The Three order Class 11 History

 Page 1


                  Theme 6     The Three Orders               
    The three orders of the European society between the ninth and and sixteenth centuries were:Christian priests,land 
owning nobles and peasants. The changing relationships between these three groups was an important factor in 
shaping European history for several centuries.
Sources to understand Medieval European society
1.There is a lot of material in the form of documents,details of landownership,prices and legal cases. Churches had kept 
records of births ,marriages and deaths .The inscriptions in churches give information about traders' associations,and 
songs and stories give a sense of festivals and community activities. All these can be used to understand economic and 
social life.
2.Marc Bloch and his ideas about European feudalism
  Marc Bloch(1886-1944) was one of the earliest scholars of France who worked on the concept of feudalism. He argued 
that history is not all about political history but also includes international relations and lives of great people. He 
stressed on the importance of geography in determining human history and the requirement to realise the collective 
activities or approaches of groups of people.
 His book Feudal Society talks about the European society between 900 and 1300 A.D especially of France. It had 
significant detailed social relations and hierarchies and land related affairs and cultural achievements of that period. 
Condition of Europe on the eve of rising feudalism
   There were some socio-political changes that occurred in Europe between the ninth and and sixteenth centuries. 
After the decline of the Roman Empire, several Germanic groups of people of eastern and central Europe  captured 
areas of Italy,Spain and France. Due to the absence of  a single political power, there were regular military clashes in 
order to gather resources to continue hold on own land. Social institution was therefore revolved around the control of 
land. Christianity was the religion of land as it was spread in almost whole Europe. The church was not only a religious 
institution but also a political power. The church was a major land holder in Europe.
Meaning of Feudalism
The term 'feudalism' is derived from a German word 'feud' which means 'a 
piece of land'.It refers to the kind of society that developed in Medieval France 
and later in England and Italy. Feudalism was a system that centred around the 
principles of land related matters. Historians used the term feudalism to describe 
the economic,legal,political and social relationships that existed in Europe in the 
medieval era.
Features of feudalism in Europe
    The roots of feudalism can be traced back to the practices that existed in the Roman Empire. Feudalism became an 
established way of life during the era of French king Charlemagne. It was said to be emerged later and spread in whole 
Europe later.
    Feudalism refers to a kind of an agricultural production which was based on the relationship between the lords and 
peasants. The peasants cultivated their own land and worked on the lands of the lords also. In lieu of labour 
service ,peasants received military protection from the lord. The lords also decided the judicial matters of the peasants. 
Therefore ,that lord was all in all proprietors of lands and peasant's fortunes. Thus ,besides economic 
aspects,feudalism also began to cover the political and social aspects of life.
Page 2


                  Theme 6     The Three Orders               
    The three orders of the European society between the ninth and and sixteenth centuries were:Christian priests,land 
owning nobles and peasants. The changing relationships between these three groups was an important factor in 
shaping European history for several centuries.
Sources to understand Medieval European society
1.There is a lot of material in the form of documents,details of landownership,prices and legal cases. Churches had kept 
records of births ,marriages and deaths .The inscriptions in churches give information about traders' associations,and 
songs and stories give a sense of festivals and community activities. All these can be used to understand economic and 
social life.
2.Marc Bloch and his ideas about European feudalism
  Marc Bloch(1886-1944) was one of the earliest scholars of France who worked on the concept of feudalism. He argued 
that history is not all about political history but also includes international relations and lives of great people. He 
stressed on the importance of geography in determining human history and the requirement to realise the collective 
activities or approaches of groups of people.
 His book Feudal Society talks about the European society between 900 and 1300 A.D especially of France. It had 
significant detailed social relations and hierarchies and land related affairs and cultural achievements of that period. 
Condition of Europe on the eve of rising feudalism
   There were some socio-political changes that occurred in Europe between the ninth and and sixteenth centuries. 
After the decline of the Roman Empire, several Germanic groups of people of eastern and central Europe  captured 
areas of Italy,Spain and France. Due to the absence of  a single political power, there were regular military clashes in 
order to gather resources to continue hold on own land. Social institution was therefore revolved around the control of 
land. Christianity was the religion of land as it was spread in almost whole Europe. The church was not only a religious 
institution but also a political power. The church was a major land holder in Europe.
Meaning of Feudalism
The term 'feudalism' is derived from a German word 'feud' which means 'a 
piece of land'.It refers to the kind of society that developed in Medieval France 
and later in England and Italy. Feudalism was a system that centred around the 
principles of land related matters. Historians used the term feudalism to describe 
the economic,legal,political and social relationships that existed in Europe in the 
medieval era.
Features of feudalism in Europe
    The roots of feudalism can be traced back to the practices that existed in the Roman Empire. Feudalism became an 
established way of life during the era of French king Charlemagne. It was said to be emerged later and spread in whole 
Europe later.
    Feudalism refers to a kind of an agricultural production which was based on the relationship between the lords and 
peasants. The peasants cultivated their own land and worked on the lands of the lords also. In lieu of labour 
service ,peasants received military protection from the lord. The lords also decided the judicial matters of the peasants. 
Therefore ,that lord was all in all proprietors of lands and peasant's fortunes. Thus ,besides economic 
aspects,feudalism also began to cover the political and social aspects of life.
                                                                                                               2                                  
History of the name ''France'
There was a province of Roman Empire named ''Gaul' which was had extensive 
coastlines,mountain ranges,long rivers,forests and large plain area suited to agriculture. A 
Germanic tribe named ''the Franks 'gave their name to Gaul and it later came to be known as 
France. By the sixth century this region was a kingdom under the rule of Christian Frankish or 
French got strengthened when Charlemagne was given the title of 'Holy Roman Emperor' by 
the pope around 800 AD
The Three Orders 
        The French priests were of the view that people were part of the one of three 'orders 'according to their 
occupation. A bishop quoted that,'”Here below some pray,others fight,other still work” .So the three orders of 
society were generally the clergy,the nobility and the peasantry.
