Society in Early Modern Europe - 8/29/25

Society of “Orders” or “Estates”

A rigid social hierarchy in pre-revolutionary France, divided into three groups: clergy (First Estate), nobility (Second Estate), and everyone else (Third Estate)

Nobility of the Sword

The old hereditary warrior aristocracy in France, who gained status through military service and lineage.

Nobility of the Robe

Nobles who bought or inherited government and judicial offices

Bourgeoisie (middle class)

Urban professionals such as merchants

Serf

A peasant bound to the land and a lord

Seigneur (lord)

A landowning noble with legal, economic, and sometimes military authority over peasants on his estate.

Manorial or Seigneurial System

The economic and social system where peasants worked the lord’s land and paid dues in return for protection and a place to live.

Tithe (church tax)

A tax collected by the Church

Corvée (labor tax)

Unpaid labor required of peasants, typically for roads, bridges, or the lord’s land.

Taille (royal tax)

A direct land tax in France, paid mainly by peasants and non-nobles, since nobles and clergy were often exempt.

Patriarchy

A social system in which men hold primary power in political in political, economic, and family life.