Raetia Curiensis (in Latin; German : Churrätien , Romansh : Currezia ) was an early medieval province in Central Europe , named after the preceding Roman province of Raetia prima which retained its Romansh culture during the Migration Period , while the adjacent territories in the north were largely settled by Alemannic tribes. The administrative capital was Chur ( Curia Raetorum ) in the present Swiss canton of Grisons .
36-613: The territory of the province roughly corresponded to modern Grisons (without the southern Misox and Puschlav valleys), plus Liechtenstein , parts of Vorarlberg (the Ill valley with Feldkirch , Damüls , Großwalsertal , and Montafon ), as well as the Alpine Rhine valley in the Canton of St. Gallen and adjacent Sarganserland . Until the 12th century, also the Vinschgau region,
72-464: A Roman governor . They included: Exceptionally, a gubernatorial position was styled " comes ". For example, the comes Orientis , actually one of the vicarii , was an official who controlled the large and strategically important Imperial Diocese of the East by supervising the governors of this collection of provinces, but he was in turn supervised by the praefectus praetorio Orientis . Further,
108-791: A praeses . Nevertheless, it appears that the Chur bishops remained de facto independent rulers. In 537 King Vitiges had to cede the northern lands up to Lake Constance to the Frankish king Theudebert I in turn for his support in the Gothic War against the Byzantine Empire . Shortly afterwards, by 548, Theudebert expanded his rule over all the Churraetia lands, which finally lost the direct connection to Italy. Nevertheless, though there are only very limited historical sources for
144-476: A " Grossgau ". The essential competences of the comes were comprehensive in his pagus : martial, judicial, and executive; and in documents he is often described as the " agens publicus " ("public agent") of the King or " judex publicus/fiscalis " ("royal judge"). He was at once public prosecutor and judge, and was responsible for the execution of the sentences as well. As the delegate of the executive power, he had
180-605: A formal, dignitary title, derived from the " Companions " of Alexander the Great and rather equivalent to the Hellenistic title of " philos basilikos " or the paladin title of a knight of the Holy Roman Empire and a Papal Palatinus . Thus the title was retained when the titulary was appointed, often promoted, to an office away from court, frequently in the field or a provincial administration. Subsequently, it
216-720: A medieval German/Latin language boundary at Walensee and the Churfirsten can still be perceived from the prevalence of Latin toponymy. Misox The Valle Mesolcina , also known as the Val Mesolcina or Misox (German), is an alpine valley of the Grisons , Switzerland , stretching from the San Bernardino Pass to Grono where it joins the Calanca Valley . It is the valley formed by
252-546: A vast Imperial demesne . The ecclesiastical (episcopal) and secular (comital) claims to power remained a source of contention. With Churraetia as a power base, the Hunfriding heirs were able to gather enough power that Count Burchard II was able to proclaim himself a duke of Swabia in 917. At the same time, the former Raetia province was absorbed into the re-established Swabian stem duchy . For this reason, Churraetia remained nominally part of Swabia and by extension of
288-558: The Western Empire : comes Italiae , comes Africae , comes Tingitaniae , comes Tractus Argentoratensis , comes Britanniarum and comes Litoris Saxonici ; as well as two in the Eastern Empire: comes (limitis) Aegypti and comes Isauriae . As the number of comites increased, that dignity became devalued. This resulted in the introduction of classes of comites , denominated and ranked
324-609: The Christianization in the 4th century, the Bishopric of Chur arose in Raetia Curiensis ; a first bishop is mentioned in 451/52. Still under Italian rule during the tenure of King Odoacer , Raetia Curiensis nominally passed to Ostrogothic Kingdom in 493, and King Theoderic the Great again began to appoint dux governors, who however had only military competences, while civil administration remained with
360-613: The Holy Roman Empire even though it had not historically been part of Alemannia. Chur suffered several invasions in the 10th century, by the Magyars in 925/6, and by the Saracens in 940 and 954. In parallel with the development of feudalism in Western Europe, political power became fragmented over the 10th and 11th centuries, and Churraetia was divided into the three counties of Oberrätien, Unterrätien and Vinschgau . In
396-473: The " graf " became a noble count. In the feudal tradition, Latin was, especially in law, the official language, and therefore the rendering in Latin was equal in importance to the vernacular title. Thus, " comes " has been used as the Latin equivalent, or part of it, of all titles of comital office, whether containing " count " or some other word etymologically derived from " comes " or " graf ". Similarly, it
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#1732765940980432-458: The 12th century, these fell to the counts of Buchhorn , Bregenz and Tyrol , respectively. In the later medieval period, the bishops of Chur regained a certain amount of secular influence, which was however more limited in extent, restricted to the Chur itself, the Domleschg , Engadin , Bergell , Chiavenna , Bormio and Vinschgau . Raetia as a geographic designation remained in use at
