
From that time until the beginning of 1917, the ancient chamberlain key differed only in the shape of the state coat of arms and the outline of the golden eagle that served as the handle of the key. The initials of the ruling emperor were also changed. According to the statute of the 18th - early 19th centuries, antique chamberlain keys were made exclusively of gold. Over time, the position of chamberlain lost its importance, and with it, chamberlain keys were no longer made.
Based on materials from the site transantique.ru

Material from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia

Chamberlain(medieval Latin: Cambellanus or Cambrerius, French: Chambellan, English: Chamberlain; German Kammerherr - nobleman of the room) - court rank and court rank of high rank.

It has a fundamental difference from the business manager - the key keeper. So, under the popes there is a head of the household - a chamberlain (lat. camerarius). This is the position of the Roman Curia. The term Domini Papae camerarius appears in documents from 1159. Previously and now he has the right to enter the Pope's chambers, for which he has his own key. Often a secretary and confidant. Often - an official who headed the financial service - the Apostolic Chamber (camera). The chamberlain was also in charge of the material assets of the Apostolic See. In 1274, Pope Gregory X decreed that the chamberlain continue to perform his functions during the vacancy of the Apostolic See, which ensured the safety of material assets during the period from the death of the Pope until the election of his successor. The position of Cameraria acquired over time great importance: first a prelate was appointed to it, then a bishop, and subsequently a cardinal.

In the first edition of the Table of Ranks established by Peter I in 1722, the court rank of chamberlain was in the 6th class, and in 1737 it was moved to the 4th class. In the first half of the 18th century, the duties of the chamberlain were not regulated; they were mainly limited to presence at the imperial court and carrying out individual assignments of the monarch and the chief chamberlain.

IN different time a number of highest decrees were issued regulating appearance chamberlain. Thus, by decree of March 30 (April 11), persons with court ranks were prohibited from wearing a mustache and beard. The ban was motivated by the fact that “many of those holding the rank of chamberlains and chamber cadets allow themselves to wear mustaches, which are assigned only to the military, and beards in the form of Jews.”

Chamberlain's key

Excerpt characterizing the Chamberlain

- Our grief is common, and we will divide everything in half. “Everything that is mine is yours,” she said, looking around at the faces standing in front of her.
All eyes looked at her with the same expression, the meaning of which she could not understand. Whether it was curiosity, devotion, gratitude, or fear and distrust, the expression on all faces was the same.
“Many people are pleased with your mercy, but we don’t have to take the master’s bread,” said a voice from behind.
- Why not? - said the princess.
No one answered, and Princess Marya, looking around the crowd, noticed that now all the eyes she met immediately dropped.
- Why don’t you want to? – she asked again.
Nobody answered.
Princess Marya felt heavy from this silence; she tried to catch someone's gaze.
- Why don’t you talk? - the princess turned to the old man, who, leaning on a stick, stood in front of her. - Tell me if you think anything else is needed. “I’ll do everything,” she said, catching his gaze. But he, as if angry at this, lowered his head completely and said:
- Why agree, we don’t need bread.
- Well, should we give it all up? Do not agree. We don’t agree... We don’t agree. We feel sorry for you, but we do not agree. Go on your own, alone...” was heard in the crowd from different directions. And again the same expression appeared on all the faces of this crowd, and now it was probably no longer an expression of curiosity and gratitude, but an expression of embittered determination.
“You didn’t understand, right,” said Princess Marya with a sad smile. - Why don’t you want to go? I promise to house you and feed you. And here the enemy will ruin you...
But her voice was drowned out by the voices of the crowd.
“We don’t have our consent, let him ruin it!” We don’t take your bread, we don’t have our consent!
Princess Marya again tried to catch someone's gaze from the crowd, but not a single glance was directed at her; the eyes obviously avoided her. She felt strange and awkward.
- See, she taught me cleverly, follow her to the fortress! Destroy your home and go into bondage and go. Why! I'll give you the bread, they say! – voices were heard in the crowd.
Princess Marya, lowering her head, left the circle and went into the house. Having repeated the order to Drona that there should be horses for departure tomorrow, she went to her room and was left alone with her thoughts.

