What is "lord high steward"

Steward \Stew"ard\, n. [OE. stiward, AS. st[=i]weard, stigweard, literally, a sty ward; stigu sty + weard warden, guardian, -- his first duty having been probably to attend to the domestic animals. [root]164. See Sty pen for swine, Ward.]

1. A man employed in a large family, or on a large estate, to manage the domestic concerns, supervise other servants, collect the rents or income, keep accounts, and the like.

   Worthy to be stewards of rent and land.
   --Chaucer.

   They came near to the steward of Joseph's house.
   --Gen. xliii. 19.

   As good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
   --1 Pet. iv. 10.

2. A person employed in a hotel, or a club, or on board a ship, to provide for the table, superintend the culinary affairs, etc. In naval vessels, the captain's steward, wardroom steward, steerage steward, warrant officers steward, etc., are petty officers who provide for the messes under their charge.

3. A fiscal agent of certain bodies; as, a steward in a Methodist church.

4. In some colleges, an officer who provides food for the students and superintends the kitchen; also, an officer who attends to the accounts of the students.

5. In Scotland, a magistrate appointed by the crown to exercise jurisdiction over royal lands.
   --Erskine.

   Lord high steward, formerly, the first officer of the crown; afterward, an officer occasionally appointed, as for a coronation, or upon the trial of a peer. [Eng.]

The position of Lord High Steward is the first of the Great Officers of State in England, nominally ranking above the Lord Chancellor.

The office has generally remained vacant since 1421, and is now an ad hoc office that is primarily ceremonial and is appointed only during a coronation.

At coronations of the British monarch, the Lord High Steward bears St Edward's Crown. The Lord High Steward also presides during the trials of peers in the House of Lords. In general, but not invariably, the Lord Chancellor was appointed to act as Lord High Steward in the latter situation. The trial of peers by their peers in the House of Lords was abolished in 1948, although impeachment trials have not been abolished. There was a "Court of the Lord High Steward" which served this purpose when Parliament was not in session.

Although initially the position was largely an honorary one, over time it grew in importance until its holder became one of the most powerful men of the kingdom. From the late 12th century, the office was considered to be bound with the Earldom of Leicester. When the House of Lancaster ascended the throne in 1399, Henry IV made his second son, Thomas of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence, Lord High Steward. He held the post until his death in 1421.

The equivalent offices in Scotland and Ireland respectively are the Great Steward of Scotland (always held by the heir to the throne, known in Scotland as the Duke of Rothesay) and the Lord High Steward of Ireland (held by the Earls of Shrewsbury, who are also Earls of Waterford in the Peerage of Ireland).