A sumilher da cortina (Portuguese pronunciation: [sumiˈʎɛɾ ðɐ kuɾˈtinɐ], lit. official of the curtain, usually rendered in English as chaplain of honour[1][2]) was an officer of the Portuguese royal household, chosen from among the kingdom's most important prelates, of noble background.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/Nuno_da_Cunha_e_Ata%C3%ADde.png/220px-Nuno_da_Cunha_e_Ata%C3%ADde.png)
The sumilher da cortina was responsible for drawing the curtain of the gallery of the Royal Chapel as the king entered for divine office; he was tasked as well with removing the dust guard off the king's kneeler for his prayers,[3] and with cleaning the Gospel Book and the pax before the king could kiss them.[4] The sumilher da cortina additionally drew the king's bed hangings at night and in the morning.[5]
There was no fixed number of sumilheres da cortina.[4] King Peter II named several sumilheres da cortina, and most were the sons of important court figures.[4]
References
edit- ^ Vieyra, Anthony; Canto, J. Dias do (1827). A Dictionary of the Portuguese and English Languages, Volume 1. London: J. Collingwood.
- ^ d'Auvergne, Edmund Basil (1910). The Bride of Two Kings: A Forgotten Tragedy of the Portuguese Court. London: Hutchinson & Co. p. 124.
- ^ Freire, Antonio de Oliveira (1755). Descripçam Corografica do Reyno de Portugal [A Chorographic Description of the Kingdom of Portugal] (in Portuguese). Lisbon: Officina de Bernardo Anton. de Oliveir. p. 83.
- ^ a b c Troni, Joana Leandro Pinheiro de Almeida (2014). A casa real portuguesa ao tempo de D. Pedro II (1668-1706) [The Portuguese Royal Household at the time of Peter II (1668-1706)] (Doctoral thesis) (in Portuguese). Faculty of Letters, University of Lisbon. hdl:10451/10712. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ Castro, João Bautista de (1762). Mappa de Portugal Antigo, e Moderno [Map of Portugal Ancient and Modern] (in Portuguese). Lisbon: Officina Patriarcal de Francisco Luiz Ameno. p. 425.