1. Chapter 12 – Renaissance
Social Hierarchies

2. Social Hierarchy: dividing people in a region or country into different groups according to their social standing, wealth, race, education level and their occupations

3. Nobles: owned most of the land, served in the military, royal advisors, and the politicians. Not necessarily wealthy. Adhered to the standards of The Courtier, by Castaglione

4. Tradesmen
Craft workers and shopkeepers. Most belonged to guilds organizations that established quality standards, had rules for membership, and limited competition.

5. Unskilled worker: lowest social class of the city
Unskilled worker: lowest social class of the city. No job protection and dependent on employers. These workers could be discharged at any time.
The Peasant Dance, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1569.

6. Hierarchy of Orders
Nobles were still among the elite of society even though they were cash poor.
Rich merchants even poorer nobility had a higher status than wealthy commoners).
English and Spanish merchants were eager to marry their daughters into often-impoverished noble families.

7. Reflected wealth and honor
Reflected wealth and honor. The color, style, and fabric content of a person’s clothing signaled that person’s rank in society. Main purpose of the law was to mark class distinctions clearly and to prevent any person from assuming the appearance of a superior class. With a glance, people knew your status.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
Sumptuary Laws

8. THE THREE D’S Gender Roles and the debate about women
Clergy and secular authors saw women as devious, domineering, and demanding.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

9. CALL FOR WOMENS EQUALITY Christine de Pizan and other writers defended women and began exploring the reasons why women had secondary status.

10. BY THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY THE DEBATE ABOUT WOMEN BECAME ONE FOR FEMALE RULERS AND WHETHER OR NOT THEY COULD BE AS STRONG AS MEN.

11. A TRUE MAN? MARRIED HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD
MARRIED MEN WERE MORE ACTIVE POLITICALLY THAN SINGLE MEN.
WOMEN MADE ½ TO 1/3 OF WHAT A MAN MADE IF SHE WORKED.
GENDER DIVISIONS WERE REGARDED AS “NATURAL.”
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
A TRUE MAN?

12. Women were subordinate to men
Women were subordinate to men. Gender hierarchy disorder was seen as creating social upheaval. Women were either married or getting married. Incomes were considerably less from one half to a third depending on the industry.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND
A TRUE WOMAN?

13. Social Hierarchies – Race and Slavery
A. Race and Slavery 1. Race – not in todays context, more about people and nation. 2. Slavery – long tradition dating back to the Roman Republic and in the Christian and Muslim World.
IV. Social Hierarchies
A. Race and Slavery
1. Race—The concept of race during the Renaissance was used interchangeably with people and nation (not the same use in the modern sense).
2. Slavery—There existed a long tradition of slavery beginning in the Roman Republic and in the Christian and Muslim worlds (there were both white and black slaves).
3. Black Slaves—Beginning in the fifteenth century, black slaves entered Europe in sizable numbers. The Portuguese imported black slaves from the west coast of Africa and by 1530, 4,000–5,000 slaves were being sold annually to the Portuguese.
4. Black Servants and Laborers—Black servants were much sought after in northern Europe, Italy, and England, were regarded as exotic, and were considered amusements at court. They also worked as agricultural laborers, craftsmen, and seamen.
B. Wealth and the Nobility
1. Hierarchy of Wealth—A hierarchy based on wealth was beginning to emerge in the fifteenth century, especially in cities. This group included wealthy merchants who lived in splendor and had gained considerable political power. This hierarchy was more prone to fluctuating than the hierarchy of orders, since fortunes could be gained and lost within a generation.
2. Hierarchy of Orders—The old status still persisted (even poorer nobility had a higher status than wealthy commoners). English and Spanish merchants were eager to marry their daughters into often-impoverished noble families.
3. Honor—Honor became a consideration for both the nobility (which favored certain weapons and battle tactics because they were more honorable) and urban dwellers (where certain occupations such as city executioner or brothel manager were well paid but dishonorable). Sumptuary laws reflected both wealth and honor.
Social Hierarchies – Race and Slavery

14. African slaves brought to Europe
By the 15th century African slaves were brought to Europe by the Portuguese. (We’ll explore in EXPLORATION) By 1530, 4,000–5,000 slaver were being sold by the Portuguese. Black Servants and Laborers were regarded as different and were highly sought after in northern Europe, Italy, and England. Regarded as exotic and as an amusement to the court.

