ADVOWSON • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Advowson

... of an ecclesiastical benefice, whose sole right of any importance was an hereditary one of presenting a parson to the bishop for institution. In this way the hereditary right of presentation to a benefice came to be called in English an "advowson'' (advocatio). The advocatus played a more important part in the feudal polity of the Empire and of the Low Countries than in France, where his functions, confined to the protection of the interests of religious ...

— Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia