Kaid
Encyclopedia
A kaid or caïd was a title in the Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...

 kingdom of Sicily
Kingdom of Sicily
The Kingdom of Sicily was a state that existed in the south of Italy from its founding by Roger II in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of southern Italy...

. It applied to palatine officials and members of the curia, usually to those who were Muslims or converts from Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

, often eunuch
Eunuch
A eunuch is a person born male most commonly castrated, typically early enough in his life for this change to have major hormonal consequences...

s, but sometimes to others. Originally Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

, meaning "master" or "leader," it entered Latin as gaitus or gaytus.

Some famous kaids of the court of Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...

 were:
  • Thomas Brun
    Thomas Brun
    Thomas Brun, also le Brun or Brown, was son or nephew of William Brun , a clerk of Henry I of England. He travelled to Sicily as a child in the entourage of Robert of Selby about the year 1130...

    , an Englishman who served Roger II
    Roger II of Sicily
    Roger II was King of Sicily, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his brother Simon. He began his rule as Count of Sicily in 1105, later became Duke of Apulia and Calabria , then King of Sicily...

  • Peter, Moslem convert and eunuch, confidante of Margaret of Navarre
  • Richard
    Caïd Richard
    Richard was a kaid of the curia regis or diwan of Palermo during the latter years of the reign of William I of Sicily and during the regency of his wife, Margaret of Navarre, for their son William II...

    , Great Chamberlain under Margarethttp://www.reference.com/browse/Kaid
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