Definition: cellarer

The cellarer is the steward; he is responsible for the general management of the monastery. Celleraio (Italian).

The cellarer of a hospice such as the Grand Saint Bernard is responsible for the hospice's meals, i.e. he collects all the income in cash and in kind from the farms that supply the hospice, annual pensions from benefices in Italy and French-speaking Switzerland, rents from the Aosta Valley and Valais, and collections from the Aosta Valley, Lombardy, Valais, Vaud, Fribourg and Germany. With these various sources of income, he had to provide for the maintenance not only of the cloistered monks, but also of their staff and travellers crossing the pass. He also had to maintain the buildings and church of the hospice, as well as the farms, particularly those of Saint-Oyen and Bibian, which were directly under his control. This administration resembled a large agricultural enterprise. See also "Clavendier".