Editing Lord of the manor (section)

{{Short description|Landholder of a rural estate}}
{{Other uses|Lord of the manor (disambiguation)|Lady of the manor (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
[[File:IMote.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Ightham Mote]], a 14th-century [[moat]]ed [[manor house]] near Sevenoaks, Kent, England]]

{{English Feudalism}}
'''Lord of the manor''' is a title that, in [[Anglo-Saxon England]] and [[Norman England]], referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English [[Feudalism|feudal]] (specifically [[English feudal barony|Baronial]]) system. The lord enjoyed [[Manorialism|manorial rights]] (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the [[manor house]] and [[demesne]]) as well as [[seignory]], the right to grant or draw benefit from the estate (for example, as a [[landlord]]). The title is not a [[peerage]] or title of upper nobility (although the holder could also be a peer) but was a relationship to land and how it could be used and those living on the land (tenants) may be deployed, and the broad estate and its inhabitants administered. The title continues in modern [[England and Wales]] as a legally recognised form of property that can be held independently of its historical rights.<ref name="Land Registry Practice Guide 22">{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/manors/practice-guide-22-manors |title=Land Registry Practice Guide 22}}</ref> It may belong entirely to one person or be a [[moiety title|moiety]] shared with other people. The title is known as {{lang|cy|Breyr}} in [[Welsh language|Welsh]].

In Scotland, the equivalent title to a Lord of the Manor is [[Laird]], though it carries no formal status in law. Some sources, such as the [[Manorial Society of Great Britain|Manorial Society]], mistakenly claim that [[Baronage of  Scotland|Scottish baronies]] are equivalent to English Lords of the Manor, asserting that ''"Scottish Baronies are essentially what in England are called ‘manors’, but are called ‘baronies’."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Advice on buying a Manorial Title |url=https://www.manorialsociety.co.uk/advice.html |access-date=2025-03-29 |website=The Manorial Society of Great Britain |language=en}}</ref>'' However, this is incorrect. Scottish barons held a noble rank and title of honour<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lord Clyde |url=https://archive.org/details/1992-lord-clydes-dictum |title=1992 Lord Clyde's Dictum - Scottish Barony Title of Nobility and Title of Hounour - Law Lord's Legal Position |date=1992}}</ref> granted by the King through a crown charter, conferring pre-eminences, precedence, and privileges, including a seat in the [[Government in early modern Scotland|Scottish Parliament]] as part of the ancient [[Three Estates]] until the Union of 1707. When attending in person, they sat among the nobility of the ''Second Estate''. Today, these titles retain legal status as personal dignities and grant heraldic rights. In contrast, Lords of the Manor were not titles granted by the King and did not constitute a noble rank, but were rather a style applied to the owners of estates. Therefore, whilst Scottish barons held a recognised noble status with parliamentary privileges historically, and maintain certain rights today, Lords of the Manor did not possess noble rank or parliamentary rights.

In the British [[Crown Dependencies]] of [[Jersey]] and [[Guernsey]] the equivalent title is [[Seigneur]].

A similar concept of such a lordship is known in French as '''''Sieur''''' or {{lang|fr|[[Seigneur]] du Manoir}}, {{lang|de|Gutsherr}} in [[German language|German]], {{lang|tr|Kaleağası}} (Kaleagasi) in [[Turkish language|Turkish]], {{lang|no|Godsherre}} in [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] and [[Swedish language|Swedish]], {{lang|nl|Ambachtsheer}} in [[Dutch language|Dutch]], and {{lang|it|Signore}} or {{lang|it|Vassallo}} in [[Italian language|Italian]].