Seneschal of the Realm, Riksdrots (
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
), Rigsdrost (
Danish), or Valtakunnandrotsi (
Finnish) (other plausible translations are Lord High Steward or Lord High Justiciar) is a Danish and Swedish name of a supreme state official, with at least a connotation to administration of judiciary, who in medieval
Scandinavia was often a leader in the government.
Background
The word drots/drost seems to be of German origin (''
Truchsess'') and means a steward or a leader of the household; in Dutch language however, a drost or drossaard was a historical kind of
bailiff
A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...
in parts of the Low Countries. During the Scandinavian Early Middle Age it developed into an even more powerful political position. The drots was responsible of administering royal justice. Other powers easily became added to the position. The Lord High Constable (marsk) and Lord High Chancellor were the other officers that sometimes held the premiership. The Drots held the privilege to be the Regent during a minority or absence of the king.
Quite often, the drots acted as a kind of governor who was the king’s representative and at least officially had precedence over other officials. Less powerful holders of the office of drots often went into the background in favour of the
chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
s or other high officers of state.
The office seems to have appeared in
Denmark in the 13th century and a bit later in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
and
Norway. In Sweden, it acquired the official role of "second-in-command" and the regentship at the disappearance of the ancient office of
Riksjarl
In Sweden, ''jarls'' were powerful noblemen. There usually was only one holder of the title at a time, second only to the King of Sweden.
For special occasions, regional jarls outside of Sweden could be nominated as well. An example of this is ...
with
Birger jarl as the last holder of that office. It was not quite unusual that also mighty princes like Dukes, as well as royal consorts, had their own drost.
In all three countries the post was abolished in the 1380s. In Denmark it was replaced in importance by the pre-existing title of
Steward of the Realm Steward of the Realm (Danish: Rigshofmester) was an office at the Royal Danish Court. With the coronation of Eric VII of Denmark it became an important office, taking over the role of the Seneschal
The word ''seneschal'' () can have several differ ...
. In Sweden it was soon revived before the mid-15th century and in the 17th century in a new version as
Riksdrots, "Drots of the Realm" or "Imperial Drost", which was also used in Denmark for a short while after 1660.
In North Western
Germany the word “Landdrost” was used for noble district caretakers until the 19th century. In
Hanover the heads of the governmental regions, Landdrosteien, were called ''
Landdroste'' until 1885.
See also
*
Lord High Steward of Sweden
References
Political history of Denmark
Political history of Sweden
{{Sweden-hist-stub
nl:Drost