Manor house in the context of "Lord of the manor"

Manorialism, also known as seigneurialism, the manor system or manorial system, was the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of Europe, notably France and later England, during the Middle Ages. Its defining features included a large, sometimes fortified manor house or castle in which the lord of the manor and his dependants lived and administered a rural estate, and a population of labourers or serfs who worked the surrounding land to support themselves and the lord. These labourers fulfilled their obligations with labour time or in-kind produce at first, and later by cash payment as commercial activity increased. Manorialism was part of the feudal system.

Manorialism originated in the Roman villa system of the Late Roman Empire, and was widely practised in medieval western Europe and parts of central Europe. An essential element of feudal society, manorialism was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market economy and new forms of agrarian contract.

The function of battlements in war is to protect the defenders by giving them part of the parapet to hide behind, from which they can quickly expose themselves to launch projectiles, then retreat behind the parapet. A defensive building might be designed and built with battlements, or a manor house might be fortified by adding battlements, where no parapet previously existed, or cutting crenellations into its existing parapet wall. A distinctive feature of late medieval English church architecture is to crenellate the tops of church towers, and often the tops of lower walls. These are essentially decorative rather than functional, as are many examples on secular buildings.

A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word mansio "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb manere "to dwell". The English word manse originally defined a property large enough for the parish priest to maintain himself, but a mansion is usually no longer self-sustaining in this way (compare a Roman or medieval villa). Manor comes from the same root—territorial holdings granted to a lord who would "remain" there.Following the fall of Rome, the practice of building unfortified villas ceased. Today, the oldest inhabited mansions around the world usually began their existence as fortified houses in the Middle Ages. As social conditions slowly changed and stabilized fortifications were able to be reduced, and over the centuries gave way to comfort. It became fashionable and possible for homes to be beautiful rather than grim and forbidding allowing for the development of the modern mansion.

In British English, a mansion block refers to a block of flats or apartments designed for the appearance of grandeur. In many parts of Asia, including Hong Kong and Japan, the word mansion also refers to a block of apartments. In modern Japan, a "manshon" (Japanese: マンション), stemming from the English word "mansion", is used to refer to a multi-unit apartment complex or condominium.

Numerous castles are found in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. These buildings, some of which have a history of over 1000 years, were the setting of historical events and the domains of famous personalities; and many still are imposing edifices to this day.

This list encompasses buildings variously described in German as Burg (castle), Festung (fort/fortress), Schloss (manor house, palace or hunting lodge) and Palais/Palast (palace). Many German castles after the Middle Ages were built as, or converted to, royal or ducal palaces rather than fortified buildings.

Voorschoten (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈvoːrsxoːtə(n)] ) is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. It is a smaller town in the Randstad, enclosed by the cities of Leiden, Wassenaar and Leidschendam-Voorburg. The municipality covers an area of 11.56 km (4.46 sq mi) of which 0.42 km (0.16 sq mi) is covered by water.

The town is relatively affluent, and the majority of Voorschoten's population are commuters, generally to either the Hague or Leiden. Despite the fact that it is situated in one of the most densely populated areas in the Netherlands, and, indeed, the world, the town retains a strong, independent identity and village-like atmosphere. Several buildings of historical importance are situated in Voorschoten. For example, the old Castle Duivenvoorde, and the Manor Vredenhof – rebuilt by Dirck Jansz Graeff, and until the 18th century in the hands of the De Graeff family – are located in or near Voorschoten.

Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover, George I, George II, George III, and George IV, who reigned in continuous succession from August 1714 to June 1830.

The Georgian cities of the British Isles were Edinburgh, Bath, pre-independence Dublin, and London, and to a lesser extent York and Bristol. The style was revived in the late 19th century in the United States as Colonial Revival architecture and in the early 20th century in Great Britain as Neo-Georgian architecture; in both it is also called Georgian Revival architecture.

A demesne (/dɪˈmeɪn, -ˈmiːn/ di-MAYN, -⁠MEEN) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. In contrast, the entire territory controlled by a monarch both directly and indirectly via their tenant lords would typically be referred to as their realm. The concept originated in the Kingdom of France and found its way to foreign lands influenced by it or its fiefdoms.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, royal demesne is the land held by the Crown, and ancient demesne is the legal term for the land held by the king at the time of the Domesday Book in 1086.

In architecture, a corps de logis (French pronunciation: [kɔʁ də lɔʒi]) is the principal or main block, or central building of a mansion, country or manor house, castle, or palace. It contains the rooms of principal business, the state apartments and the ceremonial or formal entry.

The grandest and finest rooms within the corps de logis are often found not at grade level, but on the first or even the second floor above. This floor is often referred to as the Italian piano nobile, the French bel étage, or the German beletage.