Nobility
Also called: Second order · Topic: Medieval Europe: Feudalism and the Three Orders · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 4 "The Three Orders"
Meaning
The nobility was the second order of medieval society, the people 'who fight'. Nobles were landowning lords. Through vassalage they were vassals of the king, which means they owed him loyalty. In turn, peasants were vassals of the nobles. Nobles had great power over their land and the people living on it.
Example
A noble had full control over his property, and it stayed in his family forever. He could raise his own troops, called feudal levies, and run his own law courts. He could even make his own coins. He lived in the manor, and tenant peasants farmed his private lands and also fought for him on foot.
Don't confuse with
- Bishops: also called a 'religious nobility' because of their huge estates and palaces. But they belonged to the first order, the clergy, not the second order.