FEUDAL SOCIETY

The feudal society was organized into estates which were social groups based on their origins. This type of society was very rigid and hierarchical. The only way to pass from one estate to other was to become a member of the clergy.

There were two estates:

Privileged estates were the nobility and the clergy. This estate was a minority which had different laws from the rest of the society. They also did not pay taxes.

The non – privileged were the rest of the society. It was mainly made up of peasants but also traders and craftsmen were included in this estate. They paid taxes and maintained the privileged estates.

Estates in the medieval society were the nobility, the clergy and the peasants.

NOBILITY

Nobles were dedicated to fight in wars and to defend the kingdoms. There were two types of nobles:

The higher nobility was made up of dukes, marquises and counts. They were vassals of the king but also, they were lords of other vassals of a minor rank. They used to live in castles or palaces, collected taxes and administrated justice in their fiefs.

The lower nobility Knights were the lower nobility group. They had weapons and a horse but were not rich as they depended on other nobles being their vassals.

CLERGY

It was made up of members of the church and they were divided in two types:

The secular clergy was composed by priests who depended on a bishop.

The regular clergy was formed by members of religious orders, and they lived in monasteries and convents.

There were two main groups in the clergy according to their position:

Higher clergy formed by bishops, abbots and cardinals who belonged to noble families and also could be feudal lords.
Lower clergy were the rest of the clergy: priests, monks, friars and nuns.

PEASANTS

They were the 90% of medieval society. Peasants paid taxes to:

The noble they were vassals of.
The Tithe to the church consisting in one tenth of the harvest.

Peasants could be classified in two groups:

Free peasants owned lands and could leave the fief without the permission of the lord. They had to work in the demesne and pay taxes to the lord and the church.

Serfs could not leave the fief and required the permission of the lord for certain activities such as to get married. They also paid taxes and worked the lord´s land as well as performed domestic services in the castle – cleaning, cooking etc.