ProverbHuman Nature
English origin1604
English origin1604A man's home is his castle
Meaning: A person's home is their private domain, which no one may enter or interfere with without right.
Origin: The principle comes from English law. Reporting Semayne's Case (1604), about whether a sheriff could break into a house to seize a debtor's goods, the jurist Sir Edward Coke wrote that "the house of every one is to him as his castle and fortress." Popular speech trimmed that to a man's home being his castle: not even the king's officers may enter at will.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, German, and Polish
French: Charbonnier est maître chez soi (literally: The charcoal burner is master in his own home)
Spanish: Cada uno es rey en su casa (literally: Each man is king in his own house)
German: Mein Haus ist meine Burg (literally: My house is my castle)
Polish: Szlachcic na zagrodzie równy wojewodzie (literally: A nobleman on his own farm is the equal of a governor)
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