For a long time that night, Princess Marya sat at the open window in her room, listening to the sounds of men talking coming from the village, but she did not think about them. She felt that no matter how much she thought about them, she could not understand them. She kept thinking about one thing - about her grief, which now, after the break caused by worries about the present, had already become past for her. She could now remember, she could cry and she could pray. As the sun set, the wind died down. The night was quiet and fresh. At twelve o'clock the voices began to fade, the rooster crowed, the full moon began to emerge from behind the linden trees, a fresh, white mist of dew rose, and silence reigned over the village and over the house.
One after another, pictures of the close past appeared to her - illness and her father’s last minutes. And with sad joy she now dwelled on these images, driving away from herself with horror only one last image of his death, which - she felt - she was unable to contemplate even in her imagination at this quiet and mysterious hour of the night. And these pictures appeared to her with such clarity and with such detail that they seemed to her now like reality, now the past, now the future.
Then she vividly imagined that moment when he had a stroke and was dragged out of the garden in the Bald Mountains by the arms and he muttered something with an impotent tongue, twitched his gray eyebrows and looked at her restlessly and timidly.
“Even then he wanted to tell me what he told me on the day of his death,” she thought. “He always meant what he told me.” And so she remembered in all its details that night in Bald Mountains on the eve of the blow that happened to him, when Princess Marya, sensing trouble, remained with him against his will. She did not sleep and at night she tiptoed downstairs and, going up to the door to the flower shop where her father spent the night that night, listened to his voice. He said something to Tikhon in an exhausted, tired voice. He obviously wanted to talk. “And why didn’t he call me? Why didn’t he allow me to be here in Tikhon’s place? - Princess Marya thought then and now. “He will never tell anyone now everything that was in his soul.” This moment will never return for him and for me, when he would say everything he wanted to say, and I, and not Tikhon, would listen and understand him. Why didn’t I enter the room then? - she thought. “Maybe he would have told me then what he said on the day of his death.” Even then, in a conversation with Tikhon, he asked about me twice. He wanted to see me, but I stood here, outside the door. He was sad, it was hard to talk with Tikhon, who did not understand him. I remember how he spoke to him about Lisa, as if she were alive - he forgot that she died, and Tikhon reminded him that she was no longer there, and he shouted: “Fool.” It was hard for him. I heard from behind the door how he lay down on the bed, groaning, and shouted loudly: “My God! Why didn’t I get up then?” What would he do to me? What would I have to lose? And maybe then he would have been consoled, he would have said this word to me.” And Princess Marya said out loud the kind word that he said to her on the day of his death. “Darling! - Princess Marya repeated this word and began to sob with tears that relieved her soul. She now saw his face in front of her. And not the face that she had known since she could remember, and which she had always seen from afar; and that face is timid and weak, which on the last day, bending down to his mouth to hear what he said, she examined up close for the first time with all its wrinkles and details.
“Darling,” she repeated.
“What was he thinking when he said that word? What is he thinking now? - suddenly a question came to her, and in response to this she saw him in front of her with the same expression on his face that he had in the coffin, on his face tied with a white scarf. And the horror that gripped her when she touched him and became convinced that it was not only not him, but something mysterious and repulsive, gripped her now. She wanted to think about other things, wanted to pray, but could do nothing. She looked with large open eyes at the moonlight and shadows, every second she expected to see his dead face and felt that the silence that stood over the house and in the house shackled her.
- Dunyasha! – she whispered. - Dunyasha! – she screamed in a wild voice and, breaking out of the silence, ran to the girls’ room, towards the nanny and girls running towards her.

