The Seneschal of the Landes was an officer carrying out and managing the domestic affairs of the lord of the district of

Landes ''Landes'', or ''Lanas'' in Gascon, means moorland or heath. ''Landes'' and ''Lanas'' come from the Latin ''plānus'' meaning “‘flat, even, level, plain’”. They are therefore cognate with the English plain (and plane), the Spanish word '' ...

Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...

and

Labourd Labourd ( eu, Lapurdi; la, Lapurdum; Gascon: ''Labord'') is a former French province and part of the present-day Pyrénées Atlantiques ''département''. It is one of the traditional Basque provinces, and identified as one of the territorial c ...

in the former Duchy of Gascony. Created in 1255, from a division of the position of Seneschal of Gascony, the

seneschal 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, ...

ship, also became an office of military command. The seneschal managed the household, coordinating between the receivers of various landholdings and the chamber, treasury, and the chancellory or chapel. The seneschals of the Landes, like those appointed in Normandy, Poitou, and

Gascony Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part o ...

had custody of demesne fortresses, the regional treasuries, and presidency of the highest court of regional custom.

List of Seneschals

*Raymond Duraunt (1326) *Thomas de Hampton (1348) *Matthew Gournay (1379-1406) * John Tiptoft (1407)

Citations

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seneschal Of Gascony 14th century in France 15th century in France Historical legal occupations Legal history of France