Basque_señoríos
The Basque jaurerriak or señoríos (literally, the Basque lordships) were a series of feudal territories that came into existence in the Basque Country in the Middle Ages. The lordships were hereditary land titles over territories of variable size under the name of a lord or count. The title and lands were often recognized by kings to Basque chieftains. It is loosely related to the concept of manorialism as the king had to swear allegiance to the Foral law in exchange for military assistance from the Basque chiefs, who were considered sovereign over their own lands and people. The Basque señoríos generally conformed vassal states of larger kingdoms; most of them started as domains of the Kingdom of Pamplona (later Navarre) but were conquered and attached to the Kingdom of Castile by the 13th century. The Basque term jaurreria (pronounced [jauˈɾeria]) means "the lord's country" and it is usually used to refer to these feudal territories.
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The feudal title confirmed considerable powers to the holder, which in other areas were directly controlled by the king. The Lord or Count was a sovereign judicial and military high authority, who ruled directly without referring to a king. The powers of the lord included the appointment of government and civil servants and collection of taxes, as well as the powers to sign external treaties, raise armies and wage wars.
The largest and most important of the señoríos was the Lordship of Biscay, which comprised the entire territory of the present-day province of Biscay.
