Final answer:
The term 'burghers' in 'The Turmoil' refers to residents of a medieval town with a specific social and economic status, involved in trades and commerce, and distinct from both the nobility and the working-class peasantry. Therefore, the correct option is A) Residents of a medieval town.
Step-by-step explanation:
The term "burghers" in paragraph 3 of "The Turmoil" refers to A) Residents of a medieval town. The context of the novel and the historical background indicate that it relates to people of a certain social class within a town or city. The burgher class in medieval times were significant for their status as both townspeople and as individuals involved in trade and commerce. The term has evolved over time, but during the period of "The Turmoil," it would have been understood to connote individuals with a certain level of status due to their residency and economic activities within the urban center.
During this era, burghers could have been engaged in various occupations within town limits, such as shopkeeping, small-scale manufacturing, or artisan crafts. Unlike the aristocracy, they possessed no noble titles but were nonetheless crucial to the economic life of the town. This distinction placed them above peasants and laborers but below the nobility in the social hierarchy.