Demesne

[2] The word derives from Old French demeine, ultimately from Latin dominus, "lord, master of a household" – demesne is a variant of domaine.

[5] The system of manorial land tenure, broadly termed feudalism, was conceived in France, but was exported to areas impacted by French expansion during the Middle Ages, including the British Isles after the Norman Conquest.

Eventually, many of the demesne lands were leased out either on a perpetual (i.e., hereditary) or a temporary renewable basis so that many peasants functioned virtually as free proprietors after having paid their fixed rents.

In times of inflation or debasement of coinage, the rent might come to represent a pittance, reducing the feudal aristocrat to poverty among a prosperous gentry.

During the reign of King George III (1760–1820), Parliament appropriated most of the royal demesne, in exchange for a fixed annual sum thenceforth payable to the monarch, called the Civil List.

In the Lordship of Ireland, King Henry II claimed a large area as the royal demesne in 1171: Dublin, its hinterland, the coastline down to Arklow and the towns of Wexford and Waterford.

Conjectural map of a feudal manor . The mustard-coloured areas are part of the demesne, the hatched areas part of the glebe . The manor house , residence of the lord and location of the manorial court , can be seen in the mid-southern part of the manor.