The Social Hierarchy of the Middle Ages
The social hierarchy of the Middle Ages was most clearly revealed in the two parts of the passage. The first part described the feudal system, in which the nobility held all the power and the peasants were at their mercy. The second part described the Church, which was the most powerful institution of the time. The Church controlled the lives of the people and dictated their beliefs. The social hierarchy of the Middle Ages was clearly a top-down system, with the nobility and the Church at the top and the peasants at the bottom.