Crown lands of France

The crown lands, crown estate, royal domain or domaine royal of France refers to the lands, fiefs and rights directly possessed by the kings of France. While the term eventually came to refer to a territorial unit, in its origin the royal domain referred to the network of castles, villages and estates, forests, towns, religious houses and bishoprics, and the rights of justice, tolls and taxes effectively held by the king or under his domination. In terms of territory, before the reign of Henry IV, the domaine royal did not encompass the entirety of the territory of the kingdom of France and for much of the Middle Ages significant portions of the kingdom were the direct possessions of other feudal lords. In the tenth and eleventh centuries, the first Capetians while being rulers of France were among the least powerful of the great feudal lords of France in terms of territory possessed. Patiently, through the use of feudal law conquest, annexation, skillful marriages with female inheritors of large fiefs, and even by purchase, the kings of France were able to increase the royal domain

Klappentext

The crown lands, crown estate, royal domain or domaine royal of France refers to the lands, fiefs and rights directly possessed by the kings of France. While the term eventually came to refer to a territorial unit, in its origin the royal domain referred to the network of castles, villages and estates, forests, towns, religious houses and bishoprics, and the rights of justice, tolls and taxes effectively held by the king or under his domination. In terms of territory, before the reign of Henry IV, the domaine royal did not encompass the entirety of the territory of the kingdom of France and for much of the Middle Ages significant portions of the kingdom were the direct possessions of other feudal lords. In the tenth and eleventh centuries, the first Capetians while being rulers of France were among the least powerful of the great feudal lords of France in terms of territory possessed. Patiently, through the use of feudal law conquest, annexation, skillful marriages with female inheritors of large fiefs, and even by purchase, the kings of France were able to increase the royal domain