The First Order:The Clergy
      The Christians of Europe were directed by bishops and clerics of church. They made the first order of the feudal 
society. Above those bishops and clerics was the head of western church,the Pope,who lived in Rome. The Catholic 
church was the most dominant body which did not depend on the king. The church had its own laws,owned  land 
granted by the king collected taxes of own. Almost all villages had church,where people gathered on Sunday pray and 
listened to the sermons of the priests. Men who became priest could not marry. Serfs,the physically challenged and 
women could not became a priest. The Bishops were nobles in religious field. They owned lands like lords,had vast 
estates and lived in grand palaces. 
The church collected one tenth of share from peasants' produce every year called the'tithe'.The church also got money 
in the form of donations by the rich for own and their relatives' welfare in the afterlife. Several rites and rituals of 
feudal nobles were copied by church to increase its influence. The act of knelling while praying,with hands clasped and 
head bowed was identical to knights' act to take vow for their lord. The term 'lord' for God was also a debt from feudal 
customs.
Monks and Monasteries
    There were devout Christians in feudal society known as monks. They opted to live isolated in contrast to the clergy 
who lived in towns and villages. They lived in religious communities called abbeys or monasteries away from human 
settlements. Monks vowed to stay in the abbey for the rest of their life. They spent their time in worship,study and 
manual labour like farming. Their life was different from priesthood and was quiet open to both men and women and 
women became nuns. Most of the abbeys were single -sex communities. There were separate abbeys for men and 
women. Like priests,monks and nuns did not marry. Two well known monasteries were one established by St. 
Benedict in Italy in 529 and another of Cluny in Burgundy in 910.
Relation between the Church and Society
   Christianity entered Europe and influenced most of the people. But they did not forget old beliefs in magic and folk 
traditions. Christmas and Easter became important dates from the fourth century. They replaced old pre-Roman 
festival as which were based on solar calender. The Easter day marked the crucifixion of Christ and his rebirth from the 
dead and it was celebrates on replaced date of old festival based on lunar calender. On coming of spring ,people used to 
travel around their village lands on that day. Holiday or holidays were welcomed by over worked peasants as free 
days ,They usually spent more time in fun and feasting rather than prayer.
The Second Order:The Nobility
     The nobility possessed a central role in the social processes. They had control over lands,which was the result of old 
custom known as 'vassalage'.The nobles of kings were big land holders and they used to be vassal of the king whereas 
the peasants were vassals to the land owners. In France the rulers were linked to 'vassalage',similarly the Franks of 
Gaul also followed the same tradition. In that tradition a noble accepted the king his seigneur or lord in all matters and
Page 3


                  Theme 6     The Three Orders               
    The three orders of the European society between the ninth and and sixteenth centuries were:Christian priests,land 
owning nobles and peasants. The changing relationships between these three groups was an important factor in 
shaping European history for several centuries.
Sources to understand Medieval European society
1.There is a lot of material in the form of documents,details of landownership,prices and legal cases. Churches had kept 
records of births ,marriages and deaths .The inscriptions in churches give information about traders' associations,and 
songs and stories give a sense of festivals and community activities. All these can be used to understand economic and 
social life.
2.Marc Bloch and his ideas about European feudalism
  Marc Bloch(1886-1944) was one of the earliest scholars of France who worked on the concept of feudalism. He argued 
that history is not all about political history but also includes international relations and lives of great people. He 
stressed on the importance of geography in determining human history and the requirement to realise the collective 
activities or approaches of groups of people.
 His book Feudal Society talks about the European society between 900 and 1300 A.D especially of France. It had 
significant detailed social relations and hierarchies and land related affairs and cultural achievements of that period. 
Condition of Europe on the eve of rising feudalism
   There were some socio-political changes that occurred in Europe between the ninth and and sixteenth centuries. 
After the decline of the Roman Empire, several Germanic groups of people of eastern and central Europe  captured 
areas of Italy,Spain and France. Due to the absence of  a single political power, there were regular military clashes in 
order to gather resources to continue hold on own land. Social institution was therefore revolved around the control of 
land. Christianity was the religion of land as it was spread in almost whole Europe. The church was not only a religious 
institution but also a political power. The church was a major land holder in Europe.
Meaning of Feudalism
The term 'feudalism' is derived from a German word 'feud' which means 'a 
piece of land'.It refers to the kind of society that developed in Medieval France 
and later in England and Italy. Feudalism was a system that centred around the 
principles of land related matters. Historians used the term feudalism to describe 
the economic,legal,political and social relationships that existed in Europe in the 
medieval era.
Features of feudalism in Europe
    The roots of feudalism can be traced back to the practices that existed in the Roman Empire. Feudalism became an 
established way of life during the era of French king Charlemagne. It was said to be emerged later and spread in whole 
Europe later.
    Feudalism refers to a kind of an agricultural production which was based on the relationship between the lords and 
peasants. The peasants cultivated their own land and worked on the lands of the lords also. In lieu of labour 
service ,peasants received military protection from the lord. The lords also decided the judicial matters of the peasants. 
Therefore ,that lord was all in all proprietors of lands and peasant's fortunes. Thus ,besides economic 
aspects,feudalism also began to cover the political and social aspects of life.
                                                                                                               2                                  
History of the name ''France'
There was a province of Roman Empire named ''Gaul' which was had extensive 
coastlines,mountain ranges,long rivers,forests and large plain area suited to agriculture. A 
Germanic tribe named ''the Franks 'gave their name to Gaul and it later came to be known as 
France. By the sixth century this region was a kingdom under the rule of Christian Frankish or 
French got strengthened when Charlemagne was given the title of 'Holy Roman Emperor' by 
the pope around 800 AD
The Three Orders 
        The French priests were of the view that people were part of the one of three 'orders 'according to their 
occupation. A bishop quoted that,'”Here below some pray,others fight,other still work” .So the three orders of 
society were generally the clergy,the nobility and the peasantry.
