Legal Definitions - seignory

Seignory refers to the rights, powers, and authority held by a feudal lord over a particular estate, territory, or domain and its inhabitants. It encompasses the lord's dominion, superior ownership, and the associated privileges, such as the right to collect rents, administer justice, demand services, and exercise governance over their tenants and land.

• Example 1: Medieval English Baron

  Consider a powerful baron in 12th-century England who controlled a vast manor. His seignory over this land meant he possessed the legal right to demand labor from the serfs working his fields, collect rents from free tenants, and preside over a manorial court to settle disputes among his villagers. This example illustrates how the baron's seignory granted him comprehensive authority and superior ownership over both the land and the people living within his domain.

• Example 2: Japanese Feudal Lord (Daimyo)

  In feudal Japan, a *daimyo* (a powerful territorial lord) held seignory over his domain. This allowed him to levy taxes on the farmers cultivating the land, raise an army composed of his samurai, and enforce his own set of laws and customs within his territory. The daimyo's seignory represented his complete dominion and control over the land and its populace, including the right to govern and extract resources, much like a sovereign ruler within his own territory.