Spatharokandidatos

Spatharokandidatos (Greek: σπαθαροκανδιδᾶτος), Latinized as spatharocandidatus, was a mid-ranking Byzantine court dignity used in the 7th–11th centuries.

[1] The earliest references to the title occur in the History of Sebeos and in a letter by Pope Gregory II to Emperor Leo III the Isaurian (r. 717–741).

Its distinctive insigne (brabeion) was a golden chain (maniakion) worn around the chest.

[1] In the lists of offices known as the Taktika, the dignity corresponds to specific positions in the lower tier of the senior civil and military hierarchy, such as those of asekretis (senior secretary), kleisourarches (commander of a frontier district), topoteretes (deputy commander) of a tagma, or tourmarches (divisional commander) of a thema.

[1] The title is rarely encountered in popular culture, but in Season 3, Episode 3 of the historical drama series Vikings: Valhalla, the characters representing the Byzantine general Georgios Maniakes and the Viking Harald Sigurdsson (Harald Hardrada) are depicted receiving it as reward for a victory in Sicily.