WHAT WERE THE SOCIAL CLASSES OF THE RENAISSANCE? - HISTORY - 2024

The social classes of the Renaissance were the king, the high clergy, middle clergy, low clergy, high nobility, middle nobility, low nobility, the bourgeois or rich, the modest and poor levels.

Each of these social classes was made up of a group of individuals with well-defined characteristics. For their better understanding, historians made a pyramid of social stratum.

The top of the pyramid represented a higher level of power at the social, political and economic level. The Renaissance era was characterized by being classist and therefore, the social stratum of the individual was of utmost importance.

The king

The king was right at the top of the pyramid. This was the first and the most respectable for both the lower social class and the upper class.

They belonged to the most privileged class, since they were monarchs of one territory or several.

There were Catholic kings like Carlos I and Felipe II whose objective was based on creating a modern state.

High clergy

Archbishops, bishops, cardinals and canons were those who made up this social class. They were in charge of offering religious services in Catholicism and in the Orthodox Church.

Despite the fact that they only dedicated themselves to religion, they settled in the upper class, because they were granted lands and properties of great value.

High nobility

The high nobility was made up of heirs princes, counts and dukes. It was made up of a very small group of people who had a lot of power.

Middle clergy

This social class included abbots and priests who also dedicated themselves exclusively to offering religious service.

Middle nobility

It was made up of the robed nobility and knights. They belonged to the nobility through the purchase of positions and titles.

They were not accepted in their entirety but little by little they began to have social and political success.

Under clergy

The lower clergy was made up of members of the Catholic Church such as monks, friars and also priests.

They were very humble people in society and unlike those of the high clergy, they did not possess property and land powers. Yet they had one thing in common: their goal of providing religious service.

Low nobility

It was made up of those families whose financial success had not been the best. They were families that became impoverished because of the debts due to the high taxes that were demanded of them at the time.

They were also those who squandered money on high-value material goods just to appear powerful in society.

Bourgeois or rich

Class formed by those citizens, investors or merchants, owners of farms and lands.

They considered themselves bourgeois or upper class, since they owned capital in large quantities. Because of this, they managed to revolutionize commerce.

Modest levels or middle class

They were not recognized in society, but they played an important role by being artisan artists, sculptors and workers.

Poor

They constituted the lower class, therefore they were in the last sector of the pyramid. Among them were peasants, workshop workers, humble sculptors, and day laborers.

Finally there were also the unproductive of the lower class. Those who did not work, were vagrants or thieves.

References

1. Baqcuer, Gustavo. Spanish Renaissance. (2011). Recovered from: renacimientoespaol.blogspot.com.
2. queverenflorencia.com. Renaissance economy and society. (2012). Recovered from: queverenflorencia.com
3. Dims, Sofia. The Renaissance. (2011). Recovered from: www.monografias.com
4. Wikipedia.org. Renaissance. (2017). Recovered from: www.wikipedia.org
5. Cuevas, González. History and political thought of the Renaissance. (2011). Recovered from: books.google.co.ve