Medieval Society

Introduction

Social Structure

Forget about class, forget about status based on wealth

Structure varied from place to place and across time

Structure is an abstraction; it will never fit perfectly; you can always find exceptions

The fundamental division: rural vs urban

How did people of the time view their society? We only hear from the clergy, but their descriptions come fairly close. Their traditional division was those who pray, those who fight, and those who work. This viewpoint is profoundly rural and doesn't work very well in the city. It leaves out certain significant groups. Within each group were many gradations and variations.