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Glite Dictionary
vidame

vidame

9.9
A person who manages and protects land for a church or bishop in the Middle Ages in France
  • noun
  • Archaic
: vidame
  • The vidame managed the church's lands and ensured the collection of taxes from the peasants.

Examples

  • In medieval France, a vidame was often responsible for overseeing the local affairs of the bishop.

  • Many lands in the region were administered by a vidame who acted on behalf of the church.

  • The attempt to duplicate the contents of the vidame's love letter proves equally ineffective.

    Academic text (2001)

  • The relationship is metaphorically consummated when the couple moves from passive participants to fraudulent authors attempting to duplicate the contents of the vidame's love letter.

    Academic text (2001)

  • Only a "fictional text"—the vidame's love letter mistakenly attributed to the Duc de Nemours—succeeds finally in enlightening the heroine.

    Academic text (2001)

Surface Forms

vidame singular
vidames plural

Etymology

Vidame comes from the medieval Latin vicedominus, made of vice- 'in place of' and dominus 'lord'. So, a vidame was like a 'vice-lord' who acted for a church or bishop, managing and protecting their lands.