What Was It Like Before The Middle-Class Was Invented?

[gonbechyan]

"Don't go telling a 12th century farmer that they're a peasant"
Well, there goes my weekend plans.

[MC-ytuv]

Nobles: "You have to have nobles because we will protect you."

Peasants: "Who are you protecting us from?"

Noble: "Other nobles."

[dragonfly.effect]

Then there's the scene in Monty Python & the Holy Grail where King Arthur encounters a group of "peasants" who don't understand the "king" concept and explain that they're an autonomous anarcho-syndicalist collective with a rotating leadership, a voting system, etc. No telling Them they're living in a feudal society.

[BenRangel]

Hmm in Swedish schools they push the FOUR medieval classes: peasents, burghers, nobility and clergy. Burghers were merchants/tradesmen/etc living inside the town, and had a license to perform commerce. Bhurgers are often seen as the middle class

[calebwiggins]

I told you, we're an anarcho-syndicalist commune. We take it in turns to act as sort of executive officer for the week

[bobsnow]

Don't go telling a 21st century peasant they're a peasant either. They're just a temporarily-embarrassed millionaire.

[pdruiz]

Ah! That explains the Estates-General of France before 1789. This institution was the official parliament-like body of France that the kings almost NEVER convened since they didn't want to share political power. The Estates-General was split into three official groupings--the clergy (the First Estate or those who pray), the nobility (the Second Estate or those who fight) and everyone else (the Third Estate or those who work).

[GuntherRommel]

"Worker. Warrior. Religious. Always three there are." - Zathras

[jackwriter]

And another interesting fact that I didn't know I needed to know 😂
Thanks for all these fascinating small snippets of the past!

[velinion]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought medieval culture saw 4 social classes: Workers, Clurgy, Warriors, and Merchants; these were depicted in the classic card suits: staves (clubs) for workers, swords (spades) for warriors, cups (hearts) for clurgy, and coins (diamonds) for merchants.

[whiteink]

Noble: You have to pay taxes so I can protect you
Peasant: From whom?
Noble: From me if you don't pay your taxes

[stevegrim]

The Nobility wasn't there to defend the other two classes it was there to defend their own property and money.

[pfeeeheheherd]

In german they even made the classes rhyme:
Lehrstand ("teaching class")
Wehrstand ("defending class")
Nährstand ("feeding class")
(ignore the e/ä difference, that's just orthographic clutter)

[lovecraftianwalrus]

Did you know that in the year 1684 there were 8 individual people alive who, at one point in their lives ruled Britain. For comparison 8 monarchs ago from today is William IV, who was born in 1765. The people in question who were alive were

Richard Cromwell- died 1712
Charles II- died 1685
James II- died 1701
William III- died 1702
George I- died 1727
Mary II- died 1694
Anne- died 1714
George II- died 1760

[Khalodian]

Two classes for physical health, one for mental and spiritual. Makes sense to me.

[t-mag]

One of the fascinating things I learned about the feudal system was the idea that the development of cities across europe broke the feudal system as we know it, because it's true that artisans, merchants and craftmen were necessary for construction, but they lived and worked in cities – neither as farmers, lords or clergymen – they broke the feudal system by existing; and it's from these merchants, artisans, craftsmen that the "middle class" would sometime in the 17th/18th C. emerge from.

[confusion]

thank you! i really needed these tips for when i go and converse with my 12th century peasant

[lindsay]

Maleficent taught me this.
“What a glittering assemblage. Royalty, nobility, the gentry, and...how quaint, even the rabble.”

[dieneu]

And now the super rich upper classes get the lower classes to fight each other

[rickythend]

I'm not medieval, yet I KNOW the saving of one's soul is SO MUCH more important than eating.