Vogt (also Voigt; plural Vögte; Dutch voogd; Polish: Wójt; equivalent in Latin advocatus) is probably derived from Old High German vogeten, "to protect". Originally, it referred in medieval German-speaking areas to the guardianship or military protection executed by an overlord over ecclesiastical institutions and their territory. The territory or area of responsibility of a Vogt is called a Vogtei. Latin is an ancient Indo-European language. ... The term Old High German (OHG, German: Althochdeutsch) refers to the earliest stage of the German language and it conventionally covers the period from around 500 to 1050. ...

In Poland the title of Vogt (Wójt) has the same origin as Ruissian vozhd' (chieftain, leader, somebody who conducts, leads, makes others follow) is still used by senior civil administrative officers and the highest representatives of the government on a communal level.

The range of social status and degrees of responsibility of persons so titled varied greatly, from the humble — the equivalents of the English reeve or bailiff — to the very elevated. At the upper end of its social range the office of Vogt was frequently held by noble and princely families in relation to ecclesiastical territories, a position which such families often exploited to their own advantage, and it is in this connection that it is most commonly referred to. Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq... A reeve (Old English gerefa) was an Anglo-Saxon official of high rank, exerting local jurisdiction. ... A Bailiff in a United States courtroom Bailiff (from Late Latin bajulivus, adjectival form of bajulus) is a governor or custodian (cf. ...

The concept of the Vogt was related to the Old German idea of the Munt, or guardian, but also included some ideas of physical defence and legal representation (whence the connection with advocatus or advocate). Old German could refer to: Old High German Old Low German (also Old Saxon) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... An advocatus was an advocate in the Middle Ages. ...

From the time of Charlemagne, who had such officials appointed in ecclesiastical territories not directly under the control of his counts, the Vogt was a state functionary representing ecclesiastical dignitaries (such as bishops and abbots) or institutions in secular matters, and particularly before secular courts. Such representatives had been assigned to the church since late antiquity, as it was not supposed to act for itself in worldly affairs. Therefore, in areas such as the territories of abbeys and bishoprics, which by virtue of their ecclesiastical status were free (or immune) from the secular government of the local count (Graf, in origin an administrative official in charge of a territory and reporting to the emperor), the Vogt fulfilled the function of a protective lordship, generally commanding the military contingents of such areas (Schirmvogtei). Beyond that, he administered the high justice instead of the count from the Vogt court (Vogtgericht or Blutgericht). Charlemagne, portrait by Albrecht Dürer. ... Blutgericht (literally blood court or blood doom), or high justice in the Holy Roman Empire referred to the right of a reeve to hold a criminal court inflicting bodily punishment, including the death penalty. ...

In private and family monasteries the proprietor himself often also held the office of Vogt, frequently retaining it after reform of the propietorship (see also Lay abbot). Lay abbot (abbatocomes, abbas laicus, abbas miles) is a name used to designate a layman on whom a king or someone in authority bestowed an abbey as a reward for services rendered; he had charge of the estate belonging to it, and was entitled to part of the income. ...

From the 10th century however the office developed into an hereditary possession of the higher nobility, who frequently exploited it as a way of extending their power and territories, and took for themselves the estates and assets of the church bodies for whose protection they were supposedly responsible. As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. ...

There is no single equivalent in English history. The office of reeve was much the same at a village or peasant level, and in other contexts the roles of sheriff, steward, seneschal and castellan of course included similar elements. In France, the office of vidame, the temporal administrator for certain bishoprics, showed some connection. The status of protective lordship, however, in relation to ecclesiastical estates as held, and notoriously abused, by the nobility in Germany throughout the Middle Ages, is without close parallel. The most frequent translations in that connection are either advocate or lord protector. Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq... A reeve (Old English gerefa) was an Anglo-Saxon official of high rank, exerting local jurisdiction. ... Sheriff is both a political and a legal office held under English common law, Scots law or U.S. common law, or the person who holds such office. ... The terms steward or stewardess can refer to a number of different professional roles. ... A seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. ... A castellan was the governor or caretaker of a castle or keep. ... Vidame, a French corruption of the official Latin term vicedominus (vice-lord), was a feudal title in France. ...

References

• Arnold, Benjamin, 1991. Princes and Territories in Medieval Germany. Cambridge:CUP.