The Catholic Church, as the first estate, was the head of the social classes in Europe. The head of the Catholic Church was the Pope, and everyone believed he was the voice of God. There was no other higher power, at least not on Earth. The first Pope of the Catholic Church was St. Peter, and it is believed he is the one to whom Christ gave the keys of heaven and hell. According to Catholicism, every Pope after St. Peter inherited his powers. The center of the Catholic Church was (and still is) the Vatican, located in Rome. Even though at first most Catholics were in what is now Germany and nearby lands, people would travel from all over to appeal to the Pope at the Vatican. As such, the Vatican became the busiest administrative center in Europe.
The second estate was the nobility. This included anyone that was born of noble blood. Nobility was passed down from generation to generation. Noblemen owned large quantities of land. The higher up in ranks your family was the more land you owned and the more powerful you were. Knights were also in the second estate. Often nights were young boys from noble families that were sent away to train and become a knight. The more battles you won the more respect and therefor power you earned. Although kings were considered more powerful than noblemen it was the noblemen that controlled what was happening.
The third estate was everyone else.The third estate consisted mainly of peasants, that is anyone that did not have nobility in their blood lines. The peasants had few if any rights. In many ways they were looked at as property. When a nobleman bought a fief, or piece of property, the peasants that worked the land were part of the deal. Their only form of payment was the ability to farm some of the land for themselves. They were expected to pay taxes and had little if any time off.
Food For Thought
Do you think we have similar social classes today? If so who belongs to what estates?
