The Sheriff of Dublin City was the Sovereign's judicial representative in Dublin. Initially an office for lifetime, assigned by the Sovereign, the Sheriff became an annual appointment following the Provisions of Oxford in 1258. Besides his judicial importance, the sheriff had ceremonial and administrative functions and executed High Court Writs. Sheriffs (two for each year) were first appointed in Dublin in 1308 under the name of bailiffs; the title was changed to sheriff in 1548.