{{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]]]]
[[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>
