A demesne was the land reserved by a lord of the manor for his own use under the medieval feudal system, as opposed to the land he let to his tenants,^[1] who were expected to work on their lord’s land in part payment for their tenancies.^[2]

Immediately following the Norman Conquest of 1066, all of England was claimed by King William the Conqueror as his royal demesne, also known as Crown land. He then made grants of large tracts of land under various forms of feudal tenure from his demesne, generally in the form of feudal baronies. In turn they sub-let parts of their lands, while retaining sufficient to provide for their own needs using the labour of their tenants.^[3]

The word derives from the Old French demeine, meaning “belonging to a lord”.

See also

• SocageForm of tenure under English feudal property law.