The First Order:The Clergy
      The Christians of Europe were directed by bishops and clerics of church. They made the first order of the feudal 
society. Above those bishops and clerics was the head of western church,the Pope,who lived in Rome. The Catholic 
church was the most dominant body which did not depend on the king. The church had its own laws,owned  land 
granted by the king collected taxes of own. Almost all villages had church,where people gathered on Sunday pray and 
listened to the sermons of the priests. Men who became priest could not marry. Serfs,the physically challenged and 
women could not became a priest. The Bishops were nobles in religious field. They owned lands like lords,had vast 
estates and lived in grand palaces. 
The church collected one tenth of share from peasants' produce every year called the'tithe'.The church also got money 
in the form of donations by the rich for own and their relatives' welfare in the afterlife. Several rites and rituals of 
feudal nobles were copied by church to increase its influence. The act of knelling while praying,with hands clasped and 
head bowed was identical to knights' act to take vow for their lord. The term 'lord' for God was also a debt from feudal 
customs.
Monks and Monasteries
    There were devout Christians in feudal society known as monks. They opted to live isolated in contrast to the clergy 
who lived in towns and villages. They lived in religious communities called abbeys or monasteries away from human 
settlements. Monks vowed to stay in the abbey for the rest of their life. They spent their time in worship,study and 
manual labour like farming. Their life was different from priesthood and was quiet open to both men and women and 
women became nuns. Most of the abbeys were single -sex communities. There were separate abbeys for men and 
women. Like priests,monks and nuns did not marry. Two well known monasteries were one established by St. 
Benedict in Italy in 529 and another of Cluny in Burgundy in 910.
Relation between the Church and Society
   Christianity entered Europe and influenced most of the people. But they did not forget old beliefs in magic and folk 
traditions. Christmas and Easter became important dates from the fourth century. They replaced old pre-Roman 
festival as which were based on solar calender. The Easter day marked the crucifixion of Christ and his rebirth from the 
dead and it was celebrates on replaced date of old festival based on lunar calender. On coming of spring ,people used to 
travel around their village lands on that day. Holiday or holidays were welcomed by over worked peasants as free 
days ,They usually spent more time in fun and feasting rather than prayer.
The Second Order:The Nobility
     The nobility possessed a central role in the social processes. They had control over lands,which was the result of old 
custom known as 'vassalage'.The nobles of kings were big land holders and they used to be vassal of the king whereas 
the peasants were vassals to the land owners. In France the rulers were linked to 'vassalage',similarly the Franks of 
Gaul also followed the same tradition. In that tradition a noble accepted the king his seigneur or lord in all matters and
                                                                                                    3                                     
 king had to give a mutual assurance that he would protect the vassals. Under that link both seigneur and the noble had 
to make vows with the Bible in the church. The vassal received a written charter or a staff or even a clod of earth as 
symbol of land granted by his lord. The nobles enjoyed several privileges. They had judicial powers and even right to 
issue coins. They also had power to raise their army known as feudal levies. A noble was lord of each and every person 
settled on his land.  He possessed huge tracts of land which included his residences ,his personal fields,pastures and 
the fields of peasant-tenants. The house of noble was known as manor. The peasants cultivated their fields also,worked 
as cultivators on his fields and as the foot soldiers in time of military need.
The Manorial Estate
   A lord house was known as manor-house in feudal society. He would control peasant's villages in the manorial estates 
either in small number containing few dozen of houses or in large number consisting of around fifty to sixty houses of 
peasants. The manorial estates were self sufficient economic centres,where each and every requirement of daily life 
was fulfilled in the estate. The grains were grown in the fields,blacksmiths and carpenters maintained the lords 
equipments and refurnished the ornaments,whereas stone masons managed their building. The women prepared fabrics 
and children worked in lord's wine-presses. The estates consisted of woodlands and forests where the lord did hunting. 
The estates also contained pastures. The church was part of estate and the castle was there for defence,where knights 
lived. In England ,the castles were developed as centres of administration and military strength under the feudal 
system.
Knights: A Distinctive Group
       There were regular localised wars in Europe. The insufficient  amateur peasant soldiers and lack of good cavalry 
had created problems. This led to the evolution of new section of people in society known as Knight. They were under 
the lord,who were subordinates of the king. The knights paid his lord customary fees and pledged to fight for him in 
war. The lords granted a piece of land called fief,for knights in lieu of their services as their protectorate. The fief of 
knight could be hereditary and was of any size from 1000 to 2000 acres or more. A knight's fief consisted of a house for 
him and his family,church settlements of dependent together with water mill and wine press. The peasants cultivated 
the land of the fief. In exchange ,the knight paid his lord a regular fee and promised to fight for him in war. A knight 
could serve more than one lord but remained loyal to his own lord.
The Third Order:Peasants,Free and Unfree
     The third order consisted of vast majority of people which were mainly cultivators. The cultivators had two 
categories:free peasants and serfs. The free peasants were those who had own lands but worked as tenants of the land. 
They had to give military service for  least forty days in a year. They had to work on lord's fields for three days 
generally in a week in the form of labour-rent. Together with this they had to provide unpaid services for works like 
digging ditches,gathering firewood,building fence and maintaining roads and buildings. Women and children had to do 
several tasks together with work on fields like spinning thread,weaving cloth,making candles and preparing wine from 
grapes. The free peasants had to pay a tax 'taille' to king from which clergy and nobles were exempted. The serfs tilled 
the land of lord. Most part of the produce was submitted to the lord. They had to work on the lands of lord without 
wages. They were not allowed to leave the estate without prior permission from the lord. The lord claimed several 
monopolies at the cost of his serfs .Serfs could use only lord's flour mill,his oven to bake their bread and his 
wine-presses to distil wine and beer. The lord decide whom a serf should marry or might give the blessing to the serf's 
choice but on a payment of a free.
