The Three Orders in Europe

With the fall of the Roman empire during the 9th-16th centuries, mediaeval Europe suffered from a lack of political unity and peace. Infighting amongst the German tribes and occupying land based on power was common. 

European society formulated the Three Orders to bring peace and shape the economy. However, with time, several changes were made within these orders to shape the needs of the people and society. The book Feudal society and the Idea of Marc Bloch,1886-1944 tells us more about European society. 

In this context, the concept of feudalism also became important. The word feudalism came from the German word “feud”, which meant land. Feudalism existed in Europe in the Middle Ages, where the poorer people worked for the nobles, who in turn protected them and allowed them to use their land for a living. The landowner also decided on the judicial matters of the farmers. 

Therefore the nobles or lords were masters of not only the land but the peasant fortunes and decided the social and economic matters of the peasants. Though Feudalism was practised in the Roman era, it became widely accepted in European society during French King Charlemagne (742-814 AD). 

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The Three Orders

According to French Priests, people were classified based on their occupation. Hence the Three Orders of the Society were the clergy, nobility, and peasantry.

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The First Order: The Clergy 

This referred to all those associated with the church, like popes, bishops, and priests. The Head of the Church was the Pope, who lived in Rome. Women, physically disabled people, and serfs could not become priests. Nevertheless, the church was very powerful because:

• It was independent of the clutches of rulers
• The church owned vast acres of land, Bishops were the custodians
• The church collected its revenue in the form of ‘tithe,’ which was 1/10th share of the production. Also, the church received donations from the wealthy, which added to its riches
• The church organised prayers on Sundays, and congregations listened to speeches by priests.
• The church introduced certain new customs like kneeling and praying with hands folded, bowing down in front of God, and using the term ‘Lord’ to worship God 
• The church allowed the inclusion of monks and nuns in the monasteries, but they were bound to follow specific strict rules. Some of these rules were:

1. 1. Monks and nuns lived isolated lives away from family and friends and spent their time in deeply rooted religious thoughts and ideas.
   2. They were not allowed to get married.
   3. They could engage in farming land and manual work.
   4. After the 13th-century, monks and nuns were allowed to spread religious ideas and were called “Friars.”

• Two famous monasteries of those times were St. Benedict in Italy and Cluny in Burgundy
• By the 9th and 10th centuries, the monasteries became learning centres, art and craft, and hospitals

During this time, the church had a significant effect on contemporary society and participated in festivals of Christmas and Easter. Slowly society moved away from traditional old Roman festivals. 

During the Renaissance period, the monks and nuns were frequent visitors to cities and towns. But the austerity that marked the lives of the monks and nuns as set by the church was lacking. Instead, they were more attracted to worldly pleasures and materialistic lives. As a result, the church soon became crowded with greedy people interested in living a luxurious life. This put the faith of common people in the clergy and the catholic church in question. This also laid the roots of Protestant Christianity in the coming centuries.  

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The Second Order: The Nobility

The nobility class was below the royals but enjoyed certain privileges. They were followers of the old custom “vassalage,” which gave them ownership of lands.

The Vassalage System:

In this system, the “noble” class accepted the royals as their lords, and there was mutual loyalty and protection. Through this system, the nobles were termed as “vassals,” and written documentation was made for the land they owned. The vassals or nobles enjoyed judicial powers to issue coins, farmlands and manors. Peasants worked in these manors and also served as soldiers at war times.

The nobility were the holders of the aristocracy. They had control over politics, society, region, and culture. This continued till the start of the First World War in 1914. The nobles had their social duty to protect the weak and the poor. But with time, the nobility lost their moral values and wanted to live the royal life. So at times when there were no wars, they were seen organising tournaments and competitions.  

As infighting and war-like situations were common in contemporary Europe, the untrained peasants were often unable to fight. Hence a special group was formed and termed as “Knights.” Their primary duty was to master the art of warfare. They would pledge to fight for their masters or Lords. In return, the masters would give them land called “fief,” which was hereditary along with associated benefits.

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The Third Order: Peasants, Free and Unfree

The order usually consisted of farmers and peasants who were divided into two categories:

• Free Peasants were owners of land but worked as tenants in their own lands and had to pay tax to the royals. They had compulsory military service for at least forty days. They were manual labourers and had to do jobs like digging, winemaking, gathering wood, construction work, etc
• Unfree Peasants or Serfs were those who worked on the owner’s land. Anything produced from the land would directly go to the owner. Serfs were not allowed to leave the land without owners’ permission and worked without wages. Even the social life of the serf, marriage, etc., would be decided by the nobility. In turn, the serf would have to pay money to the royal

However, with the breakdown of the Roman Empire, the thin line dividing the serfs and slaves became less prominent. The serfs were bonded labourers and subjected to the wishes of their masters. But with the development of the economy, trade across countries became more and more profitable. Many serfs freed themselves and started cultivating their own lands. Bonded labour was replaced with direct and indirect taxations, which the serfs had to pay.  

Conclusion

The history of Medieval Europe and the ancient Roman Empire envisaged several societal changes. Fighting amongst their own countries in medieval Europe led to the loss of social harmony and peace. The economy was downtrodden.

During this time, The Three Orders were placed to bring a system of discipline and balance into the society. Whether the societal effects were beneficial or not was a different question altogether, but it designated the Church as the most powerful. The clergy tried to use religious sentiments to influence people and dominate them. The nobles or landlords were given the powers to control the benefits of the common people. 

They had powers in the judiciary and could also produce coins. Thus the nobles could play an essential role in shaping the economy at that time. But the constant interference of warlords and petty infighting led to the rise of the “Knights”, who were entrusted with the power to save the lives and property of the nobles and landlords.