On August 17, Rostov and Ilyin, accompanied by Lavrushka, who had just returned from captivity, and the leading hussar, from their Yankovo camp, fifteen versts from Bogucharovo, went horseback riding - to try a new horse bought by Ilyin and to find out if there was any hay in the villages.
Bogucharovo had been located for the last three days between two enemy armies, so that the Russian rearguard could have entered there just as easily as the French vanguard, and therefore Rostov, as a caring squadron commander, wanted to take advantage of the provisions that remained in Bogucharovo before the French.
Rostov and Ilyin were in the most cheerful mood. On the way to Bogucharovo, to the princely estate with an estate, where they hoped to find large servants and pretty girls, they either asked Lavrushka about Napoleon and laughed at his stories, or drove around, trying Ilyin’s horse.
Rostov neither knew nor thought that this village to which he was traveling was the estate of that same Bolkonsky, who was his sister’s fiancé.
Rostov and Ilyin let the horses out for the last time to drive the horses into the drag in front of Bogucharov, and Rostov, having overtaken Ilyin, was the first to gallop into the street of the village of Bogucharov.
“You took the lead,” said the flushed Ilyin.
“Yes, everything is forward, and forward in the meadow, and here,” answered Rostov, stroking his soaring bottom with his hand.
“And in French, your Excellency,” Lavrushka said from behind, calling his sled nag French, “I would have overtaken, but I just didn’t want to embarrass him.”
They walked up to the barn, near which stood a large crowd of men.
Some men took off their hats, some, without taking off their hats, looked at those who had arrived. Two long old men, with wrinkled faces and sparse beards, came out of the tavern and, smiling, swaying and singing some awkward song, approached the officers.
- Well done! - Rostov said, laughing. - What, do you have any hay?
“And they are the same...” said Ilyin.
“Vesve...oo...oooo...barking bese...bese...” the men sang with happy smiles.
One man came out of the crowd and approached Rostov.
- What kind of people will you be? - he asked.
“The French,” Ilyin answered, laughing. “Here is Napoleon himself,” he said, pointing to Lavrushka.
- So, you will be Russian? – the man asked.
- How much of your strength is there? – asked another small man, approaching them.
“Many, many,” answered Rostov. - Why are you gathered here? - he added. - A holiday, or what?
“The old people have gathered on worldly business,” the man answered, moving away from him.
At this time, along the road from the manor's house, two women and a man in a white hat appeared, walking towards the officers.
- Mine in pink, don’t bother me! - said Ilyin, noticing Dunyasha resolutely moving towards him.
- Ours will be! – Lavrushka said to Ilyin with a wink.
- What, my beauty, do you need? - Ilyin said, smiling.
- The princess ordered to find out what regiment you are and your last names?
- This is Count Rostov, squadron commander, and I am your humble servant.
- B...se...e...du...shka! - the drunk man sang, smiling happily and looking at Ilyin talking to the girl. Following Dunyasha, Alpatych approached Rostov, taking off his hat from afar.
“I dare to bother you, your honor,” he said with respect, but with relative disdain for the youth of this officer and putting his hand in his bosom. “My lady, the daughter of General Chief Prince Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky, who died this fifteenth, being in difficulty due to the ignorance of these persons,” he pointed to the men, “asks you to come... would you like,” Alpatych said with a sad smile, “to leave a few, otherwise it’s not so convenient when... - Alpatych pointed to two men who were running around him from behind, like horseflies around a horse.
- A!.. Alpatych... Eh? Yakov Alpatych!.. Important! forgive for Christ's sake. Important! Eh?.. – the men said, smiling joyfully at him. Rostov looked at the drunken old men and smiled.
– Or perhaps this consoles your Excellency? - said Yakov Alpatych with sedate look, with his hand not tucked into his bosom, pointing at the old people.
“No, there’s little consolation here,” Rostov said and drove off. - What's the matter? - he asked.
“I dare to report to your excellency that the rude people here do not want to let the lady out of the estate and threaten to turn away the horses, so in the morning everything is packed and her ladyship cannot leave.”
- Can't be! - Rostov screamed.
“I have the honor to report to you the absolute truth,” Alpatych repeated.
Rostov got off his horse and, handing it over to the messenger, went with Alpatych to the house, asking him about the details of the case. Indeed, yesterday’s offer of bread from the princess to the peasants, her explanation with Dron and the gathering spoiled the matter so much that Dron finally handed over the keys, joined the peasants and did not appear at Alpatych’s request, and that in the morning, when the princess ordered to lay money to go, the peasants came out in a large crowd to the barn and sent to say that they would not let the princess out of the village, that there was an order not to be taken out, and they would unharness the horses. Alpatych came out to them, admonishing them, but they answered him (Karp spoke most of all; Dron did not appear from the crowd) that the princess could not be released, that there was an order for that; but let the princess stay, and they will serve her as before and obey her in everything.
At that moment, when Rostov and Ilyin galloped along the road, Princess Marya, despite the dissuading of Alpatych, the nanny and the girls, ordered the laying and wanted to go; but, seeing the galloping cavalrymen, they were mistaken for the French, the coachmen fled, and the crying of women arose in the house.
- Father! dear father! “God sent you,” said tender voices, while Rostov walked through the hallway.
Princess Marya, lost and powerless, sat in the hall while Rostov was brought to her. She did not understand who he was, and why he was, and what would happen to her. Seeing his Russian face and recognizing him from his entrance and the first words he spoke as a man of her circle, she looked at him with her deep and radiant gaze and began to speak in a voice that was broken and trembling with emotion. Rostov immediately imagined something romantic in this meeting. “A defenseless, grief-stricken girl, alone, left at the mercy of rude, rebellious men! And some strange fate pushed me here! - Rostov thought, listening to her and looking at her. - And what meekness, nobility in her features and expression! – he thought, listening to her timid story.
When she spoke about the fact that all this happened the day after her father’s funeral, her voice trembled. She turned away and then, as if afraid that Rostov would take her words for a desire to pity him, she looked at him inquiringly and fearfully. Rostov had tears in his eyes. Princess Marya noticed this and looked gratefully at Rostov with that radiant look of hers, which made one forget the ugliness of her face.
“I can’t express, princess, how happy I am that I came here by chance and will be able to show you my readiness,” said Rostov, getting up. “Please go, and I answer you with my honor that not a single person will dare to make trouble for you, if you only allow me to escort you,” and, bowing respectfully, as they bow to ladies of royal blood, he headed to the door.
By the respectful tone of his tone, Rostov seemed to show that, despite the fact that he would consider his acquaintance with her a blessing, he did not want to take advantage of the opportunity of her misfortune to get closer to her.
Princess Marya understood and appreciated this tone.
“I am very, very grateful to you,” the princess told him in French, “but I hope that all this was just a misunderstanding and that no one is to blame for it.” “The princess suddenly began to cry. “Excuse me,” she said.
Rostov, frowning, bowed deeply again and left the room.

