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Marshal

Official titles in various branches of society

  • 24 min read
  • 9 chapters

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Through Society, Middle Ages and Army

In most countries, the rank of Marshal is the highest Army rank.

Etymology

Marshal is an ancient loanword from Old French mareschal (cf. Modern French maréchal), which in turn is borrowed from Old Frankish *marskalk "stable boy, keeper, servant", attested by Medieval Latin mariscalcus from a Proto-Germanic *maraχskalkaz (cf. Old High German marahschalh) being still evident in Middle Dutch maerscalc, marscal, and in modern Dutch maarschalk (="military chief commander"; the meaning influenced by the French use).

It is cognate with Old High German mar(ah)-scalc "id.", modern German (Feld-)Marschall (="military chief commander"; the meaning again influenced by the French use).

It originally and literally meant "horse servant", a compound of *marha- "horse" (cf. English mare and modern German Mähre, meaning "horse of bad quality") and *skalk- "servant" (cf. Old English sċealc "servant, retainer, member of a crew" ) and outdated German Schalk, meaning "high-ranking servant". This "horse servant" origin is retained in the current French name for farrier: maréchal-ferrant.

The late Roman and Byzantine title of comes stabuli ("count of the stables") is similar in meaning, which became the Old French conestable and modern connétable, and, borrowed from the Old French, the English word constable. Finally, in Byzantium, a marshal with elevated authority, notably a borderlands military command, was also known as an exarch.

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