Upper Class Vs Medieval Social Class

Social Rank can be defined as a position in social hierarchy (dictionary.com). The two

distinct social classes were: Upper Class and Lower Class. This social hierarchy is seen all the

time, whether it is in movies, novels, or in today’s society. In the Middle Ages, social rank

played an important role on Medieval culture and in shaping history. Most of the time, the

amount of money people had determined which ‘class’ they were in.

The Upper Class mostly consisted of aristocrats, people who had political power, and

religious hierarchs. The reasons why these people were considered Upper Class was either

because they had land, power, or money. The lifestyle of an Upper Class individual was

extremely pleasant. They had nice clothes,
The Upper Class had a large variety of food compared to what the Lower Class ate. It

was considered dirty for the Upper Class to eat things that came from the ground. The only thing

that came from the ground that the Upper Class ate were rape, onions, garlic, and leeks. They

mostly ate meat such as, deer, boar, hares, and rabbits. They also ate Manchet, which was bread

made of wheat flour. The wealthy were also the only ones who ate foods that were flavored with

spices. Some of the spices that the Upper Class ate were cumin, garlic, mace, mustard, cinnamon

and more. Due to the resources that the Upper Class had, they were lucky enough to have lots of

As seen, the Upper Class was fortunate enough to live a luxurious lifestyle. In addition to

having land, power and money, they were also able to afford expensive clothes, huge castles, and

decadent feasts.

The Lower Class, also called peasants, had little money and land. They typically worked

as maids, laborers, stewards, reeves, or jobs that required manual labor and paid very little. They

also worked for the Upper Class on their lands or in their houses. The lifestyle of a