Demesne
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
or DOMAIN (de-mān'), in law, a manor-house and the land adjacent or near, which a lord keeps in his own hands or immediate occupation, for the use of his family, as distinguished from his tenemental lands, distributed among his tenants. See DOMAIN, PUBLIC. DEMETRIUS I., a king of Syria, surnamed Soter, son of Seleucus Philopater, born 185 b. C. He was sent as hostage to Rome by his father, on whose death Antiochus Epiphanes, and after him his son, Antiochus Eupator, usurped the throne of Syria. The Roman Senate denied him assis assistance, but the Syrians recognized him for their lawful prince, and he obtained the throne, 162 b. c. He then declared war against the Jews, and in this war Judas Maccabæus lost his life. A confederacy of the neighboring kings was formed against Demetrius, who was slain about 150 b. c. II., called Nicator DEMETRIUS ), was the son of the pre- (conqueror conqueror ceding. Ptolemy Philometer, King of Egypt, placed him on the throne of his father, after expelling the usurper, Alexander Balas, 146 b. c. He married Cleopatra, the wife of the same Alexander, and daughter of Ptolemy. He was subsequently taken prisoner by the King of Parthia, who gave him his daughter in marriage, which so incensed Cleopatra, that she married Antiochus Sidetes, her brother-in-law. Sidetes, however, fell in battle, and Demetrius recovered his throne; but he did not retain it long, for he was once more expelled by Alexander Zebina, and was killed by the Governor of Tyre, 126 b. c.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
When Collier's wrote this in 1921, demesne was still live law: manors with tenemental lands held by copyhold tenants really did exist in England. Within months the Law of Property Act 1922 abolished copyhold tenure, and from 1 January 1926 all such land became freehold, with the remaining manorial incidents extinguished or compensated over the following decades. The word survives chiefly in history and estate description, and in one technical corner: "demesne land of the Crown", land the sovereign holds without any estate in it, which the Land Registration Act 2002 finally allowed the Crown to register by granting itself a freehold. Readers should note that the entry as scanned runs straight on into two unrelated articles on the Seleucid kings Demetrius I Soter and Demetrius II Nicator.
Written for this edition, 2026.