                                                                                      
England the land 'Angles'
The Angles and Saxons came from central Europe and got settled in England during sixth 
century. The name of the country England is a modification of 'Angle-land' as England was 
inhabited by Angles.
Page 4


                  Theme 6     The Three Orders               
    The three orders of the European society between the ninth and and sixteenth centuries were:Christian priests,land 
owning nobles and peasants. The changing relationships between these three groups was an important factor in 
shaping European history for several centuries.
Sources to understand Medieval European society
1.There is a lot of material in the form of documents,details of landownership,prices and legal cases. Churches had kept 
records of births ,marriages and deaths .The inscriptions in churches give information about traders' associations,and 
songs and stories give a sense of festivals and community activities. All these can be used to understand economic and 
social life.
2.Marc Bloch and his ideas about European feudalism
  Marc Bloch(1886-1944) was one of the earliest scholars of France who worked on the concept of feudalism. He argued 
that history is not all about political history but also includes international relations and lives of great people. He 
stressed on the importance of geography in determining human history and the requirement to realise the collective 
activities or approaches of groups of people.
 His book Feudal Society talks about the European society between 900 and 1300 A.D especially of France. It had 
significant detailed social relations and hierarchies and land related affairs and cultural achievements of that period. 
Condition of Europe on the eve of rising feudalism
   There were some socio-political changes that occurred in Europe between the ninth and and sixteenth centuries. 
After the decline of the Roman Empire, several Germanic groups of people of eastern and central Europe  captured 
areas of Italy,Spain and France. Due to the absence of  a single political power, there were regular military clashes in 
order to gather resources to continue hold on own land. Social institution was therefore revolved around the control of 
land. Christianity was the religion of land as it was spread in almost whole Europe. The church was not only a religious 
institution but also a political power. The church was a major land holder in Europe.
Meaning of Feudalism
The term 'feudalism' is derived from a German word 'feud' which means 'a 
piece of land'.It refers to the kind of society that developed in Medieval France 
and later in England and Italy. Feudalism was a system that centred around the 
principles of land related matters. Historians used the term feudalism to describe 
the economic,legal,political and social relationships that existed in Europe in the 
medieval era.
Features of feudalism in Europe
    The roots of feudalism can be traced back to the practices that existed in the Roman Empire. Feudalism became an 
established way of life during the era of French king Charlemagne. It was said to be emerged later and spread in whole 
Europe later.
    Feudalism refers to a kind of an agricultural production which was based on the relationship between the lords and 
peasants. The peasants cultivated their own land and worked on the lands of the lords also. In lieu of labour 
service ,peasants received military protection from the lord. The lords also decided the judicial matters of the peasants. 
Therefore ,that lord was all in all proprietors of lands and peasant's fortunes. Thus ,besides economic 
aspects,feudalism also began to cover the political and social aspects of life.
                                                                                                               2                                  
History of the name ''France'
There was a province of Roman Empire named ''Gaul' which was had extensive 
coastlines,mountain ranges,long rivers,forests and large plain area suited to agriculture. A 
Germanic tribe named ''the Franks 'gave their name to Gaul and it later came to be known as 
France. By the sixth century this region was a kingdom under the rule of Christian Frankish or 
French got strengthened when Charlemagne was given the title of 'Holy Roman Emperor' by 
the pope around 800 AD
The Three Orders 
        The French priests were of the view that people were part of the one of three 'orders 'according to their 
occupation. A bishop quoted that,'”Here below some pray,others fight,other still work” .So the three orders of 
society were generally the clergy,the nobility and the peasantry.
The First Order:The Clergy
      The Christians of Europe were directed by bishops and clerics of church. They made the first order of the feudal 
society. Above those bishops and clerics was the head of western church,the Pope,who lived in Rome. The Catholic 
church was the most dominant body which did not depend on the king. The church had its own laws,owned  land 
granted by the king collected taxes of own. Almost all villages had church,where people gathered on Sunday pray and 
listened to the sermons of the priests. Men who became priest could not marry. Serfs,the physically challenged and 
women could not became a priest. The Bishops were nobles in religious field. They owned lands like lords,had vast 
estates and lived in grand palaces. 
The church collected one tenth of share from peasants' produce every year called the'tithe'.The church also got money 
in the form of donations by the rich for own and their relatives' welfare in the afterlife. Several rites and rituals of 
feudal nobles were copied by church to increase its influence. The act of knelling while praying,with hands clasped and 
head bowed was identical to knights' act to take vow for their lord. The term 'lord' for God was also a debt from feudal 
customs.
Monks and Monasteries
    There were devout Christians in feudal society known as monks. They opted to live isolated in contrast to the clergy 
who lived in towns and villages. They lived in religious communities called abbeys or monasteries away from human 
settlements. Monks vowed to stay in the abbey for the rest of their life. They spent their time in worship,study and 
manual labour like farming. Their life was different from priesthood and was quiet open to both men and women and 
women became nuns. Most of the abbeys were single -sex communities. There were separate abbeys for men and 
women. Like priests,monks and nuns did not marry. Two well known monasteries were one established by St. 
Benedict in Italy in 529 and another of Cluny in Burgundy in 910.
Relation between the Church and Society
   Christianity entered Europe and influenced most of the people. But they did not forget old beliefs in magic and folk 
traditions. Christmas and Easter became important dates from the fourth century. They replaced old pre-Roman 
festival as which were based on solar calender. The Easter day marked the crucifixion of Christ and his rebirth from the 
dead and it was celebrates on replaced date of old festival based on lunar calender. On coming of spring ,people used to 
travel around their village lands on that day. Holiday or holidays were welcomed by over worked peasants as free 
days ,They usually spent more time in fun and feasting rather than prayer.
