Job Titles for a Medieval Official?

[Stoat]

What would you call the official responsible for overseeing shipments into and out of a harbor, keeping the dockside in good repair, and collecting necessary taxes and tariffs on imported goods?

I could have sworn there was something directly on point in either the First or Second Edition DMG, but a quick look through both books revealed nothing.

I'm looking for a term that sounds both important and medievalish. "Harbormaster" or "Dockwarder" won't do.

Any suggestions?

 

[Umbran]

I'm looking for a term that sounds both important and medievalish. "Harbormaster" or "Dockwarder" won't do.

As I recall, the English medieval term is Harbourmaster. He's Master of the Harbour. The title "master" is certainly in-period, as it was used in various trade guilds of the time.

 

[Templeton580]

Not entirely accurate for this usage, but "the agent or steward in charge of a lord's estate in feudal times" was called the seneschal. I've always liked that term.

 

[jonesy]

Or maybe Dock Master?

Medieval Occupations

 

[Derulbaskul]

There's actually an old English title Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports that dates from the 12th century to present day. Cinque is from the Spanish (?) for five.

(I remember this title because it was held by a former Australian PM and, before him, the legendary Winston Churchill.)

 

[UngainlyTitan]

There's actually an old English title Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports that dates from the 12th century to present day. Cinque is from the Spanish (?) for five.

(I remember this title because it was held by a former Australian PM and, before him, the legendary Winston Churchill.)

Except that a court title for someone at the royal court that has charge or some strategic resource. The guy on the ground locally would be the harbourmaster and i would expect that, that is exactly what he was called in medieval England.

 

[Umbran]

There's actually an old English title Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports that dates from the 12th century to present day. Cinque is from the Spanish (?) for five.

The name's from the French - the Cinque Ports are on the south eastern coast of Britain: Hastings, New Romney, Hythe, Dover, and Sandwich.

The Lord Warden wasn't' so much dealing with the day-to-day operation of the ports. The post was originally created because the Cinque Ports were exempt from the King's Sherrifs. The Lord Warden was more about collecting taxes and arresting criminals than about what boat gets into what dock, and who unloads which ship.

 

[Celebrim]

That's a tough one.

1) Harbourmaster - It's a good generic term and sufficient translation probably for a real term (if it existed), but it definately isn't medieval. In medieval English, a Harbour isn't a specifically naval term and refers to a place of safety generally. If you said 'herebeorg mægester' in the 10th century they wouldn't have had a clue, and in the 12th century they probably would have thought you were talking poeticly about an inn keeper.

2) Dockwarden - 18th century, and it doesn't refer to harbors generally but to dry docks.

3) Dock Master - The providence of this title as medieval is doubtful. It seems to have one unattested source, and that being a widely circulated informal list that gives us such doubtful medieval jobs as "Aeronaut" (ballooning aparantly being all the rage in the 13th century?). This seems like no more than a self-referential viral web source. I can't find a firm reference earlier to the 19th century, as the title of a post in a large port of lower rank than the Harbor Master.

4) Captain of the Port - That's about the best I can do; I can't attest to it's genuineness yet. It's certainly a modern term, but its also one that would I think be understood at an earlier time. I can't find out how old it is.

5) Warden of the Port - If that's actually attested, it's certainly believable.

Your best bet here is to look for a Roman word for the same official. It was very likely current and understood in the midieval period. One very real possibility though is that there was no formal position during the medieval period.

UPDATE:

6) I think the Roman term for the official is Portitor - the term for someone who collects the taxes at a harbor. It might be worth researching the titles of midieval tax officials.

 

[Stoat]

Thanks for the replies. As I said in the OP, "Harbormaster," "Dockwarder" and the like aren't quite what I'm looking form. "Portitor" is more what I had in mind.

Some background:

Two weeks ago, the PC's in my campaign resolved a blood feud in their hometown with some crafty political maneuvering. Part of the settlement, involved putting one of the aggrieved NPC's in charge of the town's public warehouse/dockside.

I want to give this guy a title that will sound archaic and appropriate to my players. Absolute historical accuracy is less important to me than flavor. I could've sworn one I'd seen a reference to the official responsible for maintaining the dockside scales. Does that ring any bells to anybody?

 

[Beginning of the End]

This sounded interesting, so I poked my GM (Justin Alexander) who also dabbled in medieval history and Shakespearean studies. He confirmed that the historically accurate term you're looking for is "harbormaster", but went on to say...

If you're just looking for something that sounds good:

Portshrieve

Shrieve is an archaic term for "sherriff", meaning one who oversees a shire. In this case, the term has been adapted to one who oversees the port. One could even lace some additional meaning into the term by claiming that the port was identified as a shire independent from the city's government due to some historical political shenanigans.

Portenta

Did you know that the word "portent" is etymologically derived from "port" because the earliest portents were the portentum which the priestesses of the sea goddess read in the waxing and waning of the tides and the stormy weathers of the sea?

No, that's completely not true. But it could be. And in this world the harbor is run by a Portenta because the position derives from that ancient priesthood.

Harborvant

Your players may notice the similarity to the heraldic office of pursuivant, but the title literally means "The One Who Tends to the Wants of the Harbor".

Other possibilities would include baytenant, wharfchief, tidewarder, portculler, or the Sentinel of the Sea.