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The fact is that medieval kings owned almost all land; taking England as an example, medieval kings owned all except Church lands. They parcelled out sections to their Earls, who in turn gave some to senior barons, who gave some to lower ranking knights, who in turn gave land to freemen and serfs. All of these were land holders, not land owners; they paid rent and/or gave work or other services to their respective landlords - this is the basis of the feudal system. The king still owned all these parcels of land and he could confiscate any of them back again if he wished.

Since all land belonged to the king (or to the Church as an institution), there was no such thing as trespass on king's land.

The idea of the king owning practically everything was one of the reasons that William I ordered the Domesday Book to be compiled, so he would know the taxable value of everything in his new kingdom.

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14y ago

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