What is “a demesne”?

The story behind the answer

In the manorial system, the demesne was the lord’s reserved portion of the manor, managed directly to supply his household, fund hospitality, and fulfill obligations. Unlike tenant plots, village commons, or fiefs held by vassals, its fields, mills, and woods were worked for the lord’s immediate benefit.

Labor typically came from serfs owing week-work and boon-work (corvée), though hired workers became more common after the Black Death reduced populations and raised wages. Over time, many estates shifted from labor services to cash rents, and some lords even leased parts of the demesne, signaling a move toward market-oriented estate management in the later Middle Ages.