- Well, honey? No, brother, my pink beauty, and their name is Dunyasha... - But, looking at Rostov’s face, Ilyin fell silent. He saw that his hero and commander was in a completely different way of thinking.
Rostov looked back angrily at Ilyin and, without answering him, quickly walked towards the village.
“I’ll show them, I’ll give them a hard time, the robbers!” - he said to himself.
Alpatych, at a swimming pace, so as not to run, barely caught up with Rostov at a trot.

TITLES AND UNIFORMS OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE.

COURT RANKS AND RANKS.

Persons who were at the court of the Russian emperors were called courtiers. They constituted the smallest, but most elite part of the bureaucracy. If in the first half of the 18th century the number of courtiers was several dozen people, then in 1914 there were already 1600 of them.

What were the Russian imperial courtiers like? There were three groups: court officials, court gentlemen and court ladies.

Back in 1711, courtiers were granted chamberlains and chamber cadets, who at that time were the main figures at court. After the introduction of the “Table of Ranks”, ranks appeared chief chamberlain imperial court, chief schenko, chief horseman, chief master of ceremonies, chief marshal and chamberlain, chief chamberlain And chamberlain. Almost all court ranks ended up in the ranks of generals, where the right to promotion to the next rank depended entirely on the discretion of the emperor.

Under Catherine II, the chief chamberlain became the most important rank of the court. He led the court cavaliers; he also represented to the members of the imperial family those who received the right of audience.

The Chief Chamberlain was in charge of the court staff and the finances of the court.

The chief marshal was in charge of all the household affairs of the court and court servants.

Ober-schenk was in charge of the wine cellars and the supply of wine to the courtyard.

The Chief of the Horse was in charge of the court stables.

Chief Jägermeister was in charge of the imperial hunt.

The chief ceremonial master was in charge of the organization various kinds court ceremonies.

Officials of various ranks tried their best to curry favor. For example, railway workers arranged various kinds of amenities in carriages for courtiers. And in gratitude for this they themselves received court titles as a reward.

