Note 279 — Chapter XI · ALFRED THE GREAT IN WAR AND IN PEACE

In Chap. 104 of Asser's biography the capellani are described as supplying the king with candles, by whose burning he measured time. The word capellanus is of pure Frankish origin and was originally applied to the clerks (clerici capellani) who were charged with the custody of the cope (cappa) of St. Martin, which was kept in the capella. From this the term capella came to mean a room especially devoted to religious uses, that is, a chapel. It was used in this sense as early as 829 in Frankland. Whether by capellanus Asser meant mere clerks, or veritable "chaplains" in the later sense, cannot be known, though his usage was probably the latter.