[2] The smallest territorial unit in both ecclesiastical and secular jurisdiction during that time was the parish, also known as "ga" in Old Frisian.
[2] In Friesland, many grietenijen were named with the suffix "deel," which meant "part," such as Franekeradeel.
[2] Land Ownership Ownership of land in the grietenij was typically held by Frisian nobility (Friese adel, hoofdelingen), churches, or monasteries, and it was often leased out to tenant farmers.
According to tax records, around 35-40% of the fertile clay areas were owned by urban landowners and the hoofdelingen.
in 1640, 5% of the vote bearing properties in Leeuwarderadeel were both used and owned by the same person, while in AEngwirden (in the peat area) the number was 38%[3] These common, poorer, freehold farmers were known as husmannen (huisman, house-owning men), and their social and economic status varied greatly.