the
office of _grand chambrier_, held by great feudal nobles seldom at
court, became more and more honorary, the chamberlains grew in power, in
numbers and in rank, until, in the 13th century, one of them emerges as
a great officer of state, the _chambellan de France_ or _grand
chambellan_ (also _magister cambellanorum, mestre chamberlenc_), who at
times shares with the _grand chambrier_ the revenues derived from
certain trades in the city of Paris (see _Regestum Memoralium Camerae
computorum_, quoted in du Cange, s. _Cameranus_). The honorary office of
_grand chambrier_ survived till the time of Henry II., who was himself
the last to hold it before his accession; that of _grand chambellan_,
which in its turn soon became purely honorary, survived till the
Revolution. Among the prerogatives of the _grand chambellan_ which
survived to the last not the least valued was the right to hand the king
his shirt at the ceremonial levee. The offices of _grand chambellan,
premier chambellan_, and _chambellan_ were revived by Napoleon,
continued under the Restoration, abolished by Louis Philippe, and again
restored by Napoleon III.

In the papal Curia the apostolic chamberlain (Lat. _camerarius_, Ital.
_camerlingo_) occupies a very important position. He is at the head of
the treasury (_camera thesauraria_) and, in the days of the temporal
power, not only administered the papal finances but possessed an
extensive civil and criminal jurisdiction. During a vacancy of the Holy
See he is at the head of the administration of the Roman Church. The
office dates from the 11th century, when it superseded that of
archdeacon of the Roman Church, and the close personal relations of the
_camerarius_ with the pope, together with the fact that he is the
official guardian of the ceremonial vestments and treasures, point to
the fact that he is also the representative of the former _vestararius_
and _vice-dominus_, whose functions were merged in the new office, of
which the idea and title were probably borrowed from the usage of the
secular courts of the West (Hinschius, _Kirchenrecht_, i. 405, &c.).
There are also attached to the papal household (_famiglia pontificia_) a
large number of chamberlains whose functions are more or less
ornamental. These are divided into several categories: privy
chamberlains (_camerieri segreti_), chamberlains, assistant and honorary
chamberlains. These are gentlemen of rank and belong to the highest
class of the hous