Pfleger

A pfleger (from German; lit. 'carer') was a mediaeval office holder in the Holy Roman Empire, a type of burgrave or vogt, who was responsible for the management and defence of a castle or abbey. In Bavaria there was also the title of pflegskommissär, given to someone who represented a pfleger as required (in the sense of a "commissarial" or "acting" pfleger). In the Late Middle Ages the pfleger developed into an official with administrative and juridical tasks. In the Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, a church parish (Kirchspiel) or a captaincy (Hauptmannschaft) was usually the lowest level of administration. In the Rhineland, however, larger parishes were sometimes subdivided into Honnschaften. Several parishes were combined into a Pflegamt, or in the Rhineland a Pflege. I...