English medieval society

English medieval society

The social classes were decided by God and were three.
Nobles who fought, clergy who prayed and at the end of society, the peasants (=contadini), who worked.
The nobles were the top of society and they held ereditary titles.
Knights were the lowest rank of nobility and they were who fought the most part of time during the battles.
A vassal was a man who had sworn (=giurato) loyalty to a lord and they fought on the lord's behalf (=al posto del signore).
The clergy was intersected with nobility.
In fact only the lordman's first son maintain the hereditary titles,so the youngest sons, to maintain their social status and life style, became part of the clergy.
The peasants represented the 95% of population and they had a relationship (=rapporto) of serfdom (=servitù) to the lord.
The peasants lived in the lord's manor (=proprietà del signore), they cultivated his lands; and each year they had to bring to the lord a percentage of the harvest (=percentuale del raccolto) and to pay taxes.
In stead the lord had to protect them in his castle.
From the 14th century, after the Black Death, the thir order's conditions were improving; becaming less static (=meno statico) and new social classes were born like merchants.