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Tuesday, November 01, 2011

Question from Marty - Yeoman of the Queen's Chamber in Elizabeth's reign

What were the duties and wages of a "Yeoman of the Queen's Chamber" in the earlier years of Elizabeth? How were they selected and appointed?

3 comments:

  1. Yeoman of the queen's chamber would have been an appointment obtained through patronage. Appointees would have been related to a lady-in-waiting, her family or the family of someone she patronized. The wages would be in the Lord Chamberlain's accounts which I don't have handy but also would have included food and lodging - although no privacy.

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  2. Thanks, this is helpful. Was such a yeoman of the chamber essentially a "gofer" doing whatever little chores the Queen wanted plus hanging around and being witty and ornamental?

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  3. At Elizabeth's court, everyone did whatever she wished regardless of title. Although yeoman, and to a larger extent grooms of the chamber, were not expected to be witty. For wit, the queen turned to her courtiers. Yeomen were workers. You might find this link helpful for a more generalized description of yeoman at Cowdray House.

    http://elizabethan.org/compendium/61.html

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