Who did a Reeve work for in the Middle Ages?

The term Reeve had two meanings in medieval England. During the Anglo-Saxon period the term refereed to an appointed official. They might supervise a town, a port, the holding of a noble, or a particular shire. The term shire-reeve is the origin of the modern work sheriff.

After the normal conquest the usage of the term changed. A reeve was still an official, but a much more minor one. A reeve was responsible for overseeing a lord's lands on a manor, organizing and directing the labor of the serfs, and also in some cases for collection of fees and rents and for duties such as selling the lord's farm produce. In some cases reeves were appointed by the lord, but there were also traditions where the reeve was elected by the villagers of the manor.