Editing Constable (section)

===Byzantine Empire===
The position of constable originated from the [[Roman Empire]]; by the 5th century AD the [[Count of the Stable]] ({{langx|la|comes stabuli}}) was responsible for the keeping of [[horse]]s at the imperial court.<ref name="eb"/><ref>{{Cite book | editor-first = Alexander | editor-last = Kazhdan | editor-link = Alexander Kazhdan | title = [[Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium]] | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 1991 | isbn = 978-0-19-504652-6 | page=1140 }}{{Cite book | editor-first = A H M | editor-last = Jones | editor-link = A H M Jones | title = [[The Later Roman Empire 284-602]] | publisher = Blackwell | year = 1964 | isbn = 0-631-15250-4 | page=625 }}</ref> The West European term "constable" itself was adopted, via the [[Normans]], as ''[[konostaulos]]'' in the [[Komnenian period|Komnenian]] and [[Palaiologan period|Palaiologan]] periods, when it became a high military office of dignity.<ref>{{Cite book | editor-first = Alexander | editor-last = Kazhdan | editor-link = Alexander Kazhdan | title = Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 1991 | isbn = 978-0-19-504652-6 | page=1147 }}</ref>

Late Roman administrative titles were used by [[Charlemagne]] in developing his empire; the position of Constable, along with the similar office of [[Marshal]], spread throughout the emerging states of Western Europe during this period.<ref name="kofk"/> In most medieval nations, the constable was the highest-ranking officer of the army, and was responsible for the overseeing of [[martial law]].<ref name="h">p172, Slater, Stephen, ''The Complete Book of Heraldry'' (Lorenz, 2002), {{ISBN|0-7548-1062-3}}</ref>