The Second Order:The Nobility
     The nobility possessed a central role in the social processes. They had control over lands,which was the result of old 
custom known as 'vassalage'.The nobles of kings were big land holders and they used to be vassal of the king whereas 
the peasants were vassals to the land owners. In France the rulers were linked to 'vassalage',similarly the Franks of 
Gaul also followed the same tradition. In that tradition a noble accepted the king his seigneur or lord in all matters and
                                                                                                    3                                     
 king had to give a mutual assurance that he would protect the vassals. Under that link both seigneur and the noble had 
to make vows with the Bible in the church. The vassal received a written charter or a staff or even a clod of earth as 
symbol of land granted by his lord. The nobles enjoyed several privileges. They had judicial powers and even right to 
issue coins. They also had power to raise their army known as feudal levies. A noble was lord of each and every person 
settled on his land.  He possessed huge tracts of land which included his residences ,his personal fields,pastures and 
the fields of peasant-tenants. The house of noble was known as manor. The peasants cultivated their fields also,worked 
as cultivators on his fields and as the foot soldiers in time of military need.
The Manorial Estate
   A lord house was known as manor-house in feudal society. He would control peasant's villages in the manorial estates 
either in small number containing few dozen of houses or in large number consisting of around fifty to sixty houses of 
peasants. The manorial estates were self sufficient economic centres,where each and every requirement of daily life 
was fulfilled in the estate. The grains were grown in the fields,blacksmiths and carpenters maintained the lords 
equipments and refurnished the ornaments,whereas stone masons managed their building. The women prepared fabrics 
and children worked in lord's wine-presses. The estates consisted of woodlands and forests where the lord did hunting. 
The estates also contained pastures. The church was part of estate and the castle was there for defence,where knights 
lived. In England ,the castles were developed as centres of administration and military strength under the feudal 
system.
Knights: A Distinctive Group
       There were regular localised wars in Europe. The insufficient  amateur peasant soldiers and lack of good cavalry 
had created problems. This led to the evolution of new section of people in society known as Knight. They were under 
the lord,who were subordinates of the king. The knights paid his lord customary fees and pledged to fight for him in 
war. The lords granted a piece of land called fief,for knights in lieu of their services as their protectorate. The fief of 
knight could be hereditary and was of any size from 1000 to 2000 acres or more. A knight's fief consisted of a house for 
him and his family,church settlements of dependent together with water mill and wine press. The peasants cultivated 
the land of the fief. In exchange ,the knight paid his lord a regular fee and promised to fight for him in war. A knight 
could serve more than one lord but remained loyal to his own lord.
The Third Order:Peasants,Free and Unfree
     The third order consisted of vast majority of people which were mainly cultivators. The cultivators had two 
categories:free peasants and serfs. The free peasants were those who had own lands but worked as tenants of the land. 
They had to give military service for  least forty days in a year. They had to work on lord's fields for three days 
generally in a week in the form of labour-rent. Together with this they had to provide unpaid services for works like 
digging ditches,gathering firewood,building fence and maintaining roads and buildings. Women and children had to do 
several tasks together with work on fields like spinning thread,weaving cloth,making candles and preparing wine from 
grapes. The free peasants had to pay a tax 'taille' to king from which clergy and nobles were exempted. The serfs tilled 
the land of lord. Most part of the produce was submitted to the lord. They had to work on the lands of lord without 
wages. They were not allowed to leave the estate without prior permission from the lord. The lord claimed several 
monopolies at the cost of his serfs .Serfs could use only lord's flour mill,his oven to bake their bread and his 
wine-presses to distil wine and beer. The lord decide whom a serf should marry or might give the blessing to the serf's 
choice but on a payment of a free.
                                                                                      
England the land 'Angles'
The Angles and Saxons came from central Europe and got settled in England during sixth 
century. The name of the country England is a modification of 'Angle-land' as England was 
inhabited by Angles.
                                                                                        4                                                         
Factors Affecting social and Economic Relations.
     There were several processes which were affecting the social and economic relations.
The Environment
      Between fifth and tenth centuries, Europe had undergone an extreme cold climatic change. This shortened growing 
season for crops and reduced agricultural production. By the eleventh century,Europe entered a warm phase. Increase 
in temperature had a deep impact on agriculture. Peasants had a longer growing season and soil could be easily 
ploughed. This resulted in the expansion of agriculture. 
Land Use
     Agricultural technology used by peasants initially was primitive. They had to use wooden plough drawn by couple of 
oxen,which could only scratch the surface of earth instead of drawing full fertility of soil. So,fields needed to be dug by 
hand ,regularly once in four years. Agriculture was therefore very labour demanding. An unproductive method of crop 
rotation was in use ;in which the land was divided in two halves. In one  winter wheat was grown in autumn and other 
left fallow and vice versa. Rye was grown in other half. This was a system of destroying fertility of soil and caused 
frequent famines. Chronic malnutrition occurred and life of the poor became more difficult. The lords were 
apprehensive to increase their income,as it was difficult to increase output from land. So they forced the peasants to 
work on his manorial estates more than the legal time.
Technological Changes in the Field of Agriculture
    The eleventh century saw  several changes in the field of agriculture.
? The heavy iron-tipped ploughs and mould-boards replaced old wooden equipments. These ploughs dug much 
deeper and mould -boards turned soil suitable which resulted in better use of nutrients from the soil.
? The shoulder-harness replaced neck-harness of animals that allowed animals to wield great power. Use of iron 
horseshoes prevented foot decay of horses.
