- provost
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—provostship, n./proh"vohst, prov"euhst/ or, esp. in military usage, /proh"voh/, n.1. a person appointed to superintend or preside.2. an administrative officer in any of various colleges and universities who holds high rank and is concerned with the curriculum, faculty appointments, etc.3. Eccles. the chief dignitary of a cathedral or collegiate church.4. the steward or bailiff of a medieval manor or an officer of a medieval administrative district.5. the mayor of a municipality in Scotland.6. Obs. a prison warden.[bef. 900; ME; OE profost < ML propositus abbot, prior, provost, lit., (one) placed before, L: ptp. of proponere. See PRO-1, POSIT]
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▪ French lawFrench Prévôt,in French law, an inferior royal judge under the ancien régime, who, during the later Middle Ages, often served as an administrator of the domain. The position appears to date from the 11th century, when the Capetian dynasty of kings sought a means to render justice within their realm and to subject their vassals to royal control.The provosts performed a variety of functions: they collected taxes and fines for the king, served as military commanders for the district, and sat as lower-court judges. For a long time they were the only local judges representing the Capetians; they held their offices as fiefs and collected their revenues and fees as tax farmers. Consequently, they were able to achieve considerable independence of the crown, and abuses followed. By the 13th century they were brought under the control of the bailiffs, and after 1493 the provosts were paid by the crown as salaried officials. Their powers were further limited in the 17th century, when the provosts lost all except their judicial powers. In the south of France the provosts were known as viguiers.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
