ipl-logo

Social Classes In The Middle Ages Essay

555 Words3 Pages

During the Middle Ages, the prevailing system of government was feudalism. Under feudalism, there was the use of a definite social structure. People were born into a social class and usually stayed in that class for the rest of their life. The three social classes were the nobility, clergy, and peasantry and each of these classes had different roles to perform in the society. The nobles were at the top of the social hierarchy. Their job was to provide work, land, and protection to the peasants. They also provided funding, supplies, and military service to the king. The nobility often engaged in warfare for entertainment and protection to the citizens. After being hit by inflation due to the Hundred Years’ War, many nobles robbed other people as a way to raise money. This was known as the Fur-Collar …show more content…

For them, life was difficult. They had to work long, hard hours on the manor that belonged to their lord. Most peasants were farmers. Peasants did not have good food or clothing. They did not have the right to be educated. After the Black Death killed many workers, peasants were in demand for their labor. The nobles and the clergy all lived off on the produce of peasant labor. They received higher wages for their labor. However, criminal activity by nobles, persecution by lords, war, and disease eventually caused oppressed peasants to revolt. In 1358 during the Hundred Years’ War, French taxation fell heavy on the peasants. The peasants exploded in a big uprising known as the Jacquerie. There were many other peasant revolts across Europe, such as the Peasants’ Revolt in England in 1381. These revolts reveal the frustrations and the general socioeconomic crises of peasants. Today in the US, everyone has the right to be educated regardless of their social class. Even the lower classes can get an education, whereas in the Middle Ages, the peasants were not allowed to be

Show More
Related
178 Words | 1 Pages

To add on, the roles of the peasants was to give their services to nobles. Last but not least, the bottom dwellers

Read More
835 Words | 4 Pages

Rome was very significant because it controlled most of Europe and it also had a lot of european culture. Rome fell after the rulers that came in the next century, didn’t know how to deal with Rome’s growing problems and it’s giant empire, therefore Rome began to fall. There were many contributions to the fall of Rome. For example, trade was disrupted, there was limited space and they began to lack new sources of gold and silver. Some people may argue that the Age Of Faith and The Dark Ages are the best labels to describe the era between 500 and 1500 in Europe.

Read More
175 Words | 1 Pages

The nobles during the Elizabethan Era were “wealthy and powerful class people.” (sites.google.com). But not all characters in Romeo and Juliet are nobles. One example is the nurse. She is “a lower class woman” (www.shmoop.com).

Read More
685 Words | 3 Pages

The king allowed nobles to have authority over peasants, not only that but the nobles had the choice to do military service; unlike the peasants who had no choice. The king exempt nobles from most taxes, and allowed nobles to collect tolls from people using roads and markets. This allowed many nobles and clergy to live in great luxury chateaux and palaces. Another thing that made the peasants angry was the yearly incomes, the Archbishop of Paris was making 50,000 livres and Marquis de Mannevillette was making 20,000 livres. Meanwhile a typical village priest was making 750 livres and a master carpenter made 200 livres, specifically you can see the yearly income and compare it your self.

Read More
1334 Words | 6 Pages

The nobles responding with a mockery of the peasants, left the peasants angered and bitter. As such, they started forming private assemblies, where they would preach their views on equality, and plot to revolt against the nobles. A secret report regarding a peasant's assembly shows the nobles views on the matter. “... They believed the rich should share with the poor, especially rich persons who had acquired their property from trade or had otherwise won it from the poor...”

Read More
1493 Words | 6 Pages

From 1450 to 1700 the economy of Europe began to majorly change. Mercantilism was on the uprise which meant Europe began to focus more on their trade and commerce. This lead to many individuals to having a hard time gaining wealth because the government was doing everthing on a large scale. Many Europeans were just barely getting by. Then the poor would have to go to the extremes and beg and steal to make money for themselves.

Read More
1059 Words | 5 Pages

Nobility allowed unqualified people to obtain positions that should not have been available to them. The nobility did provide a sort of moral boost for everyone though because they were looked up to by most because they were supposed to be the best of the best. Along with the idea of nobility, everyone in this period had a social status. The only thing with this system was that people could not increase in rank, like in Hank’s time. People were stuck where they were at.

Read More
167 Words | 1 Pages

One of the greatest examples that showed Lafayette 's moderacy was the Women 's March on Versailles. The previous decrees from the monarchy required a price control on crops such as grain. But once the free market was allowed to dictate the prices of grain, bread became more expensive and increasingly scarce. Peasant women demanded that they personally see the king, and more importantly, that the royal family move to the palace in France.

Read More
1059 Words | 5 Pages

How revolutionary was the French Revolution? Did the Revolution simply replace the old ruling elite with a new bourgeois one? What were the major effects on different groups of people, including nobles, priests, peasants, urban workers, slaves, and women? This essay will address the French Revolution and the degree to which it can be aptly described as “revolutionary.” How revolutionary was the French Revolution? Was the storming of the Bastille, the destruction of feudalism, and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of a fundamental and radical and revolutionary nature, or, alternatively, simply a series of historical events that results in the supplanting of one authoritarian regime for another and at great cost in

Read More
156 Words | 1 Pages

wearing the same clothes every single day. It is obvious to compare them to the lower classes of the Elizabethan men. But high school is just one place to observe this, another would be walking down the streets of Hollywood. There, you are able to find people in every class of society. You can see the very rich and wealthy all the way down to the lowest of classes.

Read More
1523 Words | 7 Pages

Poverty in Europe from 1450 to 1700 was a huge issue that stuck around for centuries. The wars that took place during this time always seemed to negatively affect the poor the most. The poor, consisting of the majority of the European population, was never taken into consideration during these wars which is ironic considering these wars were caused in the name of religion. This situation, combined with weak leadership and in many countries a heavy taxation system, such as those found in England under the leadership of James I and his son Charles I, or under the leadership of absolute monarchs like Louis XIV, prevented the poor from rising in social status. The way people regarded “the poor” in Europe from 1450-1700 differed significantly based

Read More
461 Words | 2 Pages

The middle class was arising and was becoming larger. Which meant they were able to challenge the authority of the church due to them being the majority. Even though the middle classes were big in size, the higher classes included the nobles, commoners and the clergy (popes, monks, bishops and priests). Since most of the classes were getting more attention and more benefits, the peasants were not quite happy. They were not at all, they became resentful and revolted towards everyone else.

Read More
1668 Words | 7 Pages

It was the Spring of 1348, and the citizens of Europe were malnourished due to limited food supplies for such a large population. This made them more susceptible to the outbreak of the Black Death. The Black Death originated in Asia, then moved westward into Sicily. From Sicily, the plague crept its way up through Europe infecting millions of people, in total killing more than one third of Europe’s population. In fact, over fifty percent of the population of Siena died, along with fifty percent of Paris, eighty percent of Florence, and over two thirds of Venice.

Read More
512 Words | 3 Pages

This demographic change led to popular rebellion and economic issues. This is apparent through the Jacquerie and the Peasant’s Revolt. These conflicts were caused by class hostility, formed by the consequences of the Black Death. Following this demographic shift, the peasant majority benefited, as the value of their labour increased.

Read More
1038 Words | 5 Pages

Nobility was considered to be in the class by being born into the hierarchy or becoming

Read More

More about Social Classes In The Middle Ages Essay

Open Document