Comments on: Renaissance Mentality http://abutterflydreaming.com/2008/12/21/renaissance-mentality/ Zen and the Art of Roleplaying Tue, 06 Mar 2012 08:37:48 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Scott http://abutterflydreaming.com/2008/12/21/renaissance-mentality/comment-page-1/#comment-793 Scott Mon, 22 Dec 2008 23:49:25 +0000 http://abutterflydreaming.com/?p=542#comment-793 That's only true to an extent, though. Where the feudal system was strong, a rich commoner risked having his assets seized by the crown or the nobility under some pretext. The French merchant Jacques Couer was one well-known example. (Although he and his family were ennobled for a brief time.) Poor nobles who owed debts to rich commoners didn't always suffer the indigity in silence... That’s only true to an extent, though. Where the feudal system was strong, a rich commoner risked having his assets seized by the crown or the nobility under some pretext. The French merchant Jacques Couer was one well-known example. (Although he and his family were ennobled for a brief time.)

Poor nobles who owed debts to rich commoners didn’t always suffer the indigity in silence…

]]> By: Sven http://abutterflydreaming.com/2008/12/21/renaissance-mentality/comment-page-1/#comment-791 Sven Mon, 22 Dec 2008 08:53:57 +0000 http://abutterflydreaming.com/?p=542#comment-791 Actually one shouldn't confuse being part of the 3rd estate with being powerless. In most of Europe (France, Germany, Italy) only free peasants and the burghers constituted the 3rd estates, while serfs weren't part of it, until they were set free by her master. How rich or how power one could become wasn't of any concern of the estates. The rich merchant families that lead the Hansa were all nominally part of the 3rd estate. While at the same time there were also starving priests in the 1st estate and destitute nobles in the 2nd estate. Estate is a functional organisation of society, not one on wealth and power (like the modern class system). <abbr><em>Sven´s last blog post: <a href="http://www.sven-lotz.de/wp/?p=485" rel="nofollow">Schiffsnamen, -bilder, -maße? — Kein Problem</a></abbr></em> Actually one shouldn’t confuse being part of the 3rd estate with being powerless. In most of Europe (France, Germany, Italy) only free peasants and the burghers constituted the 3rd estates, while serfs weren’t part of it, until they were set free by her master.

How rich or how power one could become wasn’t of any concern of the estates. The rich merchant families that lead the Hansa were all nominally part of the 3rd estate. While at the same time there were also starving priests in the 1st estate and destitute nobles in the 2nd estate.

Estate is a functional organisation of society, not one on wealth and power (like the modern class system).

Sven´s last blog post: Schiffsnamen, -bilder, -maße? — Kein Problem

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