This post is the first of a series I am composing for the release of my new novel set in Medieval England.
Chaucer’s
Britain: The
Feudal System
Most people’s
status in the society depended on their position in the feudal system. The
feudal system had three branches: Clergy – those who pray; Nobles – those who
rule; and Laborers – those who serve. See the image above for a person in each category.
Each of these branches had its own
hierarchy.
Clergy
The Pope was the
head. (For part of this century there were two competing sets of popes, one in
Avignon and one in Rome. England, however, favored the pope in Rome, perhaps
because of the Hundred Years War with France.)
Next in order were: Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots and Abbesses, Priors,
Monks and Priests.
Nobles
The King headed this
branch and ruled everyone else. Below the King, lords and ladies with great
estates, knights, esquires, and squires had decreasing wealth rank. They held
allegiance to the king.
Laborers
The people who worked for the other classes. The major division was
between freemen and bondsmen. Men and women in both categories served the
wealthier nobles. Most laborers worked on farms. Freemen could own land or
become craftsmen or merchants.
Outside
the Feudal System: Outlaws and Entertainers such as traveling musicians, jugglers,
fortunetellers etc. owed no allegiance to a noble.
Source: My major source for life in the fourteenth century was Ian Mortimer’s The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century.
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