The
crown lands,
crown estate,
royal domain or (in
French)
domaine royal (from
demesne) of France refers to the lands,
fiefs and rights directly possessed by the
kings of France. While the term eventually came to refer to a territorial unit, the royal domain originally referred to the network of "castles, villages and estates, forests, towns, religious houses and bishoprics, and the rights of justice, tolls and taxes" effectively held by the king or under his domination. In terms of territory, before the reign of
Henry IV, the
domaine royal did not encompass the entirety of the
territory of the kingdom of France and for much of the Middle Ages significant portions of the kingdom were the direct possessions of other feudal lords.