Social Structure Continuity: Middle Ages to Early Modern Period

From the Middle Ages to the Early Modern Period

The term modern is used to describe innovative or novel concepts. The Early Modern Period should therefore be considered a period of significant changes with respect to the previous era. However, while the Early Modern Period began at the end of the Middle Ages (between the 15th and 18th centuries in Europe), there was also substantial continuity with the medieval period, particularly regarding social and economic structures.

Continuity: Feudal Economics and Society

The structure of society remained largely the same as it was during the Middle Ages. Social groups were rigidly divided based on inherited privileges.

The Three Estates of the Realm

The king was at the top of the social system. However, his power and position largely depended on the powerful privileged estates:

The Nobility (First Estate)

Noblemen did not work, as they considered manual labor to be beneath them. Their privileges included:

• They could only be judged by the king or by other noblemen.
• They only paid taxes to the monarch if they agreed to do so in the courts and parliaments.
• The most important noblemen held feudal estates of which they were lords. They charged the people on their land taxes and administered justice to them.

The Clergy (Second Estate)

The clergy had a spiritual function in society: to protect people’s souls. They continued to enjoy significant privileges:

• They collected tithe payments.
• They maintained their own justice system.
• Like the nobility, the clergy did not pay taxes to the king unless they agreed to do so in the courts.
• Members of the high clergy could also be feudal lords. If a bishopric had feudal estates, the bishop was the lord of those estates, just as a nobleman would be.

The Third Estate (Commoners)

Underneath these two privileged estates (which were minorities in terms of population size) was the Third Estate. This estate comprised the vast majority of the population. While most members were peasants (crop and livestock farming were their main activities), it also included artisans, merchants, doctors, lawyers, and other professionals.

The Third Estate faced significant disadvantages:

• They did not have their own justice system. They were judged by their lords if they lived on a feudal manor, or by the king if they lived in the realengo (land belonging directly to the monarchy).
• The taxes they paid sustained the privileged estates and the monarchy.

A painting depicting the three estates of the realm in France.

Collective Privileges: The Role of Cities

Cities enjoyed the greatest collective privileges. These privileges were exercised through the city council and were similar to the privileges held by a lord, such as:

• Charging taxes.
• Having monopolies.
• Administering justice in the towns under their jurisdiction.

Although, in theory, these privileges could be extended to all residents of a city, they were usually restricted to the people in power—the wealthiest members of city society: large landowners, wealthy merchants, and master artisans.