Mesne lord

Mesne lord

A mesne lord was a lord in the feudal system who had vassals who held land from him, but who was himself the vassal of a higher lord. A mesne lord did not hold land directly of the king, that is to say he was not a tenant-in-chief. His subinfeudated estate was called a "mesne estate". He was thus an intermediate or "middle" tenant, which status is reflected in the mediaeval French word mesne, in modern French moyen.[1]

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