Titles of the Welsh Court are the titles of the various Offices of State used in
Wales during the
Middle Ages. The roles of different officers changed over time, and these changes may reflect the political developments in the centuries before and after the death of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in 1282. The Welsh title distain, being derived from "dish thane",[citation needed] indicates that he was originally concerned with the royal dishes at table, but it is known that Ednyfed Fychan, Distain to Llywelyn, was effectively a
prime minister who did not regularly wait on the ruler at table. Below is a selection of the most important offices and titles:
Tywysog, meaning "Chief" or "Prince". A king was by default also a chief but a chief was not necessarily also a king. The title Tywysog is thought to share a common root with the
Irish term Taoiseach.
Penteulu, literally meaning "household head" was the title given to the
captain of the household troops or
bodyguards. It was a position usually filled by a member of the royal family and one which conferred a responsibility on the bearer to defend the ruler; a
feudalMinister of Defence.
Offeiriad Teulu, literally "household priest", a senior religious advisor.
Distain, meaning "steward" from the Old English term for "dish
thane". Later this office name was replaced with the term Seneschal and came to be the principal
diplomat and executive of the court: a feudal
prime minister and
foreign minister.
The Welsh King and his Court,
University of Wales Press (2000), edited by Thomas Charles-Edwards, Morfydd E. Owen and Paul Russell, p. 19 & 27 (Prolegomena to the Laws of Court, by Dafydd Jenkins).