Help with Latin -- the word Comitatus, singular, plural, possessive?

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It is part and parcel with the Germanic origins of Chivalry, but it is really a medieval Germanic secret service.

A Comitatus is a Germanic brotherhood of the Middle Ages that denies all family connections and follows only the king. The Romans got the idea for the Praetorian Guard from this Germanic military force. So they are Germanic bodyguards.

To Answer your Question:

I don't thing that you can change it from plural to singular since it is a group word.

-us in latin's second declension is nominative singular. The plural of that is a long i. So, it is already in its singular form, like the english word comittee. There really isnt a usefull word like commiteeeee for a member of a comittee. You simply call them a member of a commitee. Just like you would say Bob Griswaldson (fake name) would be part of a Comitatus not a comitati. Comitati would refer to more than one comitatus.
(You could phrase it like "bob was part of King Harry's Commitatus")

When they wrote the Anglo-Saxon Gospel ( a Germanified version of the New Testament that was only used for a short period of time), they referred to the apostles as Christ's Comitatus.

That is why when Beowulf's comitatus abandons him to his death, some scholars believe that the last part of Beowulf (when he fights the dragon) is a Christian allegorical addition to the original Germanic epic.

I hope this was useful....Show more

Comitatus = company of soldiers/mercenaries; war band; company/throng/crowd; rank and file;
escort/retinue (of slaves/clients); court of a king; combination, association

That word in Latin had a broad usage.

The Viking reference is probably to one of the first two definitions - company of soldiers or a war band. As noted, there was no specific word for anyone who was a member of such a group - it would be that person's rank or function if anything.

ADDED: Don't know of any English words from 'comitatus'. Committee comes from 'Committere' a verb meaning 'bring together, unite/join, connect/attach; put together, as well as a few other meanings. In Latin, 'comitatus' is a fourth declension noun - the sort of oddball declension. The nominative singular and plural are both 'comitatus', so it's 'one comitatus, two comitatus". The genitive singular, meaning 'belonging to the comitatus' is also 'comitatus'. All three of those forms (plus accusative plural) are the same. Genitive plural (belonging to more than one comitatus) is 'comitatum' or 'comitatuum'....Show more

Comitatus has the same meaning of the English word (deriving from it) 'committee'. There isn't a term to say 'a committee man'. You have already discovered: the only and real word is 'member'. Two or twenty committees is 'comitati'. Yes the possessive is as you said, but if you say it in Latin you have to say 'Res (things) Comitati (genitive conjugation of the comitatus)'....Show more

Comitatus is a group noun; it is singular. A member of the group would be know by whatever he is - a mercenary, soldier, or similar term. Since it is Latin, it works a bit differently than English words. It's sort of like saying "group" in English - you wouldn't expect a single individual from the group to be called by a form of the word "group."...Show more

I think a member of a comitatus was a "comes" (genetive form: "comitis"), which means "a companion." In the later Empire, the word "Comes" became a title for certain military and governmental officials. Our English word "Count" is derived from this usage.

"Comitatenses," which describes certain Imperial field units, is the plural of "comitatensis," originally the adjective derived from "comitatus," but I don't know what the possesive would be....Show more