In the feudal system, demesne (also spelled desmesne; pronounced /dəmeɪn/ [dih-MANE] or /dəmiːn/ [dih-MEEN]; via Old French demeine from Latin dominium^[1]) was all the land, not necessarily all contiguous to the manor house, that was retained by a lord for his own use - as distinguished from land "alienated" or granted to others (alieni) as freehold tenants. Feudalism, a term first used in the early modern period (17th century in its most classic sense refers to a Medieval Europe Political system composed A manor house or fortified manor-house is a Country house, which has historically formed the administrative centre of a manor (see Manorialism

Initially the demesne lands were worked on the lord's behalf by villeins or by serfs, in fulfillment of their feudal obligations. As a money economy returned, region by region, in the later Middle Ages, the serfs' corvée came to be commuted to money payments. Money is anything that is generally accepted as Payment for Goods and services and repayment of Debts. Corvée is labour often but not always unpaid that persons in power have authority to compel their subjects to perform unless commuted in some way such as by a cash payment sometimes this was With the advent of the Early modern period, demesne lands came to be cultivated by paid laborers. The early modern period is a term used by historians to refer to the period in Western '''Europe''' and its first colonies which spans the three centuries between Eventually many of the demesne lands were leased out either on a perpetual (i. e. hereditary) or a temporary, renewable basis so that many peasants functioned virtually as free proprietors after having paid their fixed rents. In times of inflation or debasement of coinage, the rent might come to represent a pittance, reducing the feudal aristocrat to poverty among a prosperous gentry. In economics inflation or price inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services over a period of time Demesne lands that were leased out for a term of years remained demesne lands, though no longer in the occupation of the lord of the manor (see, for example, Musgrave v Inclosure Commissioners (1874) LR 9 QB 162, a case in which the three judges of the Queen's Bench Divisional Court and everyone else concerned assumed without argument that farms which were let by the lord of the manor were part of the lord’s demesne land).

This system of manorial land tenure was conceived in Western Europe, initially in France but exported to areas affected by Norman expansion during the Middle Ages, for example the Kingdoms of Sicily, Scotland, Jerusalem, and England. This article is about the medieval system "Manors" redirects here The Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France. The Kingdom of Sicily (Regnum Siciliae or Sicilie Regno di Sicilia, commonly abbreviated Regno) was a state that existed in the south of Italy The Kingdom of Scotland ( Gaelic: Rìoghachd na h-Alba, Scots: Kinrick o Scotland) was a State in northwest Europe This article is about the Christian kingdom For the history of the city see History of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Christian The Kingdom of England was a State (927-1707 located in Western Europe dating from the ninth or tenth century to the early eighteenth century when it was legally

Demesne land

In English Common Law the term ancient demesne, sometimes shortened to demesne, referred to those lands that were held by the crown at the time of the Domesday Book. Common law refers to law and the corresponding legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive The Domesday Book (ˈduːmzdeɪ bʊk also known as Domesday, or Book of Winchester) was the record of the great survey The term demesne also referred to the demesne of the crown, or royal demesne, which consisted of those lands reserved for the crown at the time of the original distribution of landed property. The royal demesne could be increased, for example, as a result of forfeiture. Demesne lands were managed by stewards of the crown and were not given out in fief. Under the system of Feudalism, a fiefdom, fief, feud, feoff, or fee, often consisted of inheritable lands or revenue-producing During the reign of George III, Parliament appropriated the royal demesne, in exchange for a fixed annual sum, called the Civil List. George III (George William Frederick 4 June 1738 George III's long reign was marked by a series of military conflicts involving his kingdom much of the rest of Europe and places A civil list is a list of individuals to whom Money is paid by the Government.

As common-law practice protected the rights of the villein, tenancy at the pleasure of the lord gradually developed into the added security of copyhold leases. At its origin in Medieval England, copyhold tenure was tenure of land according to the custom of the manor the "title deeds" being

Since the demesne surrounded the principal seat of the lord, it came to be loosely used of any proprietary territory: "the works of Shakespeare are this scholar's demesne. " The "s" is not pronounced; if the word had survived into modern French it would have become "demêne. " However, the word mesnil, which occurred both in Middle French and Middle English and has the same derivation, survives in France where many small places have this in their name such as Le Mesnil, Mesnil-Mauger, Mesnil-Raoul, Bosc-Mesnil, etc. Mesnil-Mauger is a village and commune of France, in the département of Seine-Maritime. Mesnil-Raoul is a village and commune of France, in the département of Seine-Maritime. Bosc-Mesnil is a village and commune of France, in the département of Seine-Maritime. The less affected broad modern equivalent of "demesne" is "domain".

Footnotes

See also

• Mains (Scotland)

Mains ( Scottish Gaelic: Mànas) in Scotland normally refers to Farms It is a pseudo-plural actually being a Lowland Scots corruption

© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic