Heerlijkheid: Difference between revisions

[[Image:Huis te Warmond.jpg|thumb|260px|Warmond House (Huis te Warmond), the manor house for the Hoge Heerlijkheid of Warmond]]A '''''heerlijkheid''''' (a [[Dutch language|Dutch]] word; pl. ''heerlijkheden''; also called ''heerschap''; Latin: ''[[Dominium]]'')<ref>Brabantia illustrata</ref>) was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and [[Judiciary|judicial]] unit in rural areas in the [[Dutch language|Dutch]]-speaking [[Low Countries]] before 1800. It originated as a unit of lordship under the [[Feudalism|feudal]] system during the [[Middle Ages]]. The English equivalents are ''[[Manorialism|manor]]'', ''[[seigniory]]'', and ''[[lordship]]''.<ref name="van dale">{{Cite book|author=Van Dale|title=Groot Woordenboek Nederlands Engels}}. The translation used by J.L. Price in ''Dutch Society 1588-1713'' is "manor"; by David Nicholas in ''Medieval Flanders'' is "seigneury".</ref> The German equivalent is ''[[Herrschaft]]''. The ''heerlijkheid'' system was the Dutch version of [[manorialism]] that prevailed in the Low Countries and was the precursor to the modern [[Municipalities of the Netherlands|municipality system in the Netherlands]] and [[List of municipalities of the Flemish Region|Flemish Belgium]].<ref>The unreferrenced information in this article has been translated from the mostly unfootnoted article on "heerlijkheid" on the Dutch version of Wikipedia.</ref><ref>Much of the unreferrenced information in this article is found at this website: [http://www.herenvanholland.nl Heerlijkheden van Holland] (in Dutch only)</ref>

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>

The central figure was the lord of the ''heerlijkheid'' and effectively its owner—the [[lord of the manor|manorial lord]] or [[lady]]. In Dutch, the lord was called ''heer'' and the lady ''vrouw(e)''. The lord was also referred to by the Latin word ''[[dominus (title)|dominus]]''. A rarer English alternative is ''[[fiefdom|seigneur]]''.<ref name="Schama PL">{{Cite book|author=Simon Schama|title=Patriots & Liberators|year=1992|publisher=Fontana Press|isbn=9780006861560|url=https://archive.org/details/patriotsliberato00scha_0|url-access=registration}} pp. 75-77, 212, 222, 429, 470-472</ref> There were different kinds of lord and lady:

Originally ''heerlijkheden'' were in the hands of the [[List of Dutch noble families|nobility]]. Much of the wealth of a noble family came from their ownership. Many members of the nobiiltynobility were heavily dependent on this source of power, income and status. Because the surnames of noble families were often derived from a ''heerlijkheid'' (e.g. "van [[Wassenaar|Wassenaer]]"), it was important for the prestige of the family to maintain ownership over it. However, the economic benefits of a heerlijkheid were not always certain, finances were not always well arranged, and some nobles were poor.<ref name="Nicholas"/><ref name="Price"/>

It was not unusual for a noble to amass a number of ''heerlijkheden''.<ref name="Janse"/> [[QueenWillem-Alexander Beatrixof the Netherlands|King Willem-Alexander]] is a modern-day example of a noblewomannobleman who holds the titles to many ''heerlijkheden''. In addition to herhis [[Style of the Dutch sovereign|primary titles]], shehe is the ErfvrouweErf- anden VrijvrouweVrijheer ofvan Ameland and the Vrouwe of Baarn, Besançon,Heer van Borculo, Bredevoort, BütgenbachLichtenvoorde, DaasburgHet Loo, Geertruidenberg, HeilooClundert, UpperZevenbergen, andHooge Loweren Lage Zwaluwe, KlundertNaaldwijk, LichtenvoordePolanen, LooSint-Maartensdijk, MontfortSoest, NaaldwijkBaarn, NiervaartTer Eem, PolanenWillemstad, Steenbergen, Sint MaartensdijkMontfort, SintSankt Vith, SoestBurgenbach, TerDaasburg, EemNiervaart, Turnhout, Willemstaden and ZevenbergenBesançon.

* [httphttps://www.herenvanholland.nl/heren-heerlijkheden-en-heerlijke-rechten Heerlijkheden van Holland] Site with lists and detailed information about ''heerlijkheden'' in 18th-century Holland and their owners.

[[Category:Types of countryadministrative subdivisionsdivision]]