Three Medieval European Social Classes: Nobles, Clergy, And Peasants

Feudalism provided security of the people of the Medieval Europe by working for nobles and knights to get protection in return. Also, “the peasants or serfs worked the land for the knights and nobles and in return they received protection and a portion of the harvest to feed to their families” (Doc. 1). This states that when serfs worked for nobles and knights, they

In the Middle Ages your social status depended on your rank. The ranks were kings, nobles, knights, and then serfs.(Doc.1) Typically, the serfs did the most for everyone else, they provided food and services when demanded in exchange for protection and maybe something to eat.(Doc.1) Knights provided protection and military service for nobles in exchange for land. (Doc.1)

During the middle-ages, approximately from Norman invasion of England to the end of the Wars of the Roses, England changed into a society on the brink of creating an empire. Though during the medieval time period, there was a system in place called the feudal system. There were the different levels of status and power, starting with the king, then lords, knights, and serfs. The lords would be given land for having shown loyalty to the king. In turn the knights promised protection and loyalty to the lords, as did the serfs.

During the Middle Ages social class much different than modern day. In a feudal society “nobles were granted the use of land that legally belonged to the king,” (Doc. 1). The nobles, in return, would give the lord loyalty and military services (Doc. 1). As peasants or serfs worked for nobles and knights they received protection and a portion of the harvest to feed their families (Doc. 1).

Peasants had a strong believe in the power of the church and also in the power of their lord. Peasants had to pay rent for his land to his lord; he had to pay 10 percent of what he had made from farming to the church which was called a tithe (Trueman). Peasants didn’t make much money already but they thought that paying their tithe would someday pay off in the end and that maybe they would be blessed by their lord. “A serf had to work and do menial jobs for his lord. He had to pay inheritance tax when his son took over his father’s role to the lord” (Difference). The serfs and peasants would never miss paying their taxes to their lord, because the power of the lord was so high and the serfs and peasants were scared by what they could do to

Europe’s system is called feudalism. The highest class is Monarchs. The Monarch was the king, and people believed they were given the right to rule by God. Next, There were Lords and Ladies, who owned manors. After them, there were the knights, who were the warriors, and lastly was peasants, who worked for the lords and ladies on manors.

The difference in class structure in medieval society were formalized by the privileged authorities ideals and values.

Around 90% of the population in medieval times belonged to peasants. They were the best populated class but were treated terribly. A peasants life is hard. We are at the bottom of the feudal system (a system of classes used in the medieval times). Peasants lives were boring and had nothing much to do.In the medieval time us peasants were divided into three different statuses: slave, serf, and freeman. These statuses were very important because it helped us understand what we had to do for the church and the kings, lords, and queens we worked for.

The society was split up into the clergy, aristocrats, and the commoners. The religious part of society were the clergy people. The clergy followed the pope, the head of the church. The aristocrats were the knights in the society, also known as the “men of war” (Spielvogel, 2013). And the last of the society are the commoners.

This feudal system had multiple ranks consisting of the King, the Crown, the Church, Barons, Knights, Freeman and Serfs. So what was it life like for serfs in the middle ages? Serfs were at the very bottom of the feudal system and they were subject to the Barons that controlled them. These serfs were effectively slaves, as they were not allowed to run away.

The social classes of the system were set up with three classes and determined your wealth. The first class was set up with the king and the pope at the top. The pope had a supreme position with his own court to enforce things. He had all religious power necessary doing the Middle Ages. His duty was to teach his followers how to live and pray. The pope was able to gain a lot of political power and followers. The king had control over the assets and could decide how much land to provide on lease to the barons. The king had the power to withdraw the land from the barons if they showed poor performance, which could be granted to another baron. The king also has his own court, which has a great deal of the judicial power. The next class was the hereditary nobles. The barons were the most important hereditary nobles. The role of the barons was to serve the royal council,

The Middle Ages was the period of European history from the 5th to the 15th century during the fall of the Western Roman empire. During the central Middle Ages, social, economic, and political structures were rediscovered and organized. Although Europe suffered disasters of famine and war in the 14th century the main social, economic, and political structures remained the same. Europe began to experience its revival between the 15th and 16th century. The Middle Ages ended with the Renaissance period. While Christians stressed the importance of individuality and human equality, secularism and individualism continued to rise and mark the Renaissance society. The middle classes and peasant populations both believed it was possible to change their standard of living. They no longer subjected to inflexible social position as they began to improve their social class and lifestyle through new ideas and hard work.

The peasant’s role in the medieval society was to farm the lands of a landowner. Peasants were usually a tenant. Peasants tended the horse and grew crops for the landowners, they also washed, cleaned and prepared food in the lower rooms and outhouses. Peasants that were men, life was very difficult. They did farm work, which consisted of clearing of the fields, harvesting, repairing buildings and sawing and chopping timber.

The Black Death rattled the people’s belief in God, and their faith in that they will be saved. Peasants revolt at the unfair actions of the nobility. Uprisings occur because of foreign intervention. Basically, the Medieval Period was a parade of, sorry for the word, fuck-ups, one after another. The social hierarchy is one of those.

There were three social classes during the renaissance people are to be a part of; citizens, poor people and government. Your class would be chosen by your job, money, and if you were under government power. The only job poor people had were working on farms. They were not able to leave the area that they worked on. They dressed simple, and ate lots of bread and other simple foods. The poor people had very tiny homes with a maximum of four bedrooms. As long as they had a roof over their head they were satisfied.