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 Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

), or Valtakunnandrotsi (

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

) (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 Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

was often a leader in the government.

Background

The word drots/drost seems to be of German origin (''

Truchsess The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...

'') 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 ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of 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 Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. 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 Birger Jarl, also known as ''Birger Magnusson'' (21 October 1266), was a Swedish statesman, ''jarl'', and a member of the House of Bjelbo, who played a pivotal role in the consolidation of Sweden. Birger also led the Second Swedish Crusade, whi ...

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 (Danish: Drost) as the de facto prime minister of ...

. In Sweden it was soon revived before the mid-15th century and in the 17th century in a new version as

Riksdrots The Lord High Steward or Lord High Justiciar (Swedish: ''Riksdrots'' or only '' Drots'') was a highly prominent member of the Swedish Privy Council from the 13th century until 1809, excluding periods when the office was out of use. Middle Ages The ...

, "Drots of the Realm" or "Imperial Drost", which was also used in Denmark for a short while after 1660. In North Western

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

the word “Landdrost” was used for noble district caretakers until the 19th century. In

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

the heads of the governmental regions, Landdrosteien, were called ''

Landdrost {{Use dmy dates, date=December 2020 ''Landdrost'' was the title of various officials with local jurisdiction in the Netherlands and a number of former territories in the Dutch Empire. The term is a Dutch compound, with ''land'' meaning "region" and ...

e'' until 1885.

References

Political history of Denmark Political history of Sweden {{Sweden-hist-stub nl:Drost