Social Classes have been in history for a very long time. In England, social orders were very strict. If you were a noble, priest, or a knight, you had a lot more power than a serf or a peasant. A social class is a set way of living, “that enforce normal ways of relating and behaving.” (http://www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/Social-order). In England, there were three main groups of people or classes, the working class, middle class, and upper class. The social classes kept a level of organization and control in the government, but the lower class people were left with without power.
The three classes of people in England can be broken down farther. The upper class was the people that inherited wealth. Kings, knights, and priests were a part of this class. The middle class was the biggest group of people in England. They were shop owners, teachers, and business people. The lower or working class were farmers, miners, or worked in factories. (http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/class.htm). The lower class was made up of serfs and peasants. In England, during this time, peasants were considered free and serfs were not. The serfs were like the slaves of the town. Villagers in a higher class could make them do anything as they pleased. The working class families would live in a one to two bedroom house. (http://serfboy11.tripod.com/). Inside of the house, there wasn’t much furniture or cooking utensils. On a normal day, a serf would work all day to support his family, while the wife cooks, sews, or took care of the children. Once the working day was over, the worker would get paid a small amount, but a lot of taxes were placed upon this income. (http://medieval-castles.org/index.php/1_day_of_being_a_peasant_1). The life of a serf was very hard, because they didn’t have much power, and were bossed around, but without them, the village would not function correctly.
In social classes, there is no jumping from class to class. If a peasant family had a child, no matter what circumstances, that child would be a peasant for the rest of his or her life. It is the same with a king; their son will become the next king. It is a privilege for the kings to be able to always keep their dynasty going, but for serfs it is a different story. They would never be able to become rich or have any power. The social classes kept a level of control in the government. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS8za4eBPVQ). If the kings and knights didn’t belittle the serfs and peasants, they might begin to lose some of their power. In social classes, the serfs were left without power, and weren’t allowed to gain any, but it helped the kings keep the civilization organized.
In June 1381, a large rebellion took place. It was called the Peasant’s Revolt. The lower class of people was so mad; they decided to form an army. The rebellion marched into London and took over the Tower of London. They killed many people, and at age fourteen, King Richard II decided to meet the army and Wat Tyler, the leader at Mile End. The peasant’s rebelled, because during the Black Death, they got paid more to risk their lives working in manors and on the farms, the peasants believed that after the pandemic was over, they would go back to getting the same amount they did before. By doing this, they wouldn’t have enough time to work on their own farm to get food. Also, England just ended a war with France. The money the army used was from taxes paid by the peasants. The peasants wanted to have a life that didn’t include working for other people for low pay. (http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/peasants_revolt.htm). On June 14, King Richard II went to Mile End. Wat Tyler was being very disrespectful to the king. He was spiting water in his face, and acting rude. Because of this, Richard II decided to arrest him. Tyler was not happy so, he took out his dagger and stabbed the Mayor of London. The Mayor was wearing plenty of armor, he was left unharmed. Mayor simply took out his sword and killed Wat Tyler, then and there. After the small brawl, the king ordered that all of the rebels be arrested as well, for they had no leader. (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/anon1381.html ). The revolt was over, but the king didn’t win. For over one hundred years, there weren’t many people in the working class, and it was hard for the higher noble people to get food.
In England, the social classes were very strict. It didn’t matter how much you wanted power or how badly you wanted to be free, if you were born into a class, you had to stay there. The lower class people had a hard life and lived in uncomfortable conditions. In 1381, they had had enough, and rebelled against King Richard II. The reason social orders were established, was to keep a level of organization and control in the government.
1 Day of Being a Peasant." Web. 20 Apr. 2010. .
"Medieval Sourcebook: Anonimalle Chronicle: English Peasants' Revolt 1381." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 21 Apr. 2010. .
"Peasants Revolt." History Learning Site. Web. 20 Apr. 2010. .
Serfs & Peasants in Mediveal Times. Web. 20 Apr. 2010. .
"Social Class in England and Britain." Woodlands Junior School, Tonbridge, Kent UK. Web. 20 Apr. 2010. .
"StateMaster - Encyclopedia: Social Order." StateMaster - US Statistics, State Comparisons. Web. 20 Apr. 2010. .
YouTube - Inside the Medieval Mind-POWER-Pt.1. YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 20 Apr. 2010. .
A strong thesis well supported; I would like to see even more use of primary sources, though. I am concerned about a couple of your sources -- namely the first encyclopedia source and the tripod site; I would search for more authoritative sources to back up whatever you found on those sites. Always consider yourself to be like a newspaper reporter who needs two valid sources before they can print a story.
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