Seneschal Oswold was the father of Master William and the Seneschal of Daventry.
Background[]
His family stretches far back into the roots of Daventry, he is seneschal, as was his father before him (under King Edward), and ancestral seneschels even further back. His family goes back further than even Graham's family.
As Seneschal he was in charge of the kingdom while King Graham and his queen were away, he was also in charge of the fiscal welfare of the castle, and other day to day concerns. His position appears to be second only to, or comparable to that of the Prime Minister Gerwain who has also been put in charge of the castle while Graham was away questing. Both having been concerned with the domestic arrangements, administration of the servants, food collection, parties, feasts, and any related financial issues related to that work. Both also been granted some control over the justice system and laws of the country, and Oswald specifically is shown taking over the task of overseeing the court trials in the kingdom when the king is away.[1]
At the end of winter, he directed the staff to air out unused rooms and prepare them for summer living.[2]
Whereas Gerwain has also been shown to be in charge of feast arrangements, kingdom policies and laws, and advising the king..
Personality and traits[]
He has brown eyes.
Titles and nicknames[]
- Seneschal Oswold
- Seneschal of Daventry
- Seneschal
- Father
- Dah
Behind the scenes[]
The Daventry Official in KQ8 is a minister in Daventry's court, and a main advisor. This would place him likely either as Prime Minister or the Seneschel. Though it is unclear which. If he is the prime minister he may be the one who replaced Gerwain following events of KQ3. If he is the Seneschel he may be Oswold, or even an older William.
Oswold at one point is concerned about bankrupting the kingdom by hiring independent contractors. At first this may seem like a contradiction because Daventry has endless supply of gold from a Magic Chest. However one need only go back to the King's Quest 1 manual to see that the main source of Daventry's prosperity came from the Magic Mirror, it says everyone had to 'tighten their belts' (a term often associated with financial insolvency or poverty) after it was lost instead of selling surplus in exports for income the kingdom had to rely on the chest of gold instead. At the time Oswold makes his statement the magic mirror is under the darkening curse, so the kingdom is unable to predict the market and weather to ensure successful export market. If anything is like Edward's time they would not want to rely on the magic chest unless they devalue gold in the process by flooding the market with the stuff. Also Gold is generally considered worthless to people in Daventry because there is essentially endless supply of the stuff (so its mainly used to trade with outside kingdoms).[3]
Oswold may be based on Osbern the Steward, who was Seneschal to two Dukes of Normandy. Or on Oswald the servant in King Leer.
While likely just a coincidence another Sierra Conquests of the Longbow had a character named Oswald Oakhurst who sold rugs taken from the King's palace in Daventry.