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> The office developed gradually over decades and centuries into one of administration of the royal finances, and under Henry VII, the Groom of the Stool becam
by apo 7y ago
> The office developed gradually over decades and centuries into one of administration of the royal finances, and under Henry VII, the Groom of the Stool became a powerful official involved in setting national fiscal policy, under the "chamber system".
and later:
> ... It is a matter of some debate as to whether the duties involved cleaning the king's anus, but the groom is known to have been responsible for supplying a bowl, water and towels and also for monitoring the king's diet and bowel movements[6] ...
Freud had some fascinating ideas on the connection between money and defecation:
> ... In reality, wherever archaic modes of thought have predominated or persist... money is brought into the most intimate relationship with dirt. We know that the gold which the devil gives his paramours turns into excrement after his departure ...
https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/about-money/brown-gold https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/about-money/brown-gold
It appears the English monarchy were tapping into something primal by linking the office of royal defecation helper with finance.