An official or servant in charge of receiving and accommodating guests, particularly in a monastery or large household.
From guest + master. In monastic communities, the guestmaster was a specific role (Latin: magister hospitum) responsible for lodging and entertaining visitors, a significant duty in medieval hospitality.
Monasteries had guestmasters because they took seriously the Christian duty to welcome travelers—medieval hostels were essentially religious institutions, and the guestmaster's role combined hospitality with subtle spiritual instruction.
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