vicecomites

Carolingian noble

Also known as: missi comitis

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Last updated

July 14, 2026

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In the Carolingian period, vicecomites (or missi comitis) were deputies or lieutenants of counts, exercising delegated authority. These officials, essentially vice-counts, were instrumental in administering territories within the expanding Frankish realm. As countships became hereditary, so too did these lieutenancies. In France, by the 10th century, viscounts in certain regions had made their offices hereditary, though they initially retained no status beyond that of a count's officer. The term vice-count is an obsolete form of viscount.1234

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viscount
… period of European history, the vicecomites, or missi comitis, were deputies, vicars, or lieutenants of the counts, whose official powers they exercised by delegation. As the countships eventually became hereditary, the lieutenancies did as well: for instance, in France the viscounts in Narbonne, in Nîmes, and in Albi appear to…
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… period of European history, the vicecomites, or missi comitis, were deputies, vicars, or lieutenants of the counts, whose official powers they exercised by delegation. As the countships eventually became hereditary, the lieutenancies did as well: for instance, in France the viscounts in Narbonne, in Nîmes, and in Albi appear to…
Read More