ECHEVIN, rish'viix' (OE.. Fr. csche•in. It. sebia vino, keabino. from MI.. seabinus, sheriff, from 011G. skeffino, Ger. Schiiffe, from 01IG. .seaffna, Ger. scha(Ten, to create). During the Middle Ages, a royal oflieer possessing a large of power in local administration. The ofliee was common in France and the Low Coun tries, and prevailed to a less degree throughout Germany. It first appears in the documents of the century. When Charles the Great reformed the administration, t he t;ehevins twin royal °divers for the counties and hundreds. They were named by the missi or royal &Tuttle:, the counts. and the people, and held their olive during good behavior. The system continued without any important change during the Caro lingian period. In the tenth century the •dievins Mere given jurisdiction over the non noble clas-, the pea,ants, and the towns, and later became municipal magi-trates. At the close of the
tt‘elfth century the (•hevins in the towns mere elected yearly. The (:•chevins seem to have formed a body or tribunal which in many canes not only administered justice, but controlled military affairs, and imposed police regulations. In the north of France these tribunals were especially numerous. The powers of the ;•herins declined after the sixteenth century, and the Central Government, in 17ti4, sought to unify the whole system. of by limiting the num ber to four for all large towns. In Paris there were four kffievins. chosen every two years. Their powers were limited to the regulation of trade. fixing the prices of commodities, and set tling the disputes of tradesmen. The office of iThevin was abolished in December, 17S9, dur ing the first period of the French Revolution.