Society

Learning Objectives

* outline the key social features of medieval society

* select appropriate written form to explain the main features of the social system

Medieval society had a strict hierarchy. People in different groups had varying rights and responsibilities. Read the following text and then complete the social pyramid activity.

The feudal kingdom

There were very few towns in Medieval Europe. The majority of people were peasants who lived in the countryside. Peasants were poor farmers. Peasants were the largest social class and made up 90% of the population. However, most wealth came from the produce made by peasants but was controlled by Lords and Nobles.

In the feudal system the monarch (king) owned all the land in the Kingdom. The next most powerful group were feudal lords (also called nobles). They owned big estates and directly controlled large numbers of peasants. The next social class were the Knights (or sub-tenants).

The clergy (church officials) also received land from the King. However, they swore allegiance to the Pope in Rome instead of the King. They did support the King by accepting the monarch as God's earthly representative. Better educated church officials were assigned to the King and helped maintain the social order.

ACTIVITIES

1. Complete the following table:

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