The manor was the basic unit of rural organization and economic life in medieval Europe under the feudal system. It was a self-sufficient agricultural estate owned by a lord and worked mainly by peasants and serfs. The manorial system emerged after the decline of the Roman Empire when political instability and frequent invasions encouraged local self-reliance and protection. A typical manor consisted of the lord's residence or manor house, cultivated fields, meadows, forests, pastures, mills, churches, and the peasant village. The land was generally divided into three parts: the demesne, which was reserved for the lord's own use; the peasant holdings, cultivated by