468-408: The 770s onwards, Charlemagne appointed the bishops of Chur himself, increasing Frankish control over the territory. Upon the death of Bishop Remedius in 806 or 807, he legislated a division between episcopal and comital property ( divisio inter episcopatum et comitatum ), ending the de facto secular rule of the Chur bishops. He appointed Hunfried I comes curiensis (or Reciarum comes ), ruling over
504-515: The Port"). The title " comes consistorianus " or " comes consistorialis " indicated specially appointed members to the consistorium , the council of the Roman emperor's closest advisors. The comes rei militaris held martial appointments, and commanded comitatenses . He ranked superior to a dux but inferior to the magister peditum or magister equitum ; he functioned as
540-483: The Praetorian Guard and the amici principis . As Imperial administration expanded, however, new offices became necessary and decentralization demanded modifications. The result was the institution of the rank of " comes ". The " comites ", often translated as "counts", though they were neither feudal nor hereditary, became principal officials of the later Roman Empire . They held offices of all kinds from
576-490: The army to the civil service, while retaining their direct access to the Emperor. Emperor Constantine I finalized them as the governmental echelon of " comites provinciarum " ("counts of the provinces"); the comites of the new echelon were assigned alongside the vicarii in the civil dioceses of the latter so that the comites became permanent fixtures of Imperial government. The comites were fully enumerated as early as
612-586: The beginning of the AD 5th century in the Notitia Dignitatum , but as offices were later added, it is not historically exhaustive. The following sections describe examples of the kinds of comites . Several of the major departments of the Imperial Curia ("Court") and household had a principal official who was styled " comes " and assisted by an " officium " ("staff") very similar to that of
648-492: The departments of their royal households, including but not limited to the: The Frankish kings of the Merovingian dynasty retained much of Roman administration, including the office and title of " comes ", the original meaning of which they preserved, i. e., a companion of the king and a royal servant of high dignity. Under the early Frankish kings some comites did not have definite functions: they were merely attached to
684-798: The end of the medieval period, when political power passed to the Three Leagues ( Drei Bünde ) federation. When the Free State of the Three Leagues eventually joined the Helvetic Republic in 1798, the territory was incorporated as the Canton of Raetia . Finally, with the Napoleonic Act of Mediation of 1803, establishing the Swiss Confederacy , the canton was named Grisons ( Graubünden ). In contrast to
720-417: The first, second, and third " ordines ". The comites dominorum nostrorum (plural of comes dominorum nostrorum ; lit. ' Companions of Our Lords [Emperors] ' ) were a mounted Imperial bodyguard during the tetrarchy of Emperor Diocletian in circa 300 AD. The Goths that ruled Spain and Italy followed the Roman tradition of granting the title of " comes " to the various principals of
756-720: The following Merovingian period, the commercial ties with the Italian Kingdom of the Lombards south of the Alps remained vital. It also seems likely that the bishops of Chur still remained in charge as de facto rulers of what was now a remote province on the outer margins of the Frankish kingdom, until in the 740s the Carolingian campaigns against the likewise de facto independent duchy of Alemannia re-attached it to
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#1732765940980792-523: The germs of discord, on account of the confusion of his public and private obligations. According to philologists, the Anglo-Saxon word " gerefa ", denoting "illustrious chief", however, is not connected to the German " Graf ", which originally meant "servant"; compare the etymologies of the words "knight" and "valet". It is the more curious that the " gerefa " should end as a subservient reeve while
828-478: The old Roman civitates ("cities", or polities) which became the basis of the new medieval bishoprics. In Carolingian times, the governor of a pagus was a Comes , corresponding to the German Graf . The King appointed the comites to serve at his pleasure. The modern German-derived term sometimes for a count who governed a whole gau is " Gaugraf ", and a gau containing several counties is sometimes called
864-637: The person of the King and executed his orders. Others filled the highest offices, e. g. the Comes Palatii and Comes Stabuli (from which the contemporary title of " constable " derives). Yet other comites served as regional officials. For administrative purposes, the Merovingian kingdoms were still divided into small Roman districts denominated " pagi " (hence the French " pays "), or similarly sized new creations " Gaue ". These were smaller than
