Henry VIII made Sir Francis Bryan, a cousin of both Ann Bolyn and Jane Seymour, the "Master of the Toils" - what does that mean exactly? | AskHistorians Archive Observer

Henry VIII made Sir Francis Bryan, a cousin of both Ann Bolyn and Jane Seymour, the "Master of the Toils" - what does that mean exactly?

by lingben

In 1516 Sir Francis became Henry VIII's "Cupbearer". That I understand.

And in 1518 he became "Master of the Toils" until the end of Henry VIII's reign.

But what the heck is that?

I found ample mention of this anytime Sir Francis is mentioned online but no explanation of what it is exactly.

For example:

Thank you

keplar

The word "toils," in this context, is derived from the French toile, and refers to snares or nets used for hunting game. The word lingers on in English with this same meaning today, though it's a pretty unusual usage, in my experience. Master of the Toils would refer to the person charged with maintenance and upkeep of this (and possibly other) hunting equipment. The definition of toils should be available in any reasonably good dictionary - I'll cite this one, since it's close at hand IRL.