Three Castles Prior To The French Revolution

The French society was divided up into three estates prior to the revolution. These estates were the First Estate, the Second Estate, and the Third Estate. The First Estate was the clergy and was made up of about 130,000 people compared to the 27 million in France. The clergy was divided into the higher clergy, the cardinals, bishops, and heads of monasteries. The other half was the parish priest who were often poor and from the class of commoners unlike the higher clergy who were from noble families. The Second Estate was the nobility and was made up of about 350,000 people. These people held leading positions in the government, in the military, in the law courts, and in the Roman Catholic Church. Neither of these groups had to pay