In Anglo-Saxon courts, from the eighth century down to the Norman conquest, ‘officers of the mouth’, bore household titles and served the king and his guests during meals, at least on major occasions. Those butlers (pincernae) and dish-bearers (dapiferi, disciferi) were not mere ‘waiters’ but members of great aristocratic families; serving the king's table was an honour for them, with all the implications of that word in an early medieval context. Using a variety of sources, particularly the subscription lists of charters, this article examines their rank at court, social origin, degree of proximity to kings and queens, and the nature of their occupation.

中文翻译：

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盎格鲁-撒克逊法院的管家和送菜员：皇室餐桌上的家政官员

在盎格鲁-撒克逊宫廷中，从八世纪到诺曼征服，“口中的官员”拥有家庭头衔，并在用餐时为国王和他的客人服务，至少在重要场合是这样。那些管家（pincernae）和盘菜者（dapiferi、disiferi）不仅仅是“侍者”，而是大贵族家庭的成员；为国王的餐桌服务对他们来说是一种荣誉，在中世纪早期的语境中，这个词的所有含义都是如此。本文使用各种来源，特别是宪章的订阅列表，研究了他们在宫廷中的地位、社会出身、与国王和王后的亲近程度以及他们的职业性质。