What is "tepcija"

tepčija was a court title of Serbia and Bosnia in the Middle Ages. The functions and position in the court is unclear. It was first mentioned in Serbia in the first half of the 13th century. The title-holder took care of the ruler's country estates. There were two or three types of title-holders, the velike tepčije (great), tepčije and male tepčije (small). The great ones took care of the royal estates. The tepčija had a similar office to that of the kaznac. The tepčija had executive authorities; his otroci ( otrok), servants, were lesser in rank but not slaves.

The Serbian court hierarchy at the time of king Stefan Milutin (r. 1282–1321) was as follows: stavilac, čelnik, kaznac, tepčija and vojvoda, the supreme title. In the Dečani chrysobulls of king Stefan Dečanski (r. 1321–31), the court dignitaries present at the Dečani assembly were the kaznac, tepčija, vojvoda, sluga and stavilac.