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The Kingdom of Alba refers to the Kingdom of Scotland between the deaths of Donald II (Domnall mac Causantin) in 900, and of Alexander III in 1286 which then led indirectly to the Scottish Wars of Independence. The name is one of convenience, as throughout this period the elite and populace of the Kingdom were predominantly Pictish-Gaels or later Pictish-Gaels and Scoto-Norman, and differs markedly from the period of the Stuarts, in which the elite of the kingdom were (for the most part) speakers of Middle English, which later evolved and came to be called Lowland Scots. There is no precise Gaelic equivalent for the English terminology 'Kingdom of Alba' as the Gaelic term ''Rìoghachd na h-Alba'' means 'Kingdom of Scotland'. English speaking scholars adapted the Gaelic name for Scotland to apply to a particular political period in Scottish history during the High Middle Ages. ==Royal court== Little is known about the structure of the Scottish royal court in the period before the coming of the Normans to Scotland, before the reign of David I. A little more is known about the court of the later 12th and 13th centuries. In the words of Geoffrey Barrow, this court "was emphatically feudal, Frankish, non-Celtic in character".〔Barrow, ''Robert Bruce'', (1998), p. 7.〕 Some of the offices were Gaelic in origin, such as the ''Hostarius'' (later Usher or "Doorward"), the man in charge of the royal bodyguard, and the ''rannaire'', the Gaelic-speaking member of the court whose job was to divide the food.〔Barrow, ''Kingship and Unity'', p. 34.〕 *The Seneschal or ''dapifer'' (i.e. the Steward), had been hereditary since the reign of David I. The Steward had responsibility for the royal household and its management. (see High Steward of Scotland). *The Chancellor was in charge of the royal chapel. The latter was the king's place of worship, but as it happened, was associated with the royal scribes, responsible for keeping records. Usually, the chancellor was a clergyman, and usually he held this office before being promoted to a bishopric (see Lord Chancellor of Scotland). *The Chamberlain had control and responsibility over royal finances (see Chamberlain of Scotland) *The Constable, likewise, hereditary since the reign of David I. The constable was in charge of the crown's military resources (see Lord High Constable of Scotland). *The Butler (see Butler of Scotland) *The Marshal or ''marischal''. The marischal differed from the constable in that he was more specialised, responsible for and in charge of the royal cavalry forces (see Earl Marischal) In the 13th century, all the other offices tended to be hereditary, with the exception of the Chancellor. The royal household of course came with numerous other offices. The most important was probably the aforementioned ''hostarius'', but there were others such as the royal hunters, the royal foresters and the cooks (''dispensa'' or ''spence''). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kingdom of Alba」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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