Society in the Middle ages (or the Medieval time) were divided into different groups, and that would tell the other people how rich or poor you were. Unfortunately that also meant that you had some or none privileges and it also determined the amount of respect you got from others.
In short you would find the king at the top which ruled the country and he could make and break the rules as it suited him, then there was the barons who had the kings favor and protection and also owned land and then the knights were there to protect the king and their country and were well respected, but right at the bottom of society was the peasant. They made up most of the population and they were the workers. They seldom owned any land and they had to work for the rich people. Most of them were very poor and struggled to get enough food an money for their families.
In 1086, William the Conqueror send out men all across England to determine how many people and land there were and they also had to determine how much the land was worth.
This information they gathered was put together in what was called the 'Domesday Book' and it explained a certain structure in how the different 'stands' of society was awarded or dealt with land
- All the land was owned by the king but he would give land to the Barons
- The Barons would accept the land from the King and in exchange they would give him money or men for his army
- The Barons would give a piece of their land to the knights if they promised that they would fight and protect the barons when it was necessary for them to be protected
- The knight would give a strip of land to the peasants, which had to work there and could take some of the crops for their family, but they could not leave the land when they felt like it. They were not free
This system worked because it was based on loyalty - if you were loyal to the person who gave you the land, you would be able to stay there. If you were disloyal, everything was taken from you.
This system controlled the position of everybody and with the king at the top, and nobody or law above him, he could decide 'who fits where'. Not one of the 'noblemen' - these were the barons and lords- wanted to loose their position in society or their land so they mostly did what the king expected from them.
Even thought most of the barons would do what the king expected, there were a few that rebelled against the king.
Most of the people, no matter what class they were from, belonged to the Roman catholic church. The bishops were in charge of the church and they had a lot of power - they also owned a lot of land and would scare the people with stories of 'burning eternally in hell' if they did not give money to the church. Unfortunately the poorest -the peasants- were taxed the most and suffered terrible consequences if they did not pay.
We will learn more about the peasant's standing up for themselves against this rule of the 'rich' and also 'The black plague' that killed so many people in the middle ages in the lessons to come.
