Fiefdom in the context of "Duchy of Kalisz"

A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document (charter) establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages.

Traditionally, the granting of a charter gave a settlement and its inhabitants the right to town privileges under the feudal system. Townspeople who lived in chartered towns were burghers, as opposed to serfs who lived in villages. Towns were often "free", in the sense that they were directly protected by the king or emperor, and were not part of a feudal fief.

A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess. In Western European tradition, the title of duke ranked among the highest nobility, generally just below the monarch and above counts or earls.

Historically, there was a significant distinction between sovereign dukes, who ruled independent states, and dukes who were simply noblemen within larger kingdoms. Some duchies functioned as sovereign states in regions that only later became unified nation‑states, such as Germany (once the Holy Roman Empire, a federal empire) and Italy (later a unified kingdom). By contrast, other duchies were subordinate territories within kingdoms that had already consolidated, either partially or fully, during the medieval era: examples include France, Spain, Sicily, Naples, and the Papal States.

The State of the Teutonic Order (German: Staat des Deutschen Ordens, pronounced [ˈʃtaːt dɛs ˌdɔʏtʃn̩ ˈʔɔʁdn̩s] ) was a theocratic state located along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea in northern Europe. It was formed by the knights of the Teutonic Order during the early 13th century Northern Crusades in the region of Prussia. In 1237, the Livonian Brothers of the Sword merged with the Teutonic Order of Prussia and became known as its branch – the Livonian Order (while their state, Terra Mariana, covering present-day Estonia, Latvia, and a small part of Russia, became part of the State of the Teutonic Order). At its greatest territorial extent during the early 15th century, the State encompassed Chełmno Land, Courland, Gotland, Livonia, Estonia, Neumark, Pomerelia (Gdańsk Pomerania), Prussia and Samogitia.

Following the battles of Grunwald in 1410 and Wilkomierz in 1435, the State fell into decline. After losing extensive territories in the imposed Peace of Thorn in 1466, the extant territory of its Prussian branch became known as Monastic Prussia (Polish: Prusy zakonne) or Teutonic Prussia (Polish: Prusy krzyżackie). It existed until 1525 as a fiefdom of the Polish Crown. The Livonian branch joined the Livonian Confederation and continued to exist as part of it until 1561.

Feudalism as practised in the Kingdom of England during the medieval period was a system of political, military, and socio-economic organisation based on land tenure. Designed to consolidate power and direct the wealth of the land to the king while providing military service to his causes, feudal society was structured around hierarchical relationships involving land ownership and obligations. These landholdings were known as fiefs, fiefdoms, or fees.

A demesne (/dɪˈmeɪn, -ˈmiːn/ di-MAYN, -⁠MEEN) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. In contrast, the entire territory controlled by a monarch both directly and indirectly via their tenant lords would typically be referred to as their realm. The concept originated in the Kingdom of France and found its way to foreign lands influenced by it or its fiefdoms.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, royal demesne is the land held by the Crown, and ancient demesne is the legal term for the land held by the king at the time of the Domesday Book in 1086.