Register of Lordships in Holland and Zeeland (c. 1200–1650)

However, not every record in the dataset represents a lordship: to understand the dynamic role of lordships in both counties, we first created a base layer of all jurisdictions (including those not held in fief). Only by knowing which areas were not enfeoffed to a lord is it possible to fully assess the role of lordships in the landscape over time.

For each jurisdiction, we determined the status of its lesser jurisdiction in 1475: whether it was enfeoffed (Yes: Y; No: N; Uncertain: U), part of a non-enfeoffed urban jurisdiction (T), or an alternative (A) such as allodial status. For each jurisdiction we have also defined a chronological statement indicating the status of the higher jurisdiction throughout the period covered by our database (1200-1650). Some elements require further refinement.