The Aristocracy
In the Medieval period, everyone had their place. And nowhere was this more rigidly applied than in the nobility. This group, comprising only few percent of the population (depending on region) was at the top of everything, socially, economically, politically, and militarily. Within the nobility there were numerous ranks . The names varied from region to region, but by more or less common agreement, there was a definite pecking order for each rank.
The nobles became nobles as a result of the German invasions of Roman territory during the 4th and 5th centuries. Both the Germans and the Romans had a nobility, but neither was identical to what would develop duing the Medieval period. Most previous nobilities were composed of people who were simply wealthier, and politically better connected, than the commoners. Fancy titles and a little ceremony reinforced the higher status. Medieval nobles were different. The differences had to do with two factors; manors and the method developed for paying the troops.
The Ruling Class (titled and otherwise)
About three percent of the population comprised the ruling class. The ruling class were not all nobles, but rather the educated and wealthy class of families that ruled Europe. The lower ranks of this ruling class ("gentlemen" and "esquires" in England) were not nobles, but were the people with a lot of money who could, and often did, work their way up into the titled aristocracy. These "untitled" aristocrats were often wealthier than the titled nobles. A titled aristocrat tended to take the nobility angle too seriously, to the detriment of taking care of the business of remaining a noble.
A title, by itself, meant nothing. What was really important was land, and control over sufficient population to work the land and render rents and fees to the noble (or non-noble) owner. Actually, many nobles did not "own" the land they lorded it over, but held it as a vassal of their king (or some other higher ranking noble). In return for virtual ownership, the vassal had to give his overlord an annual payment of money, goods or service. The amount varied considerably. In some cases it was a token payment, in other instances the amount was so high that a few bad crop years could render the landlord unable to extract enough profit from the property to keep up the payments. However, this was changing during the Medieval period, as more laws were passed and feudal power was continually curbed. Kings gradually relinquished their claim to control of the land in return for some thing kings never had enough of (besides power,) namely, money. Cities could purchase degrees of self-government in return for large, one time, payments to the crown. Nobles, and commoners, could purchase outright ownership of more land for cash.
While these deals may have seemed one sided, selling off long term rental income for lump sum payments, the political realities were that the feudal lords were buying greater loyalty from their former tenants. Otherwise, as many reluctant nobles discovered, their rambunctious and ever more prosperour subjects were likely to rebel .
The principal function of the feudal system was for the nobles to provide military protection and government for their subjects. But increasingly, tenant farmers were willing to go off and shop for better terms. After the Bubonic Plague, when there was a tremendous labor shortage, the farmers were in a very powerful position. The principal means for keeping farmers on a nobles land was to allow the peasants to purchase the land (which the wealthier peasants could do) or to ease up on rental rates and feudal obligations (free labor) for the less affluent peasants. In effect, the nobility recognized that times were changing and they could either lose their power and property through revolution, or sell it to their subjects a piece at a time. The English nobles were the ones who most enthusiastically adopted this policy, and this is one reason why the English aristocracy still exists. Across the Channel, the nobles were less eager to sell off their ancient rights. It was this obstinacy that caused the French Revolution in the 18th century, and weakened the other European aristocracies in the 19th and 20th centuries. The American Revolution, of course, made a point of not allowing any aristocracy whatsoever.
A small, but very important, portion of the commoner aristocrats were the large merchants and bankers. While nobles and senior clergy often got involved in lending money, it was the commoners who did most of it. These pools of money were essential for economic growth. All manner of capital improvements, from ship building to industrial expansion, required a large amount of cash to get started. The nobles tended to spend their capital on building splendid homes and fortifications. The church pured much money into cathedrals and abbeys. But vital items like iron works, cloth factories and merchant ship fleets were largely built by entrepenurial commoners. These items produced more wealth, where castles and cathedrals did not. Eventually, this mass of commoner wealth turned into political power and this was beginning to happen even during the Medieval period.
Landlords and Tenants
At it's peak, the feudal system placed nearly all the people working the land under the control of one feudall landlord or another. Many of these tenants labored under a legal status known to us as "serfdom ." A serf was not a slave, but lived under conditions that were close to it. A serf could not leave the land without the landlords permission, nor could he marry off his daughters unless the lord allowed it. Perhaps worst of all, serfs could not petition the courts for relief from abuse they might receive from their lord. Serfs had to give a large chunk of their crop to the overlord, contribute free labor and pay fees for a long list of items.
Farmers had originally accepted the burdens of serfdom more or less voluntarily in return for the armed nobles providing protection and rule of law. Such arrangements were already practiced in Romanized lands . To the 9th or 10th century peasant beset by brigands and general anarchy, serfdom seemed like a pretty good deal. But over the centuries, peace and order became a permanent part of the landscape. The nobility lived it up, but eventually ran short of money. This was particularly true during the Crusades of the 11th and 12th centuries. It was expensive to equip oneself for a journey to the Middle East to liberate the Holy Lands. Yet it was very fashionable to go, and one had to go in style. Some nobles borrowed money, others found a source of cash closer at home. Serfs were allowed to buy their way out of some, or all, aspects of serfdom. While serfs had been exploited, they were not picked clean. A serf could make a profit in his work and build up a nest egg. Either individually, or as a group (often entire villages), the serfs bought their way out of serfdom. By the 14th century, only about 25 percent of the farmers were serfs to any degree.