15. Politics and the State in Western Europe
France after the long Hundred Years War, they finally reach stabilization. Charles VII (r ) revived the monarchy. He… expelled the English from France except for Calais, reorganized the royal council, strengthened the royal finances through taxes.
V. Politics and the State in Western Europe
A. France
1. Political Stabilization—Charles VII (r. 1422–1461) revived the monarchy and France following the devastation of the Black Death and the Hundred Years’ War. He reconciled the Burgundians and Armagnacs, expelled the English from all regions except Calais, and strengthened royal finances through new taxes on salt and land.
2. First Permanent Royal Army—Charles established the first permanent royal army in Europe with regular companies of cavalry and archers. His son Louis XI (r. 1461–1483), known as the “Spider King,” used the army to control the nobles’ militias, to curb urban independence, and to conquer Burgundy.
3. Key Marriages—The French monarchy was strengthened with the marriage of Louis XII (r. 1498–1515) to Anne of Brittany, adding Brittany to the French state.
4. Religious Stability—The Concordat of Bologna (1516) between King Francis I and Pope Leo X approved the pope’s right to receive the first year’s income of new bishops and abbots in exchange for the French ruler’s right to select French bishops and abbots.
B. England
1. Disorder—The aristocracy indulged in violence at the local level during the reign of Henry IV (r. 1399–1413), and the houses of York and Lancaster waged a civil war called the Wars of the Roses (1455–1471).
2. Stabilization—The Welsh house of Tudor worked to restore royal prestige, crush the power of the nobility, and establish order and law at the local level by ruthless means. In foreign policy, diplomacy was used rather than war, thereby removing the monarchy’s financial dependence on Parliament.
3. Methods—King Henry VII (r. 1485–1509) chose small landowners and legally trained urban residents as his closest advisers rather than members of the nobility. He used the Court of Star Chamber to deal with aristocratic threats (torture, forewent the use of juries, secret sessions). At his death, the country had become domestically and internationally stable, the treasury was substantially augmented, trade was thriving, and the power of the monarchy was restored.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
Politics and the State in Western Europe

16. France made friends with the Burgundians and the Armagnacs.

17. Established the first permanent Royal Army.
Consisted of calvary and archers.
Charles VII son, Louis XI (aka. Spider king) used the army to control nobles’ militias, inhibit urban independence, and conquer Burgundy.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
Established the first permanent Royal Army.

18. England 1. Disorder 2. Stabilization 3. Methods

20. V. Politics and the State in
Western Europe
C. Spain
1. Confederation
2. The Spanish Monarchy
3. Anti-Jewish Attitudes
4. The Inquisition
5. Expulsion (1492)
V. Politics and the State in Western Europe
C. Spain
1.Confederation—Despite the political marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile (r. 1474–1516), Spain existed as a loose confederation of separate kingdoms, each with its own parliament, laws, courts, coinage, and taxation.
2. The Spanish Monarchy—Like the monarchs of France and England, Ferdinand and Isabella curbed aristocratic power by excluding high nobles from the royal councils, recruiting men trained in Roman law, and establishing the equivalent of a national church. They expanded their territories in 1492 to include Granada and the remaining Arab territory in southern Spain, marking the end of the reconquista.
3. Anti-Jewish Attitudes—Jews had long been granted rights and privileges in Spain, but there was a strong undercurrent of resentment toward Jewish influence and wealth. In the fourteenth century, anti-Semitic pogroms swept through the towns. Forty percent of the Jewish population was either killed or forced to convert and become conversos or New Christians (this term included both Jews and Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula who accepted Christianity; in many cases they included Christians whose families had converted centuries earlier).
4. The Inquisition—The Inquisition of the late fifteenth century stemmed from the resentment at the success of the conversos. Inquisitors looked for signs of conversos who hadn’t completely converted (refusing to eat pork) and began to argue that “blood” was more important than religious status, meaning Jews could never be true Christians.
5. Expulsion (1492)—All practicing Jews were expelled from Spain, and many Muslims in Granada were forcibly baptized. The Iberian Peninsula became politically united for the first time in 1580.

22. Ask students to discuss this painting of tax collectors and how they were perceived during the Renaissance.
1. What did the tax collectors have to help them do their job? How is this different from tax collection today?
(Answers: Tax collectors had to keep records in a book; they collected the taxes themselves and older records can be seen stored on shelves behind them. Today, taxes are often collected automatically in every paycheck or added on to goods when purchased. Records are kept on computers, and tax collectors are state employees.)
2. For whom did tax collectors work?
(Answer: Tax collectors often did not work for a king, but were independent contractors who made their living by taking a percentage of what they collected.)
3. What is the overall tone of this image? (Answers: Tax collectors are viewed as being greedy, having no real authority, and only caring about money.)