noun
- plural of manciple: stewards or purchasing agents responsible for buying provisions for a college, monastery, or other institution
Usage: archaic; historical
Examples
- The manciples were responsible for purchasing food and supplies for the monastery.
- Medieval colleges employed manciples to manage their kitchens and provisions.
- In Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, the Manciple tells one of the stories.
- The manciples kept detailed records of all their purchases.
- University manciples had to be skilled in negotiating with local merchants.