Upper nobility consisted of great feudal lords who owned castles and land. Lower nobility included knights, who protected monarchs.

Nobility, clergy and peasants.

Serfs: bound to the land and needed the lord’s permission to travel or marry. Free peasants owned land, could make own decisions, but had to pay taxes and fees

Knights were part of the lower nobility, wore a metal suit, rode a horse, and often only owned their weapons and horses.

They had very basic tools, such as the Roman plough, sickles, and scythes, and relied on cow excrement as fertilizer.

They could not leave the land where they were born, travel, or marry without the lord’s permission.

They had to pay taxes to the lord and the Church and had to pay to use the mill, oven, or press.

If victorious, they would return to their estates or lands. If they lost, they could lose their power, land, and even their lives.

The nobility and the clergy were privileged because they did not have to pay taxes or do manual work.

They lived and worked in a fief, a land that belonged to a lord.

The work was extremely hard, requiring a lot of labor to grow crops and maintain the land.

Titles were passed down through generations, ensuring that power and land remained within noble families.