ADVOWEE, in ancient customs and law books, denotes the advocate of a church, religious house, or the like. There were advowees of cathedrals, abbeys, monasteries, &c. Thus, Charlemagne had the title of advowee of St Peter's; King Hugh, of St Riquier; and Bolandus mentions some letters of Pope Nicholas, by which he constituted King Edward the Confessor, and his successors, advowees of the monastery at Westminster, and of all the churches in England. These advowees were the guardians, protectors, and administrators of the temporal concerns of the churches, &c. and under their authority were passed all contracts which related to them. It appears also, from the most ancient charters, that the donations made to churches were conferred on the persons of the advowees. They always pleaded the causes of the churches in court, and distributed justice for them, in the places under their jurisdiction. They also commanded the forces furnished by their monasteries, &c. for the war; and even were their champions, and sometimes maintained duels for them.
This office is said to have been first introduced in the fourth century, in the time of Stillico; though the Benedictines do not fix its origin before the eighth century. By degrees, men of the first rank were brought into it, as it was found necessary either to defend with arms or to protect with power and authority. In some monasteries they were only called conservators; but these, without the name, had all the functions of advowees. There were also sometimes several sub-advowees, or sub-advocates, in each monastery, who officiated instead of the advowees themselves; which, however, proved the ruin of monasteries; those inferior officers running into great abuses.
Hence also, husbands, tutors, and every person in general, who took upon him the defence of another, were denominated advowees, or advocates. Hence several cities had their advowees; which were established long after the ecclesiastical ones, and doubtless from their example. Thus we read in history of the advowees of Augsburg, of Arras, &c.
The vidames assumed the quality of advowees; and hence it is, that several historians of the eighth century confound the two functions together. Hence also it is, that several secular lords in Germany bear mitres for their crests, as having anciently been advowees of the great churches.
Spelman distinguishes two kinds of ecclesiastical advowees.—The one, of causes or processes, advocati causarum; the other, of territory or lands, advocati soli. The former were nominated by the king, and were usually lawyers, who undertook to plead the causes of the monasteries. The other, which still subsist, and are sometimes called by their primitive name, advowees, though more usually patrons, were hereditary; as being the founders and endowers of churches, &c. or their heirs.
Women were sometimes advowees, advocatissæ. And, in effect, the canon law mentions some who had this title, and who had the same right of presentation, &c. in their churches which the advowees themselves had.
Adwowe In a stat. 25 Edw. III. we meet with adwowe para-
mount for the highest patron; that is, the king.
Adwowe Adwowe, or Adwowe, in Common Law,
signifies a right to present to a vacant benefice. Ad-
wowe is so called, because the right of presenting to
the church was first gained by such as were founders,
benefactors, or maintainers of the church.
Though the nomination of fit persons to officiate in
every diocese was originally in the bishop, yet they
were content to let the founders of churches have the
nomination of the persons to the churches so founded,
reserving to themselves a right to judge of the fitness
of the persons nominated.
Adwows formerly were most of them appendant
to manors, and the patrons were parochial barons:
the lordship of the manor and patronage of the church
were seldom in different hands, until adwows were
given to religious houses. But of late times the lord-
ship of the manor and adwowe of the church have
been divided.
Adwows are presentative, collative, or donative:
presentative, where the patron presents or offers his
clerk to the bishop of the diocese, to be instituted in
his church; collative, where the benefice is given by
the bishop, as original patron thereof, or by means of a
right he has acquired by lapse; donative, as where the
king or other patron does, by a single donation in writ-
ing, put the clerk into possession, without presentation,
institution, or induction.
Sometimes, anciently, the patron had the sole nomi-
nation of the prelate, abbot, or prior; either by inve-
stiture (i. e. delivery of a pastoral staff), or by direct
presentation to the diocesan; and if a free election was
left to the religious, yet a congé d'élire, or license of
election, was first to be obtained of the patron, and the
person elected was confirmed by him. If the founder's
family became extinct, the patronage of the convent
went to the lord of the manor. Unless the several col-
leges in the universities be restrained in the number of
adwows they may receive, it is argued they will in
time acquire such a stock as to frustrate the design of
their foundation (which is the education of youth), by
creating too quick a succession of fellows; so that
there will not be in the colleges a sufficient number of
persons of competent age, knowledge, and experience,
to instruct and form the minds of the youth. In some
colleges the number of adwows is said to be already
two-thirds, or more, of the number of fellows. It is
objected, on the other side, that the succession of fel-
lows may be too slow as well as too quick; whereby
persons well qualified may be detained so long in col-
leges as not to have strength or activity enough left for
the discharge of parochial functions.
Colleges holding more adwows in number than a
moiety of the fellows, are not capable of purchasing
more. Grants of adwows by Papists are void.
9 Geo. II. c. 36. § 5. 11 Geo. II. c. 17. § 5.
Adwows are temporal inheritances and lay fees;
they may be granted by deed or will, and are assets in
the hands of heirs or executors. Presentations to ad-
wows for money, or other reward, are void. 31 Eliz.
cap. 6.
In Scotland, this right is called patronage. See PA-
TRONAGE.