Social Classes in the Middle Ages

There was a very distinctive social class system during the Middle Ages.  Most Medieval people were peasants, over 90%, but the divide between peasants and nobility was very clear-cut.  Clergy were also an important part of the social order during the Middle Ages, though they were not necessarily considered a separate class.

Royalty

The Royalty were the highest of the Social Classes in the Middle Ages.  The Royalty included Kings, Queens, Princes, and Princesses.  Royals had complete power over the land and political and economic decisions during the Middle Ages.

Kings

The King was the highest authority in the land.  The King had to make laws, attempt to remove poverty from the Kingdom and take care of the citizens in his kingdom.

Queens

Though they did not often rule alone, Queens played an important part in the Medieval class system.  Queens were usually second in command to Kings, and often served as regents when their King was unfit to rule, either because he was ill or considered too young to make intelligent decisions.  Queens also served as hostesses and event planners.

Princes

Depending on their birth order, a prince may have been next in line for the throne when his father died.  Princes most likely sat in on courtly meetings.

Princesses

Princesses were not usually next in line for the throne unless there was no male heir who could take the place on the throne that was being left.  Princesses were oftentimes married off to princes in other countries in order to secure long lasting friendly economic and political ties with those countries.  Sometimes this was successful, but more often than not it backfired.

Nobility

After the Royals, Nobility had the most power of the social classes in the Middle Ages.  Nobility included hereditary nobility, which were those whose power was bestowed on them through blood relations, and non-hereditary nobility, which included those who rose to power through non-familial means.

Hereditary Nobility

Dukes

The main responsibility of a Duke was to be the ruler of a province.  A Duke was also the direct superior of a Count.  The Duke was the highest ranking in the nobility.  The female equivalent of a Duke was a Duchess.

Barons

A baron was responsible first to his king and second to the people who lived on his manor.  The king might require the baron to serve in the military or engage in various other activities.  By complying with the King’s requirements the Baron was possibly able to earn a higher title, more land, or prosperous marriages for his children and other family members.

If he did not comply, the baron could lose his manor, his luxurious lifestyle, or maybe even his life.  As a percentage of each manor’s crops was sent to the King, a baron also had to make sure that all of the serfs on his estate was protected in order to ensure that a plentiful crop was produced.  A baron also sometimes served as judges in a court of crime or passed out sentences in court.

Non-Hereditary Nobility

Knights

Knights often served as vassals during the Middle Ages.  Their primary duty as a vassal was to aid and protect the lord in his army.  They also would assist their lord in court and watch over their lord’s manor, keeping an eye on the day-to-day activities of the manor.

Peasants

The lowest social rank in the Middle Ages were the peasants.  The peasant class included Freemen, who had some rights and land, serfs, who had no rights, and slaves, who were bought and sold.

Freemen

Freeman were poor farmers who had control of small portions of land.  Freeman usually made just enough money to live on.  They sold their crops and may have worked with a trade.  Wives of freeman sometimes did “stay-at-home” trades, such as brewing ale.

Serfs

Serfs had no political power and were not allowed having control of property.  They lived on the property of a noble vassal, and, in order to repay the vassal for letting the serf live on his property, the serf worked the land and was at the disposal of the vassal.  Serfs were slaves in all but name.

Slaves

Slavery, the practice of buying and selling human workers, was outlawed for much of the Middle Ages, but it was still conducted throughout Europe for most of the time period.  Slavery was a favored practice among the Vikings, who took slaves when they invaded and raided new territories.

Clergy

The clergy was not considered one of the social classes of the Middle Ages, but it did play an important and influential role at the time and did have a hierarchy of its own.  The Pope was, naturally, at the top of the order, while nuns and monks were at the lowest end.

Popes

For much of the Middle Ages, Popes were the last word in anything to do with the church.  Popes had a heavy influence over political and economic decisions as well for a time.  However, towards the end of the Middle Ages Popes lost their political power when the Catholic Church came under a lot of scrutiny from the public.

Bishops

After the Pope, the Bishop was the highest ranking official in the church.  Bishops were considered to be nobility and were usually very wealthy.  They had many responsibilities such as settling annulments of marriages.

Priests

Priests gave Mass in Church and in the Castle.  They were also responsible for collecting church taxes and spreading alms to the poor.  Because they were usually the only people in the village who could read and write, priests often were the ones who kept records for the church.

Learn more about Social Classes in the Middle Ages

Monks

Monks were the lowest ranking in the church.  Monks lived in monasteries and usually wore brown robes.  Monks devoted their lives to learning and they could usually read and write in Latin.  Some of the first Bibles were scribed by monks as the printing press had not yet been invented.

17 thoughts on “Social Classes in the Middle Ages”

  1. [quote name=”sierra”]this was very halepful I love it!! :)[/quote]
    [quote name=”niko”]put them in order please cuse im pretty sure peasents would be at the bottom[/quote]
    😆 This is helpful…but please put this in order!!! I know a show that uses this and i know the jonas brother use this because i AM Joe Jonas 😡

    Reply
  2. [quote name=”Joe”][quote name=”sierra”]this was very halepful I love it!! :)[/quote]
    [quote name=”niko”]put them in order please cuse im pretty sure peasents would be at the bottom[/quote]
    😆 This is helpful…but please put this in order!!! I know a show that uses this and i know the jonas brother use this because i AM Joe Jonas :-x[/quote] if your Joe Jonas then I’m the Queen of England. Which I’m not. Great website by the way it sure will help me with my project

    Reply
  3. [quote name=”Joe”][quote name=”sierra”]this was very halepful I love it!! :)[/quote]
    [quote name=”niko”]put them in order please cuse im pretty sure peasents would be at the bottom[/quote]
    😆 This is helpful…but please put this in order!!! I know a show that uses this and i know the jonas brother use this because i AM Joe Jonas :-x[/quote]
    I agree that this website is very helpful! but let me say if you was “Joe Jonas”
    1.im pretty sure they wouldnt be looking up stuff for the middle ages
    2. you only want attention, but saying your joe jonas sure aint a way to get that attention!

    Reply
  4. I think the order is just fine. Peasants ARE at the bottom; sort of. Then the three sub categories of peasants are listed; freemen, serfs and lastly, slaves.

    Clergy members weren’t an actual society class so it made sense to put that category after the peasant category.

    Lol…leave Joe alone. Celebrities browse the internet too! 😆

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  5. What about Herbalists? You know… The people who healed the sick with HERBS and used spices to make food taste better and were classed as witches and were enemies doctors! I really need to know!

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  6. Hey y’all keep in mind peasants are free but poor, which puts them above religious people, serfs, and slaves because the people that I just listed served others. I am not sure why they are above [u]freemen[/u] — peasants and freemen are somewhat redundant.

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  7. This article works. Honestly though, Popes had more power than kings for most all of the middle ages. Yes, saying peasants and freeman is redundant, but it is still a good article. Lords should e mentioned at least once, and separately from nobility, because they played very important roles and were at the top of the Feudal System.

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  8. Not trying to be rude but you also forgot artisans and merchants on this article, seeing as they play a big part in medieval Europe I think that maybe they should have been added.

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  9. Thank you so much for putting the time and effort into this article! I understand that it takes work to find and provide reliable information so thank you! This is very helpful for my paper.

    Reply

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