Renaissance Social System Essay

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Social status was the basis of life for many in Europe during the Renaissance. Since the Middle Ages, people were classified into three estates based on their social standing. Rankings within the division and subdivisions were determined by factors such as family, gender, sources of wealth, occupation, political position, and residency (Saari). The social structure of civilizations during the Renaissance was in turns both detrimental and beneficial; the hierarchy discriminated and did little to benefit many of the less fortunate, but was a significant factor in the social and economic progress of Europe.
During the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the three estates comprised of clergy, nobility, and rural peasants evolved into more
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The social classes depended on each other to function when the Renaissance came over Europe. Soon, trade grew between the cities. With the new business opportunities and economic development, the jobs of the working middle class (baking, manufacturing, trade, etc.) became necessary to sustain the works of others such as artisans and scholars (Italian Society). In addition, where the minority of highly educated humanists and artists that catered to the elite cared little for the masses, concentration of wealth enabled the spread of culture. The patronage of paintings from nobles like the aristocratic families of Venice allowed art to flourish (Renaissance In). There was also vast improvement from before the Renaissance during the times of feudalism, when the peasants lived as serfs on estates owned by lords. The system wasn’t as rigid, and people occasionally moved up a higher ranking within a class, or a higher level altogether. When feudalism broke, nobles saw a decline. Peasants benefited from this, and rose in power and status through their own means. They started producing crops to sell and bought lands of neighbors once a few became wealthy. The greater incentive for them to start working

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