? There was increased  use of wind and water energy for agriculture. All over Europe wind and water powered 
mills were established for the purpose of grinding corn and pressing grapes . 
? There was introduction of three field system for land use in place of older two field system. In that,a peasant 
could use two out of three fields by sowing one crop in autumn and another crop in spring a year and half late. 
They could grow wheat or rye in autumn in one field then in second field they could grow peas,beans and lentils 
during spring and could grow oats and barley for horses also. The third field was left fallow and by that they 
could rotate the use of all three fields every year.
? With the improvement in agricultural technology there was instant enhancement in food produced from every 
unit of land. The greater use of plants like peas and beans meant increase in protein diet of Europeans and 
better source of fodder for animals. Now cultivator could produce more food from small land. The average 
holding of peasant's farm shrank from 100 acres to 20 or 30 acres. Now small holdings reduced the 
requirement of labour and could be efficiently cultivated which gave time to peasants for other creative 
activities.
? During the eleventh century the personal bonds base of feudalism weakened. The lords asked for rents in cash 
 instead of kind,also peasants found it easy to sell their crops to traders. The increased use of money began to 
influence prices,which became higher in times of poor harvest.
A Fourth Order? New towns and Towns people
• The advent of new agricultural technology resulted in growth of agriculture which was accompanied by 
progress in three related areas:population,trade and towns.
• The population of Europe rose from 42 million in 1000 to 62 million around 1200 and 73 million in 1300.Due to 
better food the lifespan increased. An average European could expect to live 10 years longer in the 13
th 
century than 8
th
 century.
Page 5


                  Theme 6     The Three Orders               
    The three orders of the European society between the ninth and and sixteenth centuries were:Christian priests,land 
owning nobles and peasants. The changing relationships between these three groups was an important factor in 
shaping European history for several centuries.
Sources to understand Medieval European society
1.There is a lot of material in the form of documents,details of landownership,prices and legal cases. Churches had kept 
records of births ,marriages and deaths .The inscriptions in churches give information about traders' associations,and 
songs and stories give a sense of festivals and community activities. All these can be used to understand economic and 
social life.
2.Marc Bloch and his ideas about European feudalism
  Marc Bloch(1886-1944) was one of the earliest scholars of France who worked on the concept of feudalism. He argued 
that history is not all about political history but also includes international relations and lives of great people. He 
stressed on the importance of geography in determining human history and the requirement to realise the collective 
activities or approaches of groups of people.
 His book Feudal Society talks about the European society between 900 and 1300 A.D especially of France. It had 
significant detailed social relations and hierarchies and land related affairs and cultural achievements of that period. 
Condition of Europe on the eve of rising feudalism
   There were some socio-political changes that occurred in Europe between the ninth and and sixteenth centuries. 
After the decline of the Roman Empire, several Germanic groups of people of eastern and central Europe  captured 
areas of Italy,Spain and France. Due to the absence of  a single political power, there were regular military clashes in 
order to gather resources to continue hold on own land. Social institution was therefore revolved around the control of 
land. Christianity was the religion of land as it was spread in almost whole Europe. The church was not only a religious 
institution but also a political power. The church was a major land holder in Europe.
Meaning of Feudalism
The term 'feudalism' is derived from a German word 'feud' which means 'a 
piece of land'.It refers to the kind of society that developed in Medieval France 
and later in England and Italy. Feudalism was a system that centred around the 
principles of land related matters. Historians used the term feudalism to describe 
the economic,legal,political and social relationships that existed in Europe in the 
medieval era.
Features of feudalism in Europe
    The roots of feudalism can be traced back to the practices that existed in the Roman Empire. Feudalism became an 
established way of life during the era of French king Charlemagne. It was said to be emerged later and spread in whole 
Europe later.
    Feudalism refers to a kind of an agricultural production which was based on the relationship between the lords and 
peasants. The peasants cultivated their own land and worked on the lands of the lords also. In lieu of labour 
service ,peasants received military protection from the lord. The lords also decided the judicial matters of the peasants. 
Therefore ,that lord was all in all proprietors of lands and peasant's fortunes. Thus ,besides economic 
aspects,feudalism also began to cover the political and social aspects of life.
                                                                                                               2                                  
History of the name ''France'
There was a province of Roman Empire named ''Gaul' which was had extensive 
coastlines,mountain ranges,long rivers,forests and large plain area suited to agriculture. A 
Germanic tribe named ''the Franks 'gave their name to Gaul and it later came to be known as 
France. By the sixth century this region was a kingdom under the rule of Christian Frankish or 
French got strengthened when Charlemagne was given the title of 'Holy Roman Emperor' by 
the pope around 800 AD
The Three Orders 
        The French priests were of the view that people were part of the one of three 'orders 'according to their 
occupation. A bishop quoted that,'”Here below some pray,others fight,other still work” .So the three orders of 
society were generally the clergy,the nobility and the peasantry.
The First Order:The Clergy
      The Christians of Europe were directed by bishops and clerics of church. They made the first order of the feudal 
society. Above those bishops and clerics was the head of western church,the Pope,who lived in Rome. The Catholic 
church was the most dominant body which did not depend on the king. The church had its own laws,owned  land 
granted by the king collected taxes of own. Almost all villages had church,where people gathered on Sunday pray and 
listened to the sermons of the priests. Men who became priest could not marry. Serfs,the physically challenged and 
women could not became a priest. The Bishops were nobles in religious field. They owned lands like lords,had vast 
estates and lived in grand palaces. 
The church collected one tenth of share from peasants' produce every year called the'tithe'.The church also got money 
in the form of donations by the rich for own and their relatives' welfare in the afterlife. Several rites and rituals of 
feudal nobles were copied by church to increase its influence. The act of knelling while praying,with hands clasped and 
head bowed was identical to knights' act to take vow for their lord. The term 'lord' for God was also a debt from feudal 
customs.