900-717: The population adheres to Roman Catholicism , but there is a significant Protestant presence which is part of a Reformed community. located in Grono and adhering to the Evangelical Reformed Church of the Canton of Grisons . Comes Comes (plural comites ), translated as count , was a Roman title, generally linked to a comitatus or comital office. The word comes originally meant "companion" or "follower", deriving from " com- " ("with") and " ire " ("go"). The special lasting meaning derives from
936-411: The position of a follower within a comitatus , which was a retinue, or group of followers, such as those of magnates . In some instances these were sufficiently large and/or formal to justify specific denomination, such as a " cohors amicorum ". The word comes is the origin of the much later terms for counts within the medieval nobility, and counties as their territorial jurisdictions. Comes
972-583: The principal officials of some less important governmental departments who were under the authority of otherwise styled, high ranking, territorial officials could be titled " comes ", e. g. under the praefectus urbi of Rome , himself a vir illustris , was a comes formarum , comes riparum et alvei Tiberis et Cloacarum ("Count of the Coast of the Tiber and the Canalisation"), and comes Portus ("Count of
1008-539: The realm. Several ecclesiastical and secular offices were held by members of the Victorid dynasty . In the mid-8th century a surviving Lex Romana Curiensis , a "Roman Law of Chur", was an abbreviated epitome of the Breviary of Alaric . After the death of the last Victorid bishop Tello of Chur in 765, King Charlemagne took the occasion to issue a document of protection declaring Tello's successors his vassals. From
1044-614: The remaining part of the former province of Raetia, Churraetia managed to retain its Latin character, giving rise to the Romansh language , spoken throughout its territory during the Middle Ages. Raetia prima was occasionally known as Raetia Curiensis even from the 4th century, and the German name Churrätien is simply an adaptation of the Latin name. Historically, it was also known as Churwalchen , Churwahlen in German ( walha "Latin/Romance", c.f. Walenstadt ). The existence of
1080-453: The right to exercise the " bannis regis " ("royal ban "), which gave him the right to command his military in the name of the King and to act as necessary to preserve the peace. As the King's representative, he exercised the royal right of protection (" mundium regis ") of churches, widows, orphans, and the like. He enjoyed a triple " wergeld ", but had no definite salary, being remunerated by receipt of specific revenues, which system contained
1116-860: The river Moesa . Like the Val Bregaglia or the Val Poschiavo , the Valle Mesolcina is a valley lying south of the main ridge of the Alps . Although politically the Valle Mesolcina belongs to the Grisons, its population is predominantly Italian-speaking and culturally oriented towards the Ticino . The valley includes the Mesocco and Roveredo of the Moesa district , including: The majority of
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1152-476: The superior of a series of military stations, each commanded by a praepositus limitis ("border commander") and/or as a unit commander, e. g., of tribunes of cohorts, of alae (auxiliary equivalents), of numeri , and in the Eastern Empire even of legions . The Notitia Dignitatum of the early-5th century AD enumerates six such offices, being of the dignity of vir spectabilis , in
1188-592: The valley called Urseren , and possibly Galtür and either parts or all of Glarus belonged to Raetia Curiensis . After the Alpine regions were conquered during the campaigns of Emperor Augustus in 15 BC, the lands between the Inn and Danube rivers were incorporated into the Provincia Raetia et Vindelicia , an Imperial province governed by a Senator exercising the functions of a Praetor . The province
1224-454: Was a common epithet or title that was added to the name of a hero or god in order to denote relation with another god. The coinage of Roman Emperor Constantine I declared him " comes " to Sol Invictus ("Unconquered Sun") qua god. Historically more significant, " comes " became a secular title granted to trusted officials of the Imperial Curia ("Court"), present or former, and others as sign of Imperial confidence. It developed into
1260-758: Was divided into the mountainous part of Raetia prima and northeastern Raetia secunda in the Alpine foothills during the reforms enacted by Emperor Diocletian in 297. Both were assigned to the Diocese of Italia under the Praetorian prefecture of Italy and placed under the military authority of a dux . The civil administration was entrusted to lower-ranking praeses officials, who took their seats at Curia Raetorum (Chur) and Augusta Vindelicorum ( Augsburg ). The northeastern border of Raetia Curiensis with Raetia Vindelica cannot be determined exactly. During
1296-601: Was thought logical to connect the title to specific offices that demanded an incumbent official of high dignity, and even to include it as part of the official title. As the Imperial Roman Curia increased in number and assimilated all political power, the Roman Emperors instituted a casual practice of appointing faithful servants to offices. This had been done elsewhere, e. g. regarding the Prefect of
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