Three orders
Topic: Medieval Europe: Feudalism and the Three Orders · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 4 "The Three Orders"; Class 11, Ch 5 "Changing Cultural Traditions"
Meaning
The three orders was a medieval European idea that society is split into three groups by their work. The first order was the clergy, who prayed. The second order was the nobility, who fought. The third order was the peasants, who worked the land. The Church taught that God himself wanted these differences, so the ranks seemed natural and fixed.
Example
A French bishop wrote, 'Here below, some pray, others fight, still others work.' In the twelfth century, Abbess Hildegard of Bingen defended this inequality by comparing society to a herd of cattle. She said God 'makes distinctions among his flock', so there is no equality among them.
Don't confuse with
- Estates-General: a French assembly with three houses, one for each of the three estates. The three orders was an idea about society. The Estates-General was a real political body. It met in 1614 and was not called again until 1789.