Definition

Noun: 1. The position, authority, or domain of a feudal lord: The term refers to the status, power, and jurisdiction held by a lord (seigneur) in a feudal system, including rights over land and the people living on it. 2. The estate or territory of a feudal lord: This meaning refers to the physical land and property over which a lord exercises control and from which he derives revenue.

Usage Examples

• Referring to authority/position:
  • The king granted him the seigniory over the northern provinces, giving him judicial and military power.
  • Holding a seigniory came with the right to collect taxes and hold court.
• Referring to the estate/land:
  • The vast seigniory included several villages, forests, and farmland.
  • He inherited the family seigniory, which had been in their possession for centuries.

Advanced Usage

• "In seigniory": A phrase describing a state of being under a lord's authority or within his domain.
  • The peasants lived in seigniory, owing labor and a share of their crops to the lord.
• "Rights of seigniory": Refers to the specific legal and customary privileges inherent to a lord's position.
  • The rights of seigniory often included hunting privileges and control of local mills.

Variants and Related Words

• Seigneur (noun): The lord who holds a seigniory; the title for a feudal lord, especially in French contexts.
  • The seigneur resided in the manor house at the center of his lands.
• Seigniorial (adjective): Pertaining to a seignior or seigniory; feudal.
  • The seigniorial system defined land tenure in medieval Europe.

Synonyms

• Lordship: The authority or territory of a lord.
• Manor: The estate of a lord, often used interchangeably with the territorial sense of seigniory.
• Fief / Fiefdom: An estate of land held under feudal obligations, similar to a seigniory.

Notes on Meaning

The word seigniory is historical and specifically relates to European, particularly French and English, feudal systems. Its usage in modern English is almost exclusively in historical, legal, or academic contexts discussing medieval land tenure and social structure. The two primary meanings—authority and territory—are closely intertwined, as the authority was exercised over the specific territory.

Noun

1. the position and authority of a feudal lord
2. the estate of a seigneur