Definition
Latin: "keeper" or "protector of the royal granary." A historical English office whose holder was responsible for the custody and administration of the king's granary — the royal storehouse for grain and provisions. The office was ceremonial and feudal in character, one of many hereditary or appointed custodial positions attached to the Crown's household and estates in medieval and early modern England.
Why It Matters in Research
This term surfaces almost exclusively in historical sources treating English feudal offices and the tenure of Crown lands. Researchers will encounter it most often in works on the organization of the royal household, hereditary sinecures, or the history of offices attached to the Crown. The term is not operative in any modern legal context and carries no doctrinal weight. Its primary research value is contextual: understanding the range of custodial offices — custos being a recurring prefix across many distinct roles — is essential to correctly identifying which officer is being referenced in a historical document. Conflating this office with others bearing the custos designation (see RELATED TERMS) is a genuine risk when reading medieval or early modern English sources. The single citation anchor in both Black's and Burrill's is Blackstone's Commentaries, Book II, page 394, which treats it in the context of royal revenues and the administration of Crown property. Researchers working with that passage should note that Blackstone references the office illustratively, not analytically — it is mentioned as one example within a broader discussion rather than given extended treatment.
Historical Dictionary Support
Black's Law Dictionary and Burrill's Law Dictionary are in full agreement, differing only in word choice: Black's renders the meaning as "keeper of the royal granary," while Burrill's uses "protector of the royal granary." Neither source elaborates beyond the translation and the shared citation to 2 Blackstone's Commentaries 394. No additional authority is offered, and neither dictionary addresses the office's history, its holder's duties, or its abolition. This is characteristic of both dictionaries' treatment of extinct Latin officeholding terms: the entry functions as a translation gloss rather than a substantive legal definition. Researchers should not expect to find fuller treatment in these sources and should instead consult historical works on English royal household offices or the history of Crown land administration for meaningful context.
Jurisdictional Note
The office is exclusively English in origin and has no counterpart in American law. It is of no operative significance in any common law jurisdiction today.