A manor was a large estate in medieval Europe where a lord lived and controlled the surrounding farmland and villages. Think of it as a small, self-contained world: the lord's grand house or castle stood at the center, surrounded by fields where peasants grew crops, forests for hunting, and workshops where blacksmiths, bakers, and other craftspeople worked.

The lord of the manor owned the land and granted peasants the right to farm portions of it in exchange for labor, crops, or rent. These peasants, called serfs, weren't slaves but couldn't leave the manor without permission. The manor system dominated European life for centuries, shaping how people lived, worked, and understood their place in society.

In England especially, many grand manor houses still stand today, some converted into museums or hotels. When you hear about “lords and ladies” in historical stories, they're often living in manors like these.

The word also appears in modern place names, like Wayne Manor (Batman's home), and in manor houses that wealthy families built in later centuries. Today, calling a house a “manor” suggests it's especially large and impressive, even if there are no serfs farming the fields anymore.