Allowing the serfs to buy their freedom turned out to be a pretty good deal for the nobility. The farmers still worked the land controlled (if not, increasingly, owned) land, but did so even more efficiently. The overlord still collected rents, taxes and fees, and in the 12th and 13th century the nobility became more diligent in managing their estates. While all this increased aristocrats income, the nobles were even more enthusiastic in finding new ways to spend their money. One was really compelled to keep up appearances. The merchants were quick to supply whatever the free spending nobles might want, even if they could not afford it, or even need it.
Noble wives learned the pleasures of shopping, especially when eager merchants were willing to bring their travelling botiques right to your castle. But many aristocrats now had a second home in a city. Paris and London were favorites, as this allowed the ambitious noble to hang out at the kings court and perhaps gain a favor or two from His Highness. The king was the largest landowner in the kingdom and controlled many jobs. There were opportunities found at the kings court that were available no where else. The cities were full of shopping opportunities, as well as many chances to lose the family fortune in some high stakes gambling. Games of chance were always popular and the biggest games were found in the larger towns and cities. As a result of all this spending, the nobles still needed more money. So they sold more privilages and land to their tenants. Bit by bit there grew up in the countryside a class of well off, land owning, commoners. These people worked hard, spent frugally and controlled their bad habits.
The Heir Angle
Another problem with aristocracy was that it was hereditary. The feudal contract stipulated that a family was holding the land from the king. If the family died out, the land returned (escheated) to the king. It wasn't enough to produce heirs, you had to try and produce able ones who could survive in the rough and tumble of Medieval politics. While some families do produce talented individuals over many generations (but, then, so do some race horses), there are also a fair number of clunkers oozing out of the gene pool. One inept heir can ruin the productive work of many previous generations. While it's human nature to want to keep it in the family, and do the best one can for ones children, these efforts often produce unfortunate results. To make matters worse, noble families tended to have few children. One reason was that wives were selected with an eye to forming (or strengthening) political alliances, not for the womans ability (or willingness) to bear children. These arranged marriages often created a couple that did not get along at all. It was not uncommon for the husband to refuse to sleep with his wife (there were plenty of other women available for that) and for the wife to actively avoid getting pregnant no matter what shape the marital relations were in. Most noble families died out within a century or two after getting established. The women were anxious to avoid the very real dangers of Medieval childbirth, and the men often lived for the present, ignoring the future need for an heir.
In the Kings Service
Although aristocrats were always eager to keep the nobility an exclusive club, the kings saw their power to create new aristocrats as a highly effective tool for maintaining the loyalty of his nobles, and putting more able commoners into positions of power. The British monarchy still gives out noble titles in this way, and few commoners (no matter what their personal attitude towards the monarchy) so honored come away unappreciative. Kings were, after all, little more than hugely successful nobles. The current monarchy of Britain is descended from a fellow who began as the duke of Normandy, and several generations before that his ancestors were simply adventure, and loot, seeking marauders from Norway. The kings of France in the Medieval period started out in the tenth century as just another German speaking noble, (one Hugh Capet) but one that was nimble enough to grab the crown when the French king died heirless.
As in any organization, there can be only one man at the top. While it was difficult to depose a king, and grab the crown yourself, it was possible for a mere noble to become a great noble, a magnate. There were two ways to do this, by taking from the king or your fellow nobles, or by becoming an invaluable servant of your king. Fighting other nobles, and especially the king, was usually a losing proposition. But a grateful monarch would usually reward his faithful, and able, nobles with more land and titles. There was plenty of work to do, for many nobles took the other road, making war or scheming to take from the king and other nobles. As powerful as the king was, he could never, in the Medieval period, do it himself. He needed allies, to deal with those who would not be allies.
The Decline of Aristocracy
The titled arsitocracy was actually shrinking as the Medieval period turned into the Renaissance during the 15th century. There had been several centuries of relative peace and the expense and discomfort of training to become a knight was seen as less and less attractive. While the kings made noises about how all landowners of a certain size should be knights, the kings were just as happy to take money instead of military service from these landlords. Kings were getting used to hiring mercenary troops, instead of the hodge podge of troops he would get if he called all his vassals to render their military obligation. Besides. this obligation was only for a month or so per year and a campaign might go on for many years. Mercenaries will stay with you as long as you pay them regularly. Another benefit of mercenaries was that, once the military function of the nobility was gone, the nobles were defenseless against the power of a growing central government. The kings still saw the nobility as their allies against all those commoners and, bit by bit, the nobility were turned into a titled civil service for the royal government. By the 17th century, this trend was complete. The nobles were the creatures of the king, and were unable to reserse the process. In the 14th century, however, the trend was just getting into high gear. The nobles still knew how to use weapons, and had the wherewithall to raise their own armies. But this was changing, and a lot of the change occurred during the Hundred Years War.
See Also:
Roman Estates and Medieval Manors
Tribal Traditions and Population Patterns
