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Aseigneur (French pronunciation:[sɛɲœʁ]ⓘ) orlord is an originallyfeudal title inFrance before theRevolution, inNew France andBritish North America until 1854, and in theChannel Islands to this day. The seigneur owned aseigneurie,seigneury, or lordship—a form of title orland tenure—as afief, with its associated obligations and rights over person and property.[1] In this sense, a seigneur could be an individual—male or female, high or low-born—or a collective entity, typically a religious community such as amonastery,seminary,college, orparish.Seigneurialism was repealed in Acadia in 1733,[2] France in 1789 and the Province of Canada in 1854.[3] Since then, the feudal title has only been applicable in the Channel Islands and forsovereign princes by their families.
The English seigneur is borrowed from the Frenchseigneur, which descends fromMiddle Frenchseigneur, fromOld Frenchseignor (oblique form ofsire), fromLatinseniōrem, the accusative singular ofsenior ("elder"), the comparative form ofsenex ("old, elderly"). It is a doublet of the English wordssenior,sir,sire,seignior, sieur, andmonsieur and shares the same provenance as theItaliansignore,Portuguesesenhor, andSpanishseñor, which—likemister—referred to feudal lords before becoming general words of respectful address towards men.
The noble title and land title of a seigneur is a seigneurie orlordship, the rights that the seigneur was entitled to is calledseigneuriage, and thejurisdiction exercised over the fief wasseigneur justicier. The bearers of these titles, rights, and jurisdiction were generally but not exclusively male. A female seigneur was generally known as a seigneuresse or lady. The seigneur could be a noble or aroturier (commoner) as well as a corporation such as religious order, a monastery, a parish.
In English,seigneur is used in historical scholarship to discuss the French seigneurial system.[4] It is also frequentlycalqued as "lord", the analogous term in the English feudal system.
The termgrand seigneur has survived in English and French. Today this usually means an elegant, urbanegentleman. Some even use it in a stricter sense to refer to a man whose manners and way of life reflect his noble ancestry and great wealth. In addition,Le Grand Seigneur had long been the name given by the French to theOttoman sultan.[5]Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christis the French equivalent of the EnglishOur LordJesusChrist.
The English wordseignorage is also derived fromseigneur.
The title is still used in theChannel Islands, self-governing territories in theEnglish Channel which swear fealty to theBritish Crown as the successor to theDuke of Normandy.[6] In particular, it refers to theSeigneur of Sark, the hereditary ruler ofSark, a jurisdiction of theBailiwick of Guernsey. TheSeigneur of Saint Ouen and theSeigneur of Samarès are titles in theBailiwick of Jersey. According to the Feudal Dues Law of 1980 of Guernsey, the style of Dame or Seigneur is legally authorized for use by Seigneurs and Dames of Fiefs of the Crown Dependency of Guernsey.[6]
Guernsey or theBailiwick of Guernsey is one of the Channel Islands that is aCrown Dependency. Guernsey still hasfeudal law and legal fiefs in existence today. Each fief has a Seigneur and/or Dame that owns the fief. The Guernsey fiefs and seigneurs have long existed before baronies and are part ofNormandy. While nobility has been outlawed in France and Germany, noble fiefs still exist by law in Guernsey. The owners of the fiefs actually convene each year at theCourt of Chief Pleas under the supervision of His Majesty's Government. There are approximately 24 private fiefs in Guernsey that are registered directly with the Crown. Some Fief Seigneurs own more than one Fief or have several Fiefs within their Fief territory.[7]
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