“ The châtelain was originally, in Carolingian times, an official of the count; with the development of feudalism the office became a fief, and so ultimately hereditary. In this as in other respects the châtelain was the equivalent of the viscount (q.v.) sometimes the two titles were combined, but more usually in those provinces where there were châtelains there were no viscounts, and vice versa. The title châtelain continued also to be applied to the inferior officer, or concierge châtelain, who was merely a castellan in the English sense. ”