Vidame

[a] Like the avoué or advocatus, the vidame was originally a secular official chosen by the bishop of the diocese—with the consent of the count—to perform functions on behalf of the church's earthly interest that were religiously inappropriate; this especially included violence, even in the service of justice, and to act as protector.

Unlike the advocatus, however, the vice-dominus was at the outset an ecclesiastical official, who acted as the bishop's lieutenant (locum tenens) or vicar.

During the Carolingian epoch, advocatus and vice-dominus were interchangeable terms; and it was only in the 11th century that they became generally differentiated: the title of avoué being commonly reserved for a noble charged with the protection of an abbey, that of vidame for one guarding an episcopal see.

An advocatus was often a great baron who added the function of protector of an abbey to his own temporal sovereignty; whereas a vidame was usually a petty noble, who exercised his office in strict subordination to the bishop.

The chief functions of a vidame were to protect the temporal holdings of the see (called accordingly le vidamé or la vidamie), to represent the bishop at the count's court of justice, to exercise the bishop's temporal jurisdiction in his name (placitum or curia vice-domini), and to exercise military command of feudal troops attached to the episcopal government.