1. Renaissance Society
Notes

2. The Renaissance saw some changes in the division of society into three estates, or social classes.
1st Estate– Clergy
2nd Estate– Nobles
3rd Estate – Peasants/Townspeople

3. The noble (2nd)
The noble was expected to fulfill certain ideals. Baldassare Castiglione (Ca-steel-yo-nay) expressed these in the Book of Courtier.
He described the characteristics of a perfect Renaissance noble.
2-3% of the population.

4. Characteristics of a perfect Noble:
A noble was born, not made.
Nobles were expected to have talent, character, and grace.
Nobles had to perform military and physical exercise.
Nobles had to gain a classical education.
A noble had to enrich their life with arts.

5. A noble also had to follow a standard of conduct.
Nobles were to show their achievements with grace.
The goal of a perfect noble was to serve his prince honestly.
Nobles followed Castiglione’s principles for centuries.

6. Peasants (3rd)
Peasants made up 85-90% of the total European population, except in highly urban centers.
Serfdom decreased.
More peasants became legally free.

7. Townspeople (3rd)
Townspeople comprised the remainder of the third estate.
Patricians, burghers, workers, and the unemployed made up the three classes of the towns.
Patricians (people of noble birth) had wealth from trade, banking and industry.
The Burghers were the shopkeepers, artisans and guild members who provided goods and services for the townspeople.

8. Life in the towns Workers made pitiful wages.
During the late 1300s and 1400s, urban poverty increased dramatically.
To maintain the family, parents arranged marriages (often to strengthen family or business ties). The arrangement between families was sealed with a marriage contract, which included the terms of a dowry, a sum of money the bride’s family paid to the groom.

9. Family Roles The Father-Husband was the center of the Italian family.
He gave the family his name, managed the finances, and made the decisions that determine his children’s lives.
The Mother’s role was to supervise the household.

10. Children in Renaissance Society
The father’s authority over his children was absolute.
Children did not become adults by just simply reaching a certain age.
The father had to go before a judge and formally free a child from his authority for that child to be recognized as an adult.