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Provost (through O. Fr. prevost, mod. prévôt, Lat. pracpositus, set over, from praeponere, to place in front), a title attached to various ecclesiastical and secular offices.1 Origins of the title and present clerical uses
In ecclesiastical usage the word praepositus was at first applied by the Church fathers to any ecclesiastical ruler or dignitary. It early, however, gained a more specific sense as applied to the official next in dignity to the abbot of a monastery, or to the superior of a single cell. Thus in the rule of St Benedict the provost (praepositus) is the superior of the monastery immediately subordinate to the abbot, the dean (decanus) being associated with him. From the Benedictine rule this arrangement was taken over by Chrodegang of Metz when he introduced the monastic organization of cathedral chapters. In these the provostship (praepositura) was normally held by the archdeacon, while the office of dean fell to the archpriest. In many cathedrals the temporal duties of the archdeacons made it impossible for them to fulfil those of the provostship, and the headship of the chapter thus fell to the dean.
In English the title "provost" at Cathedrals has universally given way to that of "dean," although sometimes when a Bishop nominates himself as Dean of his own cathedral, a "provost" is sometimes appointed as a deputy. In Germany, on the other hand, "Probst" is still the style of the heads of certain chapters. The title has also been preserved in certain dioceses of the German Evangelical Church as the equivalent of Superintendent, and both the Roman Catholic and Protestant chaplains-general of the forces have sometimes, e.g. as was the case in Prussia, the title Feldprobst. The heads of Augustinian and Dominican friaries are termed "provost or prior" (praepositus vel prior), those of Cistercian monasteries "provost or warden." (praepositus vel custos). Finally the name praepositus was sometimes used for the secular advocatus of a monastery. With the ecclesiastical use of the title is connected its English application to the heads of certain colleges; "provost" is still the style of the principals of Queen's, Oriel and Worcester Colleges at Oxford, of King's College at CambridgeKing's College, Cambridge is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom. The College was founded by King Henry VI in 1441 and was originally intended as a college for pupils from Eton College, itself founded by Henry., of Trinity College at DublinTrinity College, Dublin TCD , founded in 1592 by Elizabeth I, is the only constituent college of the University of Dublin Ireland's oldest university the college and university are often referred to collectively as the University of Dublin, Trinity Colleg and of Eton CollegeEton College is a public school (that is, an independent, fee-paying secondary school) for boys in Eton, Berkshire near Windsor in England. It boards approximately 1,200 boys between the ages of 13 and 18 who enjoy some outstanding facilities at a cost of.
As a secular title praepositus is also very old; we need only instance the praepositus sacri cubiculi of the late Roman Empire60 and 400 with major cities. During this time only Dacia and Mesopotamia were added to the Empire but were lost before 300. The Roman Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Roman state in the centuries following its reorganization under t, and the praepositus palatii of the CarolingianThe Carolingians were a dynasty of rulers that eventually controlled the Frankish realm and its successors from the 8th to the 10th century, officially taking over the kingdom from the Merovingian dynasty in 751. The name Carolingian itself comes from the court. The important developments of the title in FranceThe French Republic or France ( French: Republique francaise or France is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. are dealt with below. From France the title found its way into ScotlandScotland or in Scottish Gaelic, Alba is a country and former independent kingdom of northwest Europe, and one of the four nations comprising the United Kingdom. Scotland occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Scotland took part in a p, where it survives in the style (provost) of the principal magistrates of the Royal Burghs (roughly speaking, the equivalent of " mayor" in the rest of the UK) (" Lord Provost" in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Perth and Dundee), and into England, where it is applied to certain officers charged with the maintenance of military discipline. A Provost Marshal is an officer of the army originally appointed when troops are on service abroad (and now in the United Kingdom as well) for the prompt repression of all offences. He may at any time arrest and detain for trial persons subject to military law committing offences, and may also carry into execution any punishments to be inflicted in pursuance of a court martial (Army Act 1881, § 74). A Provost Sergeant is in charge of the garrison or regimental police . The 'Provost' also refers to the military police in general. The army pronunciation is 'Prov-oh'.