Historical mosaic

The court rank gave its owner the opportunity to constantly and closely communicate with representatives of the royal family. A contemporary told the emperor as much Alexander III: “In Russia, the word of the person who has personal access to you will always be strong.” And the Chancellor of the German Empire, O. Bismarck, directly stated: “What I achieved, I achieved more as a chamberlain than as a minister.”

In the middle of the 19th century, 30 - 40 people held court ranks. But in 1914 - already 213.

SPECIAL COURTY RANKS

Chamberlain's ceremonial uniform

The first court ranks in Russia were the ranks "chamberlain" And "Chamber Junker" The duties of the holders of these ranks consisted of “duty under Her Imperial Majesty.”

IN late XVIII centuries, these titles were increasingly awarded to representatives of noble noble families without length of service in previous classes. And so it turned out that young people without a serious education found themselves high degrees. Although according to the staff of 1801, the set of chamberlains and chamber cadets was set at 12 people each, but by 1809 there were 76 chamberlains, and 70 chamber cadets. And therefore in early XIX centuries, court ranks ceased to confer the right to class. On the contrary, they complained to persons who already had civil ranks. This turn of events caused a murmur, since it took away the hope of a quick career and proximity to the court.

Alexey Alekseevich Bobrinsky (1800-1868) - son of Alexey Grigorievich Bobrinsky, grandson of Catherine II, count, guards officer, chamber cadet.

Since 1824, chamberlains and chamber cadets were no longer paid salaries. However, their number grew steadily. These titles gradually turned into an honorary award, giving the right to access to the palace. In 1914 the year of chamberlains and chamber-cadets was already 771 Human.

Chamber-page and page. His Imperial Majesty's Corps of Pages

Among the court cavaliers were also chamber-pages and pages. Under the leadership of the chief chamberlain there were 12 chamber-pages and 48 pages. Sons and grandsons of dignitaries of the first three classes could become pages. Usually young people were brought up in His Majesty's Page Corps. It was elite educational institution, founded in the middle of the 18th century. Pages last year training were attracted to service at court. The best of them received the title of chamber-pages and were constantly on duty with the emperor or one of the members of the imperial family. The duties of the pages consisted of participating in various kinds of ceremonies. Pages accompanied members of the imperial family, carried trains, held ladies' capes, and the like. Naturally, acquaintance with members of the imperial family helped the pages in their subsequent careers.

State Lady Mavra Shuvalova with a portrait of Empress Elizaveta Petrovna on a moire ribbon.

Maid of honor Praskovya Nikolaevna Repnina. With the lady-in-waiting code of Catherine II on a moire ribbon.

There were several honorary court titles for ladies and maidens. For ladies - state lady. Girls especially often complained about the title maids of honor. Only unmarried women could be maids of honor. The title of maid of honor gave the girl the opportunity to make a “brilliant match” when she got married. At the same time, she received a dowry from the court. And in some cases, the wedding itself was celebrated in the palace.

Historical mosaic

Alexander Pushkin portrait by O. A. Kiprensky

It is known that on December 31, 1833, A. S. Pushkin received the honorary title of chamber cadet. The court wanted to see his wife, and the title of chamber cadet opened the way for Pushkin to the palace. However, the poet considered this title insignificant and was offended. The poet's friends also considered the title unworthy of Alexander Sergeevich. They believed that Pushkin should have been a chamberlain. Let's look from a formal point of view. Pushkin at that time had the rank of “titular adviser,” or the rank of IX class. And according to the rules, he could not claim the title of chamberlain.

However, among the chamber cadets of that time there were many younger than Pushkin, which, of course, greatly offended the poet. In addition, the rank of chamber cadet was the lowest of the court ranks. And although it opened the way for the poet to the court, at his age it was considered humiliating.

ROYAL EXITS

Great royal exit. Coronation of Nicholas II

An honorary award for Russian citizens was considered to be presence atroyal exits. The exit was the solemn procession of members of the imperial family from the inner apartments to the palace church or the Throne Room.

Outputs were divided into big And small. Large exits were scheduled on the occasion of “major church holidays and special days.” Small - “on ordinary holidays and Sundays" The holidays also included the name days of members of the imperial family.

