What did Edward's title of vicar-general mean?

What did the role of vicar-general entail?

It made Edward a senior military lieutenant of the Holy Roman Empire with authority to fight on its behalf.

The title carried the sense of a lieutenant acting for imperial authority. It was associated specifically with the political structure and delegated authority of the Holy Roman Empire. In practical terms it strengthened Edward's status as a senior general within the emperor's military system. The office therefore mattered more as a diplomatic and command credential than as an ecclesiastical role suggested by the word vicar.