Monks and Monasteries
    There were devout Christians in feudal society known as monks. They opted to live isolated in contrast to the clergy 
who lived in towns and villages. They lived in religious communities called abbeys or monasteries away from human 
settlements. Monks vowed to stay in the abbey for the rest of their life. They spent their time in worship,study and 
manual labour like farming. Their life was different from priesthood and was quiet open to both men and women and 
women became nuns. Most of the abbeys were single -sex communities. There were separate abbeys for men and 
women. Like priests,monks and nuns did not marry. Two well known monasteries were one established by St. 
Benedict in Italy in 529 and another of Cluny in Burgundy in 910.
Relation between the Church and Society
   Christianity entered Europe and influenced most of the people. But they did not forget old beliefs in magic and folk 
traditions. Christmas and Easter became important dates from the fourth century. They replaced old pre-Roman 
festival as which were based on solar calender. The Easter day marked the crucifixion of Christ and his rebirth from the 
dead and it was celebrates on replaced date of old festival based on lunar calender. On coming of spring ,people used to 
travel around their village lands on that day. Holiday or holidays were welcomed by over worked peasants as free 
days ,They usually spent more time in fun and feasting rather than prayer.
The Second Order:The Nobility
     The nobility possessed a central role in the social processes. They had control over lands,which was the result of old 
custom known as 'vassalage'.The nobles of kings were big land holders and they used to be vassal of the king whereas 
the peasants were vassals to the land owners. In France the rulers were linked to 'vassalage',similarly the Franks of 
Gaul also followed the same tradition. In that tradition a noble accepted the king his seigneur or lord in all matters and
                                                                                                    3                                     
 king had to give a mutual assurance that he would protect the vassals. Under that link both seigneur and the noble had 
to make vows with the Bible in the church. The vassal received a written charter or a staff or even a clod of earth as 
symbol of land granted by his lord. The nobles enjoyed several privileges. They had judicial powers and even right to 
issue coins. They also had power to raise their army known as feudal levies. A noble was lord of each and every person 
settled on his land.  He possessed huge tracts of land which included his residences ,his personal fields,pastures and 
the fields of peasant-tenants. The house of noble was known as manor. The peasants cultivated their fields also,worked 
as cultivators on his fields and as the foot soldiers in time of military need.
The Manorial Estate
   A lord house was known as manor-house in feudal society. He would control peasant's villages in the manorial estates 
either in small number containing few dozen of houses or in large number consisting of around fifty to sixty houses of 
peasants. The manorial estates were self sufficient economic centres,where each and every requirement of daily life 
was fulfilled in the estate. The grains were grown in the fields,blacksmiths and carpenters maintained the lords 
equipments and refurnished the ornaments,whereas stone masons managed their building. The women prepared fabrics 
and children worked in lord's wine-presses. The estates consisted of woodlands and forests where the lord did hunting. 
The estates also contained pastures. The church was part of estate and the castle was there for defence,where knights 
lived. In England ,the castles were developed as centres of administration and military strength under the feudal 
system.
Knights: A Distinctive Group
       There were regular localised wars in Europe. The insufficient  amateur peasant soldiers and lack of good cavalry 
had created problems. This led to the evolution of new section of people in society known as Knight. They were under 
the lord,who were subordinates of the king. The knights paid his lord customary fees and pledged to fight for him in 
war. The lords granted a piece of land called fief,for knights in lieu of their services as their protectorate. The fief of 
knight could be hereditary and was of any size from 1000 to 2000 acres or more. A knight's fief consisted of a house for 
him and his family,church settlements of dependent together with water mill and wine press. The peasants cultivated 
the land of the fief. In exchange ,the knight paid his lord a regular fee and promised to fight for him in war. A knight 
could serve more than one lord but remained loyal to his own lord.
The Third Order:Peasants,Free and Unfree
     The third order consisted of vast majority of people which were mainly cultivators. The cultivators had two 
categories:free peasants and serfs. The free peasants were those who had own lands but worked as tenants of the land. 
They had to give military service for  least forty days in a year. They had to work on lord's fields for three days 
generally in a week in the form of labour-rent. Together with this they had to provide unpaid services for works like 
digging ditches,gathering firewood,building fence and maintaining roads and buildings. Women and children had to do 
several tasks together with work on fields like spinning thread,weaving cloth,making candles and preparing wine from 
grapes. The free peasants had to pay a tax 'taille' to king from which clergy and nobles were exempted. The serfs tilled 
the land of lord. Most part of the produce was submitted to the lord. They had to work on the lands of lord without 
wages. They were not allowed to leave the estate without prior permission from the lord. The lord claimed several 
monopolies at the cost of his serfs .Serfs could use only lord's flour mill,his oven to bake their bread and his 
wine-presses to distil wine and beer. The lord decide whom a serf should marry or might give the blessing to the serf's 
choice but on a payment of a free.
                                                                                      
England the land 'Angles'
The Angles and Saxons came from central Europe and got settled in England during sixth 
century. The name of the country England is a modification of 'Angle-land' as England was 
inhabited by Angles.
                                                                                        4                                                         
Factors Affecting social and Economic Relations.
     There were several processes which were affecting the social and economic relations.
The Environment
      Between fifth and tenth centuries, Europe had undergone an extreme cold climatic change. This shortened growing 
season for crops and reduced agricultural production. By the eleventh century,Europe entered a warm phase. Increase 
in temperature had a deep impact on agriculture. Peasants had a longer growing season and soil could be easily 
ploughed. This resulted in the expansion of agriculture. 