In the Winter Palace, before the start of the procession, members of the imperial family gathered in the Malachite Hall. Then, in order of seniority, they went to church. In the Winter Palace, the procession followed through the state halls: Concert, Nikolaevsky, Antechamber, Field Marshal, Petrovsky, Armorial, Picket.

In addition to the imperial family, court officials, gentlemen and ladies took part in these appearances.

A precisely defined circle of people was invited to the exits. The small exits were attended by ladies of the court, the first ranks of the court, generals and officers of the retinue, and several second ranks of the court.

Much more people were invited to big events. In the halls along the march route, persons with the highest civil ranks, generals and officers of the retinue, guard, army and navy, as well as civil dignitaries of the first four classes, gathered on special agendas. Their wives and daughters could be present at the exit if they were presented to the empress.

Sometimes city mayors and merchants of the 1st guild were invited to the outings. On especially solemn occasions, the highest clergy and the diplomatic corps were invited.

During large exits, a picket from the Cavalry Guard Regiment lined up near the hall closest to the inner apartments. Being in the hall “behind the cavalry guards” (that is, closer to the imperial family) was considered a great honor. By the way, this right was used by those awarded the highest Russian orders - St. Andrew the First-Called and St. George of the 1st and 2nd degrees.

At the same time, contemporaries compared receptions at court with the stock exchange. You could find a lot of them at once the right people, talk to them, arrange your affairs.

Historical mosaic

Not everyone considered the right to attend the royal exit a great honor. Those who had to attend such receptions as a matter of duty considered their duty difficult, boring and exhausting. Some simply tried to evade its implementation. So in 1834, Nicholas I was forced to make a remark about the fact that some chamberlains and chamber cadets did not show up on April 14 in connection with the all-night vigil.

Alexander II in January 1863 expressed displeasure that “during the marriage of Her Imperial Highness Princess Maria Maximilianovna with His Grand Ducal Highness, those present in the church allowed themselves to talk among themselves, which caused such noise that the service could hardly be heard.”

ROYAL BALLS

Court ball in the Nicholas Hall of the Winter Palace

An invitation to a ball at the palace was considered no less honorable. Two thousand people were invited to large balls in the Winter Palace. The circle of invitees was determined by their ranks. In addition to court officials, gentlemen and ladies, there were high officers and officials present, St. George's Knights, governors, leaders of the nobility and chairmen of earthly councils. Among the ladies present were the spouses and daughters of those persons who had a rank of at least IV class, the spouses of colonels and former ladies-in-waiting (with their husbands).

A man was invited to a court ball only if he had the right to be presented to the emperor. A lady was invited only if she had previously presented herself to the Empress. This right was primarily given to court ranks, gentlemen and ladies, as well as military and civilian ranks of the first four classes and some other persons.

Historical mosaic

Chamberlain's key

What kind of key are we talking about when they say "Chamberlain's key"?

The fact is that the court uniforms were the same. And ranks and titles had to be distinguished. And such insignia, for example, the minister of the imperial court, chief marshal and chief master of ceremonies had special batons or canes.

Chief Chamberlain's Key

Chamberlains had golden keys as their badge and rank since 1762. The Chief Chamberlain's key was studded with diamonds and worn on the hip on the right side on a gold cord with two massive tassels. On ordinary days, such a key could be replaced with a gold one, but with enamel. The chamberlains carried the key on a blue ribbon, tied in a bow, on the left side, near the pocket flap.

Having lost their functionality, the chamberlain's keys became more elegant and were particularly beautiful. Ancient keys began to be made using gilding, and their heads were decorated with monograms and coats of arms of monarchs. The rank of chamberlain in Russia appeared in 1711 after the official marriage of Peter the Great with Marta Skavronskaya, who almost immediately began reforming the existing court staff in accordance with European standards. So, chamberlains began to replace ordinary lawyers with keys, room sleeping bags and stewards. Since uniforms for court servants did not yet exist in those days, the main symbol of the position was the chamberlain’s key.

In 1762, Catherine II came to the throne and immediately began to redevelop the farm. She determined the list of duties of the chamberlains and granted them the rank of conditional major general, obliged to stand at the throne and carry the train behind the empress. The chamberlains received not only a general's uniform, but also a golden key, which served as a sign of correcting the title of the position.

