Legal Definitions - droit de gite

Droit de gite is a historical French legal concept that refers to a specific obligation placed upon commoners who held land directly within the king's domain. This duty required them to provide accommodation and sustenance to members of the royal court or royal officials when they were traveling through the commoner's land on official royal business. It essentially functioned as a form of service or tax paid in kind, ensuring the smooth operation of royal administration and travel across the kingdom.

Here are some examples illustrating the application of droit de gite:

• Imagine a royal tax collector, on a journey to audit the accounts of a provincial governor, stopping at the estate of a commoner farmer whose land is part of the royal domain. Under the obligation of droit de gite, the farmer would be required to provide the collector and his small retinue with a place to sleep for the night and a meal, facilitating the collector's official duties without cost to the crown.

• Consider the King's chief architect, dispatched to inspect the progress of a new royal fortress being constructed near the border. As he travels through various villages and farmlands belonging to commoners within the king's direct control, these landowners would be compelled by droit de gite to offer him and his assistants shelter and provisions for their journey, ensuring the royal project could be properly overseen.

• Picture a royal magistrate traveling to a distant town to preside over a special court session concerning a dispute over royal forest lands. When he passes through a commoner's property that falls within the royal domain, the commoner must, according to droit de gite, provide the magistrate and his clerks with food and lodging for their stay before they continue their official duties, thereby supporting the administration of royal justice.