Asteward is anofficial who is appointed by the legal rulingmonarch to represent them in a country and who may have a mandate to govern it in their name; in the latter case, it is synonymous with the position ofregent,vicegerent,viceroy,king's lieutenant (forRomance languages),governor, or deputy (the Romanrector,praefectus, orvicarius).
FromOld Englishstíweard, stiȝweard, fromstiȝ "hall, household" +weard "warden, keeper"; corresponding toDutch:stadhouder,GermanStatthalter "place holder", a Germanic parallel to Frenchlieutenant.
The Old English termstíweard is attested from the 11th century. Its first element is most probablystiȝ- "house, hall" (attested only in composition; its cognatestiȝu is the ancestor of Modern Englishsty). Old Frenchestuard and Old Norsestívarðr are adopted from the Old English.
The German and Dutch term (Middle High Germanstat-halter) is a parallel but independent formation (acalque oflieutenant) corresponding to obsolete Englishstead holder (stede haldare 1456; alsostedys beryng (1460),sted-haldande (1375)steadward,steadsman).
In medieval times, the steward was initially a servant who supervised both the lord'sestate and his household. However over the course of the next century, other household posts arose and involved more responsibilities. This meant that in the 13th century, there were commonly two stewards in each house—one who managed the estate and the other, themajordomo, to manage domestic routine. Stewards commonly earned up to 3 to 4pounds per year. Stewards took care of their lord's castles when they were away. Also, stewards checked on the taxes of the serfs on their lords'manors.
In theNew Testament, the wordGreek:οικονομος (oikonomos) inLuke'sparable of the unjust office-holder is typically translated as "steward" in older translations, but is often translated as "manager" in more recent translations.[1]
TheLord High Steward of England held a position of power in the 12th to 14th centuries, and theLord Steward is the first dignitary of the court. TheStewart family traces its appellation to the office of theHigh Steward of Scotland.Lord High Steward of Ireland is a hereditary office held since the 15th century.
In the Netherlands, it developed into a rare type ofde facto hereditaryhead of state of the thus crownedDutch Republic.
Stadtholders were appointed byfeudal lords to govern parts of their territory. Stadtholders could be appointed for the whole or parts of their territory by the local rulers of the independentprovinces in theLow Countries (e.g., the Duke of Gelre appointed a stadtholder to represent him inGroningen). In theLow Countries (which included present-dayNetherlands,Belgium, andLuxembourg), from the Middle Ages to the 18th century, this was originally an essentially honorary title awarded by the Spanish Habsburg kings to major noblemen in each province, but its nature changed drastically.
In Norway, the office ofStatholder existed both during theDano-Norwegian personal union from 1536 to 1814 and during theSwedish-Norwegian personal union from 1814 until it was abolished in 1873, while the union lasted until 1905. During the latter, the office was also known asRigsstatholder, or Lieutenant of the Realm. TheStatholder governed Norway on behalf of the King. Since Norway was a separate kingdom with its own laws and institutions, it was arguably the most influential office in both Denmark-Norway and in the Swedish-Norwegian realm second to that of the king. The office was sometimes held by the Crown Prince, who was styled as Viceroy.
The termStatholder (from GermanStatthalter) means "place holder" (i.e., the one governing on behalf of the king). The modern Norwegian spelling isstattholder.
The Croatian office of theBan was equivalent to a viceroy. The Ban was appointed by the monarch (King of Croats until 1102, King ofHungary 1102–1526, Austrian ruler 1527–1918) with a mandate to govern a part of country, or whole country, in the name of the King of Dalmatia, Croatia, and Slavonia.
Bosnia was a banate of the Kingdom of Hungary 1136–1377. During that period, Bosnia was governed by an autonomous hereditary viceroy, called a ban. The last of them,Tvrtko, became the first king of the Kingdom of Bosnia.
The Russian equivalent of "stadtholder" isposadnik; the term sometimes occurs as "stadtholder" in English-language literature. Although there were such legendaryposadniks asGostomysl (9th century), the term first appeared in thePrimary Chronicle in the year of 997 to denote the most senior official of an Eastern Slavic town. The earliestposadniks of the city ofNovgorod (Holmgard) include a dynasty composed ofDobrynya, his sonKonstantin Dobrynich, andOstromir.
The office of Steward or Grand Steward is an elected office of merit inFreemasonry. The main duty of the Steward is to attend to visitors and to assist other officers in their duties. The Grand Stewards may provide special assistance at Lodge Installations. The Stewards Jewel consists of acornucopia with compasses above.[2][3]