Sumilher da cortina explained

A sumilher da cortina (pronounced as /pt/, 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.

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]

Notes and References

1. Book: Vieyra . Anthony . Canto . J. Dias do . 1827 . A Dictionary of the Portuguese and English Languages, Volume 1 . London . J. Collingwood .
2. Book: d'Auvergne, Edmund Basil . 1910 . The Bride of Two Kings: A Forgotten Tragedy of the Portuguese Court . London . Hutchinson & Co. . 124 .
3. Book: Freire, Antonio de Oliveira . 1755 . Descripçam Corografica do Reyno de Portugal . A Chorographic Description of the Kingdom of Portugal . pt . Lisbon . Officina de Bernardo Anton. de Oliveir. . 83 .
4. Troni . Joana Leandro Pinheiro de Almeida . 2014 . A casa real portuguesa ao tempo de D. Pedro II (1668-1706) . pt . The Portuguese Royal Household at the time of Peter II (1668-1706) . . . 10451/10712 . 23 August 2021.
5. Book: Castro, João Bautista de . 1762 . Mappa de Portugal Antigo, e Moderno . Map of Portugal Ancient and Modern . pt . Lisbon . Officina Patriarcal de Francisco Luiz Ameno . 425 .