Vicegerent is the official administrative deputy of a ruler or
head of state: ''vice'' (
Latin for "in place of") and ''gerere'' (Latin for "to carry on, conduct").
In
Oxford colleges
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...
, a vicegerent is often someone appointed by the
Master of a college to assume their powers and responsibilities during a period of absence.
Usage
Catholic Church
In the Catholic Church, the Vicegerent is an auxiliary bishop of the
Diocese of Rome, who is granted the personal title of archbishop and serves as the chief assistant to the
Cardinal Vicar of Rome.
Church of England
Early in 1535, closely following the passing of Parliament's
Act of Supremacy formally creating the
Church of England, King Henry VIII appointed his chief minister
Thomas Cromwell "Vice-Gerent in spirituals", effectively acting as the king's deputy in church matters and taking precedence over the two archbishops; this was a necessary step as Cromwell, as an unordained layman, otherwise had no jurisdiction within the Church. The office was not continued after Cromwell's execution in 1540. Cromwell's earlier appointment, that of
Vicar General, had different responsibilities: under this title he directed the royal commissions into monastic affairs.
Southeast Asia
Patih or ''Pepatih'' is a regent title equivalent to vicegerent which was traditionally used among
Austronesian
Austronesian may refer to:
*The Austronesian languages
*The historical Austronesian peoples
The Austronesian peoples, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples in Taiwan, Maritime Southeast Asia, M ...
polities of insular
Southeast Asia, in particular those of
Java and the
Malay
Malay may refer to:
Languages
* Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore
** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century
** Indonesi ...
world. In the first place it denoted the chief minister of a kingdom or (in the case of Java) a
traditional regency. Lesser ministers could also be known by the title. In some cases the headmen of local communities could be termed Patih, for example on 16th-century Java and in
Banjarmasin in southeastern
Kalimantan
Kalimantan () is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area. The non-Indonesian parts of Borneo are Brunei and East Malaysia. In Indonesia, "Kalimantan" refers to the whole island of Borneo.
In 2019, ...
.
In his capacity of chief minister in a realm, the Patih was the right hand and representative of the ruler. The commands of the ruler were transferred to the regional or local chiefs via the Patih. In the
Javanese kingdoms the Patih had his own palace, the Pepatihan, and carried a particular name; in
Yogyakarta his name as regent was Danurejo, in
Surakarta
Surakarta ( jv, ꦯꦸꦫꦏꦂꦠ), known colloquially as Solo ( jv, ꦱꦭ; ), is a city in Central Java, Indonesia. The 44 km2 (16.2 sq mi) city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoh ...
(Solo) it was Joyonegoro.
Notable vicegerents
*
King John King John may refer to:
Rulers
* John, King of England (1166–1216)
* John I of Jerusalem (c. 1170–1237)
* John Balliol, King of Scotland (c. 1249–1314)
* John I of France (15–20 November 1316)
* John II of France (1319–1364)
* John I o ...
became vicegerent under the Pope.
*
Thomas Cromwell, Vicegerent of
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
, appointed 1535.
*The
Byzantine Emperors held as a title "God's Vicegerent on Earth".
*Milton, in his work ''
Paradise Lost
''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse (poetry), verse. A second edition fo ...
'', titles the Son "The Vicegerent", in Book 10.
Notes
Further reading
* W. L. Olthof (1987), ''Babad Tanah Djawi''. Dordrecht: Foris.
Titles
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