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{{short description|Lowest administrative and judicial unit in Low Countries before 1800}}
[[Image:Huis te Warmond.jpg|thumb|260px|Warmond House (Huis te Warmond), the manor house for the Hoge Heerlijkheid of [[Warmond]]]]
==Characteristics and types==
[[Image:Titles of Jacob Jan, Lord of Wassenaar (1765).JPG|thumb|260px|Titles of Jacob Jan, Lord of Wassenaar (1765)]]A typical ''heerlijkheid'' manor consisted of a village and the surrounding lands extending out for a kilometre or so. Taking 18th-century [[Wassenaar]] as an example of a large ''hoge heerlijkheid'', it was 3,612 [[morgen]]s in size and had 297 houses. Nearby [[Voorschoten]] was 1,538 morgens in size and had 201 houses. [[Nootdorp]] was an ''ambachtsheerlijkheid'' of 196 morgens and 58 houses.<ref>[http://www.herenvanholland.nl Heerlijkheden van Holland] (in Dutch only)</ref> There were 517 ''heerlijkheden'' in the province of Holland in the 18th century. All fell into the last three categories in the list below (except for a few for which this information is unknown).
Not all ''heerlijkheden'' were the same. They differed in size and composition.<ref name="Janse">{{Cite book |author=Antheun Janse, "Een in zichzelf verdeeld rijk" |title=Geschiedenis van Holland (Deel 1: tot 1572)}}pp. 70-102</ref> Also, a ''heerlijkheid'' should not be confused with a larger territory, like a [[county]] (''graafschap'') or [[viscounty]] (''burggraafschap''), nor with administrative regions on par with an English [[shire]], Dutch ''gouw'', German ''[[Gau (country subdivision)|Gau]]'', or Roman or Carolingian ''[[pagus]]''. A Flemish [[castellany]] (''kasselrij'' or ''burggraafschap'') was larger and different from a ''heerlijkheid'', but they were similar in some ways.<ref name="Nicholas">{{Cite book|author=David Nicholas|title=Medieval Flanders}} pp. 47, 50, 88, 106, 159, 341</ref>
There were different kinds of ''heerlijkheid'':
* '''''erfheerlijkheid''''' — a specifically hereditary [[feudal barony]]. Depending on the County and era, ''heerlijkheiden'' could be hereditary or non-hereditary, and inherited either by the eldest male descendent, all male descendants in the male line in shares, or later by a female descendent where there was no son.
* '''''vrijheerlijkheid''''' — an allod or allodium.<ref name="NWNT">{{Cite book|author=I.M. Calisch and N.S. Calisch|title=Nieuw Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal 1864}}</ref> These ''heerlijkheden'' were found usually at the edges of a county and were called 'free' (''vrij'') because they were [[allodial]] instead of a [[fief]] held by an overlord.<ref name="Janse">{{Cite book|author=Antheun Janse, "Een in zichzelf verdeeld rijk"|title=Geschiedenis van Holland (Deel 1: tot 1572)}}pp. 70-102</ref>▼
* '''''hoge heerlijkheid''''' — a great barony or ‘[[Honour (feudal barony)|honour]]’, either a [[fief]] or [[allodium]]. In these large lordships, the lord had jurisdiction to appoint a bailiff (''baljuw'') instead of just a reeve (''[[schout]]''), and to administer capital punishment.
▲** '''''vrijheerlijkheid''''' — an allod or allodium.<ref name="NWNT">{{Cite book |author=I.M. Calisch and N.S. Calisch |title=Nieuw Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal 1864}}</ref> These ''heerlijkheden'' were
▲* '''''hoge heerlijkheid''''' — a great barony or ‘[[Honour (feudal barony)|honour]]’, either a [[fief]] or [[allodium]]. In these large lordships, the lord had jurisdiction to appoint a bailiff (''baljuw'') instead of just a reeve (''[[schout]]''), and to administer capital punishment. It was possible for a ''heerlijkheid'' to be both prescriptive (''vrij'') and large (''hoge''). The largest were actually mini-counties within the county.<ref name="Janse"/>
* '''''ambacht''''' or '''''ambachtsheerlijkheid''''' — a [[serjeanty]], often located inland rather than on the borders. Serjeanties sometimes consisted of nothing more than a castle and a few hectares of land, although most were larger than this.<ref name="Janse"/> The serjeant did not have the power of 'pit and gallows', i.e., the power to impose the death penalty.
* '''''schoutsambt''''' — a reeveland, the territory under the charge of a reeve (''[[schout]]''), thus equivalent to the jurisdiction of a ''heerlijkheid''
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In the province of [[Holland]], possession of a ''heerlijkheid'' was a prerequisite for admission to the ''ridderschap'' (literally, the "knighthood"), the college of nobles that represented rural areas in the States of Holland. A seat in the ''ridderschap'' provided access to various financially interesting honorary positions and offices.
It was not unusual for a noble to amass a number of ''heerlijkheden''.<ref name="Janse"/> [[
Starting around 1500, nobles began selling the rights to ''heerlijkheden'' to non-nobles; however, losing a ''heerlijkheid'' did not result in loss of noble status. The [[List of Dutch noble families|nobility]] were recognised by all as having a special status not attached to wealth or ownership of a ''heerlijkheid''.
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