France In
late medieval and
early modern France, the seneschal was originally a royal steward overseeing the entire country but developed into an agent of the
crown charged with administration of a
seneschalty (), one of the districts of the crown lands in Gascony, Aquitaine,
Languedoc and
Normandy.
Hallam states that the first seneschals to govern in this manner did so by an 1190 edict of
Philip II. The seneschals also served as the chief justice of the royal courts of appeal in their areas and were occasionally seconded by vice-seneschals. The equivalent post throughout most of northern France was the
bailiff ('
), who oversaw a bailiwick ('). • William de Gometz was Seneschal of France . •
Osbern the Steward was seneschal to two
dukes of Normandy. Under rulers of England •
Bertram de Criol, then member of the King's Council,
Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, Constable of
Dover Castle, and Keeper of the Archbishopric of Canterbury, and shortly to become
Constable of the Tower of London, is referred to as "our Seneschal" in Letters of
King Henry III of December 1239. •
Sir William Felton, an English knight, was appointed seneschal of
Poitou in 1360. • Sir
Thomas Felton, an English knight, was appointed seneschal of
Aquitaine in 1362 and seneschal of
Bordeaux in 1372. • Sir
John Chandos, an English knight, was appointed seneschal of Poitou in 1369.
Anglo-Saxon England In
Anglo-Saxon England dish-bearers (in
Medieval Latin discifer or
dapifer) were nobles who served at royal feasts. The term is often translated by historians as "seneschal".
Kingdom of Sicily In the
Kingdom of Sicily, the figure of the Grand Seneschal was introduced by
Roger II: subordinate to the Grand Constable, he was one of the seven great officers of the kingdom, with the task of managing the royal properties and providing for the food of the king and his court. The office survived in the
Angevin and
Aragonese eras.
Giovanni Pontano defined the Grand Seneschal as
Mestre de camp;
Scipione Ammirato called him "Majordomo of the Royal House," "the supreme officer in charge of the table." For a sign, in addition to those of his own house, he had a
unicorn cup.
Holy Roman Empire Truchsess was a court office in medieval court society for the supreme overseer of the princely table in the
Holy Roman Empire, Seneschal is the equivalent to the office of
Truchsess. The term derives from Old High German (Latin , French , English , Hungarian , Polish , Russian , Dutch ), Low German . The office of Truchsess was one of the highest court offices, along with
Hofmarschall,
Schenk, and
Kämmerer. References date back to the 10th century. The term is composed of
druhti "troop"—primarily referring to the entourage of a prince—respectively
truht or
druht "to provide allegiance" and
säze "to sit" (cf. Sasse, as in
Freisasse,
Landsasse, and
Hintersasse) and thus means "someone who sits in the retinue" or—possibly originally—"who leads the retinue".
Gwynedd The title of Seneschal was used in the
Kingdom of Gwynedd during the medieval ages. Documented in the 12th century were the Stewards (Seneschal) of King
Owain Gwynedd, those being Hwfa ap Cynddelw and
Llywarch ap Bran, both of the
Fifteen Tribes of Wales. Then merely a century later, the role was occupied by
Ednyfed Fychan (c. 1200s), and later on his sons
Sir Tudur ap Ednyfed Fychan and
Goronwy ab Ednyfed also became Seneschals to the
Kings of Gwynedd. Fychan's family became known as the
Tudors of Penmynydd.
Isle of Man The Seneschal of
Tynwald is an administrative role to the Parliament of the
Isle of Man, part of the staff of the Clerk of Tynwald’s Office. The Seneschal role was formed in 2006 and is part of the Tynwald Corporate Services Office. The Seneschal manages the Messengers and Gardyn Coadee.
Sark The Seneschal of
Sark presides over the Court of the Seneschal, which hears civil and some criminal cases.
Papacy Formerly, officers known as Seneschal Dapifers were involved in the ceremony of the
papal conclave during the election of a new Pope, to see to mealtimes for the cardinal electors while ensuring secrecy. Cardinals regularly had meals sent in from their homes with much pageantry accompanying the conveyance of food: These ceremonies have not been observed since the nineteenth century. In the
Knights Templar, seneschal was the title used by the second-in-command of the Order after the
Grand Master. ==See also==