Amber Henson
October 15, 2008
Medieval Society
In the medieval times people were generalized into one of three categories: those who work, those who fight, and those who pray. It was a society based on someones status and based on the division of orders according to that persons function. If you want to put it more simply, the medieval society was divided into the privileged and the unprivileged. Hopefully, through this essay you will understand how this is the case.
Those Who Work:
By the 11th and 12th centuries, most men and women in Europe were peasants. Some peasants were free and some were serfs. Serfs were required to do labor services for his lord that they worked under. Others were free, as in they were able to rent there land from their lords. Due to the rise of towns, the increased productivity of the land, long distance trade, and the development of a money economy. The peasant life was of a low class but it was also simple and uncomplicated. They lived and died working at the manor on which they were born on and they never usually traveled beyond the estate of their lord. Even though they didn't have the life like the nobility or a life like us, they did have a life that was simple and consistent and gave them the assurance of what to expect in life.
Those Who Fight:
The class of people that were in the group of “Those Who Fight” have to do with the nobility. The Nobility played a vital role and covered a lot of different type of people. They strongly influenced all aspects of medieval culture such as politics, art, education, religion, and economics. These class of people were free, were held much higher, and lived a life far more comfortable and adventurous than any peasant. The only thing they were subject to is their military obligations to their lord in return for land and money. The main job they had was protecting the church, the weak, and the poor. They also had to show qualities of chivalry which was a religious and social code...