Lime officer
The lime officer was a lower official attested only in Tsar Ivan Shishman’s Rila Charter of 1378. He probably supervised a lime kiln and helped secure lime and labour for construction, although the limited evidence does not permit a precise reconstruction of his duties.
The designation “varnichii” occurs only once, in the Rila Charter issued by Tsar Ivan Shishman to the Rila Monastery in 1378. No other documents, equivalent offices in neighbouring states, or named holders of the post are known. Its character must therefore be reconstructed chiefly from the word’s formation and from its position among the officials listed in the charter.
The word follows a Slavic pattern and contains the suffix “-chii,” used to form masculine names of occupations and offices and generally regarded as Proto-Bulgar or, more broadly, Turkic in origin. One proposed interpretation connects it with the verb meaning “to boil” or “to cook” and identifies the official as a cook, but this does not adequately explain the consonant “n.” A more likely derivation is from the words for lime and a lime kiln. On this reading, the title designated the person in charge of such a kiln. Its appearance in a context close to the gradari, officials associated with building work, supports this interpretation without proving it conclusively.
The lime officer probably helped organize construction and supply it with lime. His inclusion in a charter protecting the monastery’s population from official burdens suggests that he could demand labour or services. These obligations may have included corvée, meaning compulsory unpaid labour, particularly for gradozidanie, also known by the Byzantine term kastroktisia—the construction and repair of fortifications. There is no direct evidence for his exact authority, place of subordination, insignia, seals, or coins. The title’s position in the document and the practical nature of its presumed duties indicate a low rank in the administrative hierarchy. Its single attestation in 1378 does not reveal when the office originated or how long it survived.