👑Menin (French menin, Spanish menino) - in the royal France and Spain of the Middle Ages and the New Age, a retinue of young aristocrats accompanying the heir (heiress) to the throne

 👑Menin (French menin, Spanish menino) - in the royal France and Spain of the Middle Ages and the New Age, a retinue of young aristocrats accompanying the heir (heiress) to the throne.
The word meninas itself is of Portuguese origin and in the masculine gender sounds like menino, in the feminine gender like menina - as it is voiced in the famous painting by D. Velazquez "Las Meninas".
In France, meninas in the amount of six young courtiers were the retinue and companions for the Dauphin of France. They were also called gentilshommes de la manche (gentlemen of His Highness). Keeping company with persons of royal descent and future monarchs was considered a special honor.
The first meninas in France appeared no later than 1680, under the Great Dauphin (1661-1711). In Spain, meninas have been known since the 13th century, when the Castilian King Ferdinand III instructed his chamberlain (Ayo) to create an escort for the heir to the throne, the future King Alfonso X. Later, in his works (Historia Genealógica de la Casa de Lara), the Spanish historian and genealogist of the 15th-18th centuries Luis de Salazar reported on meninas during the reign of the future wife of Emperor Charles V, Princess Isabella of Portugal. The institution of meninas was preserved at the Spanish royal court until the end of the 18th century.

Source: Wikipedia, svistanet, LiveInternet.