The chamberlains' keys could be different. Servants who managed to achieve the rank of chief chamberlain received golden keys encrusted with diamonds from the empress. They were worn on a special gold chain with two massive tassels. Both during the reign of Katerina and under Alexander I, chamberlain keys were made by craftsmen from gold, and their cost in 1805 was five hundred rubles.

Historians and antiquarians have found that until 1833 there was no single example of a chamberlain key. Under Alexander I, such keys were most often made arbitrarily or based on tradition. This caused dissatisfaction among the employees, so it was decided to work on the production of a single sample of the chamberlain's key, which was eventually approved in October 1833.

From that time until the beginning of 1917, the ancient chamberlain key differed only in the shape of the state coat of arms and the outline of the golden eagle that served as the handle of the key. The initials of the ruling emperor were also changed. According to the statute of the 18th - early 19th centuries, antique chamberlain keys were made exclusively of gold. Over time, the position of chamberlain lost its importance, and with it, chamberlain keys were no longer made.

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At the papal court[ | ]

The head of the economic affairs of the popes is traditionally called camerlengo. This is a position in the Roman Curia. The term "Domini Papae camerarius" appears in documents from 1159. Previously and now he has the right to enter the pope’s chambers, for which he has his own key. Under some pontiffs, the chamberlain acted as a secretary and confidant, under others - as an official who headed the financial service - the Apostolic Chamber (camera). The chamberlain was also in charge of the material assets of the Apostolic See.

In France [ | ]

Numerous attempts to strictly regulate the assignment and maintenance of the title of chamberlain, even in the form of the highest decrees and commands, did not bring the desired result, since they contradicted the ambitious interests of the nobility and the practice of using personal connections in the activities of the Ministry of the Imperial Household. As a result, over time, the title began to lose its former significance. In the second half of the 19th century, the title of chamberlain was awarded to many people who had nothing to do with serving at court (for example, poets Tyutchev and Fet, composer Rimsky-Korsakov). The chamberlain was abolished along with the imperial court during the February Revolution.

At different times, a number of the highest decrees were issued regulating the uniform and appearance of the chamberlain. Thus, by decree of March 11 (23), the chamberlains, along with other ranks of the court, were ordered to “... have a ceremonial uniform of dark green cloth with a red cloth collar and the same cuffs. Gold embroidery according to the pattern that currently exists: on the collar, cuffs, pocket flaps, under them and on the floors, it is wide, and along ... the coattails it is narrow; on the side of the chest there are embroidered brandenburs; gilded buttons with a picture State emblem". By decree of March 30 (April 11), persons with court ranks were prohibited from wearing a mustache and beard. The ban was motivated by the fact that “many of those holding the rank of chamberlains and chamber cadets allow themselves to wear mustaches, which are assigned only to the military, and beards in the form of Jews.”

Notes [ | ]

Evreinov V. A. Court ranks // Testimony of ancient Russian civil and court ranks with an explanation of each// Civil rank production in Russia. - St. Petersburg. : Printing house of A. S. Suvorin, 1887. - P. 73. - , VI, X, 246 p.
About the position of court gentlemen // , 1830. - T. XVI. From June 28, 1762 to 1764. No. 11645. - P. 54.
Alexander I. On the non-assignment of any rank, either military or civilian, to the ranks of chamberlain and chamber cadet, and on the obligation of persons holding these ranks to enter into active service and continue it in the established order from the initial ranks // Complete collection of laws of the Russian Empire, since 1649 . - St. Petersburg. : Printing house of the II department of His Imperial Majesty’s Own Chancellery, 1830. - T. XXX. 1808-1809. No. 23559. - pp. 899-900.
On the dismissal of chamberlains and chamberlain cadets from service // Complete collection of laws of the Russian Empire, since 1649. - St. Petersburg. : Printing house of the II department of His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery, 1830. - T. XXXIII. 1815-1816. No. 26510. - P. 1084.
, With. 31-32.
, With. 32.
Actual Privy Councilors// List of civil ranks of the first six classes by seniority. 1850. State of ranks on December 20, 1849 - St. Petersburg. : Printing house of the II department of His Imperial Majesty’s Own Chancellery, 1850. - P. 16.