justiciar

American  

[juh-stish-ee-er] / dʒʌˈstɪʃ i ər /

noun

1. a high judicial officer in medieval England.

2. the chief political and judicial officer in England from the reign of William I to that of Henry III.

3. justiciary.

---

justiciar British  

/ dʒʌˈstɪʃɪˌɑː /

noun

1. Also called: justiciary.  English legal history the chief political and legal officer from the time of William I to that of Henry III, who deputized for the king in his absence and presided over the kings' courts

---

Other Word Forms

• justiciarship noun

Etymology

Origin of justiciar

1475–85; < Medieval Latin jūsticiārius justiciary

Example Sentences

But no one rose to aid him, and his garrisons were soon being besieged by loyal levies, headed by the justiciar and by Hubert Walter, the newly elected archbishop of Canterbury.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 5 English History by Various

He received a legatine commission, and became sole justiciar.

From The English Church in the Middle Ages by Hunt, William

The pledges of Henry the First had long been forgotten when the justiciar brought them to light, but Langton saw the vast importance of such a precedent.

From Stories of the Olden Time (Historical Series—Book IV Part I) by Various

Gerald, a younger son of Maurice, who obtained lands in Ophaley, was father of Maurice “Fitz Gerald,” who held the great office of justiciar of Ireland from 1232 to 1245.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 4 "Finland" to "Fleury, Andre" by Various

At Winchester he was acknowledged as king by the bishop, his own brother Henry of Blois, and by the great justiciar, Roger, bishop of Salisbury, and the archbishop, William of Corbeil.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 5 English History by Various