Land Use
     Agricultural technology used by peasants initially was primitive. They had to use wooden plough drawn by couple of 
oxen,which could only scratch the surface of earth instead of drawing full fertility of soil. So,fields needed to be dug by 
hand ,regularly once in four years. Agriculture was therefore very labour demanding. An unproductive method of crop 
rotation was in use ;in which the land was divided in two halves. In one  winter wheat was grown in autumn and other 
left fallow and vice versa. Rye was grown in other half. This was a system of destroying fertility of soil and caused 
frequent famines. Chronic malnutrition occurred and life of the poor became more difficult. The lords were 
apprehensive to increase their income,as it was difficult to increase output from land. So they forced the peasants to 
work on his manorial estates more than the legal time.
Technological Changes in the Field of Agriculture
    The eleventh century saw  several changes in the field of agriculture.
? The heavy iron-tipped ploughs and mould-boards replaced old wooden equipments. These ploughs dug much 
deeper and mould -boards turned soil suitable which resulted in better use of nutrients from the soil.
? The shoulder-harness replaced neck-harness of animals that allowed animals to wield great power. Use of iron 
horseshoes prevented foot decay of horses.
? There was increased  use of wind and water energy for agriculture. All over Europe wind and water powered 
mills were established for the purpose of grinding corn and pressing grapes . 
? There was introduction of three field system for land use in place of older two field system. In that,a peasant 
could use two out of three fields by sowing one crop in autumn and another crop in spring a year and half late. 
They could grow wheat or rye in autumn in one field then in second field they could grow peas,beans and lentils 
during spring and could grow oats and barley for horses also. The third field was left fallow and by that they 
could rotate the use of all three fields every year.
? With the improvement in agricultural technology there was instant enhancement in food produced from every 
unit of land. The greater use of plants like peas and beans meant increase in protein diet of Europeans and 
better source of fodder for animals. Now cultivator could produce more food from small land. The average 
holding of peasant's farm shrank from 100 acres to 20 or 30 acres. Now small holdings reduced the 
requirement of labour and could be efficiently cultivated which gave time to peasants for other creative 
activities.
? During the eleventh century the personal bonds base of feudalism weakened. The lords asked for rents in cash 
 instead of kind,also peasants found it easy to sell their crops to traders. The increased use of money began to 
influence prices,which became higher in times of poor harvest.
A Fourth Order? New towns and Towns people
• The advent of new agricultural technology resulted in growth of agriculture which was accompanied by 
progress in three related areas:population,trade and towns.
• The population of Europe rose from 42 million in 1000 to 62 million around 1200 and 73 million in 1300.Due to 
better food the lifespan increased. An average European could expect to live 10 years longer in the 13
th 
century than 8
th
 century.
                                                                                            5                                
• The growth of population resulted into development of towns in the Roman Empire. Peasant needed a place to 
• sell their surplus produce and buy tools and cloth. This led to the increase in holding regular fairs and small 
townships. These townships gradually developed into town with features like town square,a church,streets 
where merchants built shops and homes,an office where administrators of city could meet. The towns 
developed along large castles,bishops' estates or large churches.
• Instead of services,people paid taxes to lords who were the owner of the land on which the town stood. Towns 
offered the prospect of paid work and freedom  for young people of peasantry.
• 'Town air makes free' was a saying popular in medieval Europe. Many serfs escaped from their masters and 
hid themselves in towns. If they successfully completed one year and a day without being discovered by their 
masters ,they could become freemen.
• There was a large number of shopkeepers and merchants,later there was a need of skilled individuals like 
lawyers and bankers. The bigger towns had population of around 30,000 which might form the fourth order. 
• Guilds were the basis of economic organisation in the medieval Europe . Crafter industry was 
organised into guild. These guilds controlled the quality,price and the sale of the goods. The guild- hall was 
part of every town where heads of all guilds met. Due to the expansion of trade and commerce also the town 
merchants became wealthy and powerful and completed with power of the nobility. 
Cathedral -towns
      The large churches were called cathedrals. By 12
th
 century onwards, cathedrals were being built in France. The 
cathedrals belonged to monasteries. Different people contributed to their construction with their own labour,material 
or money. A cathedral was made of stone and took several years to complete. The area around the cathedrals became 
more populated and they became centres of pilgrimage. Small towns developed around them. Cathedrals were designed 
in a way that voice of the priest could reach all people assembled in the hall. Singing sound of monks and the chiming 
bells reached greater distance as a call for prayer. Stained glass was used for windows of the cathedrals. These glasses, 
during day time ,made the cathedrals radiant for the people who were inside and during the nights ,the light of the 
candles made them visible for the people outside. The stained glass narrated the stories in the Bible through pictures. 
So that illiterates could understand those stories.
The Crisis of the Fourteenth Century
? By the early fourteenth century,Europe's economic expansion slowed down.
? In 13
th
 century the warm summers of the previous years had given way to bitterly cold summers.
? Seasons for growing crops were reduced by a month.
? Storms and oceanic flooding destroyed many farmlands that reduced the income in taxes for govts.
? Population growth caused shortage of resources and the immediate result was famine.
? Trade was hit by a severe shortage of metal money because of the short fall in the output of silver mines in 
Austria and Serbia.                                                                                             
? The ships came with rats carrying the deadly bubonic plague infection(Black death).
? This catastrophe ,combined with the economic crisis, caused immense social disorder.
? Serious imbalances were created between agriculture and manufacture.
Social Unrest
         The income of lords was declining rapidly because of fall prices of agriculture products and rise in wages of 
labourers. In desperation,they tried to give up the money-contracts and revive labour-services. This was fiercely 
opposed by all peasants including better-educated and more prosperous one. The peasants revolted in Flanders in 
1323,in France in 1358 and in England in 1381.Although the revolts were ruthlessly crushed but one significant thing 
was that they occurred with more brutal intensity in the areas which experience economic growth. It was a sign of 
peasant's attempt for securing their gains which they had made in previous centuries. The aggression of peasants made 
it certain that old feudal order would not be reinstalled. Thus the lords were able to crush the rebellions but were not