Comes
Comes is the Latin word for companion, either individually or as a member of a collective known as comitatus (compare comitatenses), especially the suite of a magnate, in some cases large and/or formal enough to have a specific name, such as a cohors amicorum.
Some notable specific meanings developed, to which this article is devoted.
In the Roman pagan religion
Comes was a common epitheton (title, added to the name, as Catholicism still does with Jesus and much- venerated saints, such as in Our Lady of Lourdes) for a hero or a (usually minor) divinity, marking it out as linked to a (major) divinity, or several celestials to each other.
Imperially bestowed court titles and various offices of Comites
Historically more significant, Comes became a profane title given to trusted (ex-)courtiers and others as a mark of imperial confidence, developping into a formal rank, rather equivalent to the hellenistic Philos (Basilikos) or the Carolingian (knight) paladine, and therefore the title was retained when one was appointed—often promoted—to a post away from court, often in the field or provincial administration; next, it seemed logical to link it to specific charges calling for an incumbent of high rank, and even to make it part of the official title.
As the court grew in size and gained political influence, the emperors established a casual practice of appointing loyal servants to various posts. This process had already been utilized elsewhere, as with the Prefect of the Praetorian Guard and the Amici Principis. As the imperial system expanded, however, new offices were needed and decentralization demanded change. The result was the creation of the rank of "comes" or count.
The comites (translated as counts, though neither feudal nor hereditary) became leading officials of the Roman Empire. They wielded posts of every description, from the army to the civil service, while never surrendering their direct links and access to the emperors. Constantine took the final step of certifying the posts so that they were permanent fixtures of imperial government.
They are listed in full for the begin of the Vth century in the Notitia dignitatum, and a schematic map of comital military posts in English translation is available at The Friesian project. At later dates, additional posts have been created.
The following are examples of the various types of comites, at court, in the imperial domains or in the military (ranking higher than dux) :
| Comes Africae -- Count in charge of the defense of Roman Africa. |
| Comes Avernorum -- Count in charge of the defense of part of Gaul (Gallia). |
| Comes Britanniarum -- Count in charge of defense of Roman Britain (Britannia). This post presumably died out circa 410 A.D., when the last Romans in the isles sailed away forever. |
| Comes dispositonum -- A deputy to the very powerful Magister Officiorum (master of offices); responsible for organizing the imperial calendar and preparing the correspondence for distribution to the proper offices for transcription. |
| Comes domesticorum -- Head of the Domestici, a corps of bodyguards of the emperor who were stationed in the imperial palace. This count controlled both the horse and foot units. |
| Comes Hispaniarum -- Count in charge of the defense of Roman Spain (Hispania). |
| Comes Orientis -- Actually one of the Vicarii, this count had control over the large imperial diocese of Oriens, supervising the governors of this major group of provinces, but was himself under supervison of the Praefectus Praetorio (whose larger resort was, confusingly, also called Oriens, which simply means the East "where the Sun rises"). |
| Comes privatae largitionis -- Count in charge of the privy purse, answerable and subordinate to the comes rerum privatarum. |
| Comes rerum privatarum -- Powerful imperial officer responsible for the private estates or holdings of the emperor and his family (res privata). The count maintained the properties and collected all monies from rent, of which most went to the public funds and some to the privy purse administered by the comes privatae largitionis. |
| Comes sacrarum largitionum -- Master of the Sacred Largess, this count operated the imperial finances. He controlled all of the mints, collected senatorial taxes, custom duties and some land taxes. He was also responsible for the yields of the mines. The count provided budgets for the civil service and armies and supplied all uniforms. |
| Comes sacrae vestis -- Count in charge of the wardrobe of the emperor. See also praepositus sacri cubiculi. |
horse guards corps of Comites
The Comites dominorom nostrurum (plural of Comes D.N.; literally "Companions of our lords') were a mounted imperial body guard during Diocletian's tetrarchy (circa 300 AD).
medieval usage
In the feudal tradition, Latin was often used, especially in legal documents, as (sometimes sole) official language, so the rendering in Latin was no less important then the original in the spoken vernacular. Thus, comes has been used as the Latin equivalent (or part of it) of all titles of comital rank, whether containing Count (or some other word etymologically derived from Comes, or in many other languages from Graf).
- Similarly it is part of the rendering (not always exclusive) of derived lower titles containing such term, notably Vicecomes for Viscount and Burgicomes (alongside burgravio) for Burgrave