Inmedieval Germany, theSchultheiß (German:[ˈʃʊltaɪs]ⓘ) was the head of amunicipality (akin to today's office ofmayor), aVogt or an executive official of the ruler. As official (villicus) it was his duty to order his assigned village or county (villicatio) to pay the taxes and perform the services due to the ruler. The name originates from this function:Schuld 'debt' +heißen 'to order'.[1] Later, the title was also used for the head of a town (Stadtschultheiß) or village (Dorfschultheiß).
The office held by aSchultheiß was calledScholtisei,Scholtisse (around 1400),Schultessy,Schultissīe,Schultissei (15th century); Latinized forms:sculdasia (10th century),scultetia (13th century).[1]
The title first appears in theEdictum Rothari of 643 AD, where it is spelled in post-Roman Latin assculdahis. This title reappears again in theLombard laws ofLiutprand in 723 AD.[2] The title was originally spelled inOld High German assculdheizo and inMiddle High German asSchultheize; it was Latinised asscultetus orsculteus. Alternative spellings includeSchultheis,Schulte orSchulze, or in SwitzerlandSchultheiss.[1] It also appears in several European languages: InHungarian assoltész, inSlovak asšoltýs andškultét, inItalian asscoltetto andsculdascio, inMedieval Latin assculdasius, inPolish assołtys, inRomanian asșoltuz, and in Dutch asschout.
Until as recently as 2007, Schultheiss was the title of the president of the government of theCanton of Lucerne, Switzerland.
Schultheiß is also the basis for one of the most common German surnames, existing in many variations such asSchulz,Schultz,Scholz, etc., corresponding to the local variants of the pronunciation of the office. It also produced surnames in a number of other European cultures: seeSchultheiss (surname) for a table.
In Poland,sołtys is the name given to the elected head of a rural subdivision (usually a village, or part of a large village) known as asołectwo.
