The title derives from the Slavic word for hay, seno, combined with the suffix -ar, commonly used for people engaged in a particular trade or occupation. Its literal sense is therefore a person responsible for hay. Bulgarian evidence is sparse: the office is explicitly recorded only in the Rila and Vitosha charters from the reign of Ivan Shishman, where it appears in the plural form “сѣнаре.” The surviving material does not establish when the institution originated or whether it continued after the end of the fourteenth century.
Hay was essential both to animal husbandry and to the maintenance of horses used by the army and the ruler’s household. The hay officers may therefore have belonged both to the fiscal administration and to the system responsible for provisioning the cavalry. These activities need not have been institutionally separate: an official charged with securing fodder could also collect the relevant levy or supervise the population’s labour obligations.
Bulgarian chrysobulls—solemn rulers’ charters authenticated with a gold seal—mention hayfields as a category of landed property. The Virgin charter also records the obligation “сѣно косити,” meaning the mowing of hay as corvée, or compulsory unpaid labour for a ruler or lord. The document is a forgery and is textually related to a charter of the Serbian king Stefan Uroš II Milutin, so its evidence requires caution. Nevertheless, haymaking was a routine agricultural activity and the corresponding obligation is well documented in Serbian records, making its existence in medieval Bulgaria entirely plausible.
Useful comparisons come from Wallachia and Moldavia, whose Slavonic-writing chanceries preserved elements of the administrative tradition of the medieval Balkans. There, the official who collected a tithe on hay was called “сѣнарь” in Slavonic, while Romanian used finar, a word related to the Latin foenarius. In Moldavia, officials associated with the cavalry administration also helped provide fodder for the ruler’s horses. The great comis managed resources connected with their maintenance, while his subordinate, the comişel, supervised the mowing and transport of hay. Comparable arrangements are also recorded in Wallachia.
These parallels support identifying the Bulgarian hay officer primarily as a fiscal official who collected a levy on hay, probably in kind. He may also have directed the corvée involved in mowing and gathering it. A connection with cavalry offices, the imperial stables, and officials such as the komis or the comestabularius cannot be ruled out, but no Bulgarian document directly demonstrates such subordination.
The position of the hay officers in lists of officials indicates their low rank. They appear fifteenth in the Rila charter and occupy the final place in the Vitosha charter. This suggests that they were not members of the central court elite but subordinate provincial agents entrusted with limited fiscal and economic duties.
The word comes from the Slavic word for hay, seno, plus the ending -ar, which is often used for someone who works in a certain trade or job. Taken literally, it means a person in charge of hay. In Bulgarian sources, this office is mentioned only rarely. It is named directly only in the Rila and Vitosha charters from the reign of Ivan Shishman, where it appears in the plural form “сѣнаре.” The surviving evidence does not show when the office began or whether it survived after the end of the fourteenth century.
Hay mattered a great deal. It fed livestock, and it also kept the horses of the army and the ruler’s household alive. For that reason, the hay officers may have belonged both to the tax system and to the system that supplied the cavalry. These two functions did not have to be separate. The same official who made sure hay was gathered could also collect the tax on it or oversee the labor duties owed by the population.
Bulgarian chrysobulls, which were solemn rulers’ charters sealed with gold, mention hayfields as a type of landed property. The Virgin charter also records the duty “сѣно косити,” meaning mowing hay as corvée, that is, compulsory unpaid labor owed to a ruler or lord. This document is a forgery and is textually related to a charter of the Serbian king Stefan Uroš II Milutin, so it must be used with care. Even so, haymaking was ordinary farm work, and the same duty is well attested in Serbian records, so its presence in medieval Bulgaria is quite plausible.
Helpful comparisons come from Wallachia and Moldavia, whose Slavonic-writing chanceries preserved parts of the administrative tradition of the medieval Balkans. There, the official who collected a tithe on hay was called “сѣнарь” in Slavonic, while Romanian used finar, a word related to the Latin foenarius. In Moldavia, officers connected with the cavalry administration also helped provide fodder for the ruler’s horses. The great comis handled the resources needed for their upkeep, while his assistant, the comişel, oversaw the mowing and transport of hay. Similar arrangements are also known from Wallachia.
Taken together, these parallels suggest that the Bulgarian hay officer was mainly a fiscal official who collected a levy on hay, probably in kind. He may also have directed the corvée needed to mow and gather it. A link with cavalry offices, the imperial stables, and officials such as the komis or the comestabularius cannot be excluded, but no Bulgarian document shows such a connection directly.
The way these officers are placed in lists of officials also points to their low status. In the Rila charter they come fifteenth, and in the Vitosha charter they are listed last. This suggests that they were not part of the central court elite, but lower provincial agents with limited fiscal and economic responsibilities.
In late 14th-century Bulgaria, during the reign of Ivan Shishman, charters from Rila and Vitosha mention an official connected with hay. The name means a person in charge of hay.
This official was probably a low-level local officer. His main job was likely to collect a hay tax, usually in hay itself. He may also have helped organize the mowing and gathering of hay as required work for the ruler or a lord.
Hay mattered because it fed horses and other animals. That meant it was important for farming, the army, and the ruler’s household. The office was not a high court post. It seems to have been a small fiscal job in the countryside.