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In several different regions of Medieval Europe , and continuing in some countries to the present day, the estates of the realm were broad divisions of society, usually distinguishing Nobility , Clergy , and Commoner s (whilst various realms inverted the order of the first two, commoners were universally tertiary.) This last group was, in some regions, further divided into Burgher s (also known as Bourgeoisie ) and Peasant s. Legislative bodies or advisory bodies to a Monarch were traditionally grouped along lines of these ''estates'', with the monarch not belonging to any estate. Meetings of the estates of the realm became early legislative and judicial Parliament s (see The States ). Two medieval parliaments derived their name from the estates of the realm: the primarily remaining Absolute ); and the Unicameral Estates Of Parliament , also known as the Three Estates (), the parliament of the Kingdom Of Scotland (which had more power over the Monarch than the French assembly, but less than the English one), and its sister institution the Convention Of Estates . IN FRANCE See Also: Ancien Régime in France France under the ''; the Second Estate or Nobility ; and the '''Third Estate''' or Commoners . The king was in his own special estate. First Estate The First Estate (Fr. ''premier état'') was the Clergy . In principle, the responsibilities of the First Estate included "the registration of births, marriages and deaths; they collected the , which was collected via the "décime", a tax on ecclesiastic offices. The First Estate comprised the entire clergy, traditionally divided into "higher" and "lower" clergy. Although there was no formal demarcation between the two categories, the upper clergy were, effectively, clerical nobility, from the families of the Second Estate. In the time of Louis XVI, every bishop in France was a nobleman, a situation that had not existed before the eighteenth centuryR.R. Palmer''A History of the Modern World'' 1961, p 334; {Link without Title} At the other extreme, parish priests and many monks were drawn from peasant families and had more in common with the Third Estate. In 1789, the First Estate numbered somewhat over 100,000, with about 10% of these being "higher clergy." The lower clergy would have been about equally divided between parish priests on the one hand and monks and nuns on the other. The French inheritance system of Primogeniture meant that nearly all French fortunes would pass largely in a single line, through the eldest son. Hence, it became very common for second sons to join the clergy. Although some dedicated churchmen came out of this system, much of the higher clergy continued to live the lives of aristocrats, enjoying the wealth derived from church lands and tithes and, in some cases, paying little or no attention to their churchly duties. The ostentatious wealth of the higher clergy was, no doubt, partly responsible for the widespread Anticlericalism in France, dating back as far as the Middle Ages , and was certainly responsible for the element of class resentment within the anticlericalism of many peasants and wage-earners. Similar class resentments existed within the First Estate. During the latter years of the ''Ancien Régime'', the Catholic Church in France (the Gallican Church ) was a separate entity within the realm of Papal control, both a State within a State and Church within a Church. The King had the right to make appointments to the bishoprics, abbeys, and priories and the right to regulate the clergy. {Link without Title} Second Estate The Second Estate (Fr. ''deuxieme état'') was the French Nobility and (technically, though not in common use) Royalty , other than the Monarch himself, who stood outside of the system of estates. The Second Estate is traditionally divided into ''" Noblesse De Robe "'' ("nobility of the robe"), the magisterial class that administered royal justice and civil government, and ''" Noblesse D'épée "'' ("nobility of the sword"). The Second Estate constituted approximately 2% of France's population. Under the ''ancien régime'', the Second Estate were exempt from the '' Corvée royale'' (forced labor on the roads) and from most other forms of taxation such as the '' Gabelle '' (salt tax) and most important, the '' Taille '' (the oldest form of direct taxation). The French Nobility was not a closed class, and many means were available to rich land owners or state office holders for gaining nobility for themselves or their descendants. Noblemen shared honorary privileges such as the right to display their unique coat of arms and the prestige right to wear a sword. This helped to reinforce the idea of their natural superiority. They could also collect taxes from the third estate called feudal dues, this was to be for the third estate's protection. Third Estate :''1st. What is the third estate? Everything. 2nd. What has it been heretofore in the political order? Nothing. 3rd. What does it demand? To become something herein. ::— Abbé Sieyès , " What Is The Third Estate? "(''"Qu'est-ce que le Tiers-Etat?"''), January 1789 {Link without Title} The Third Estate (Fr. ''tiers état'') was the generality of people which were not part of the other estates. The Third Estate comprised all those who were not members of the aristocracy or the clergy, including peasants, working people and the Bourgeoisie . In 1789, the Third Estate made up 97% of the population in France. Due in part to a limited franchise, the representatives of the Third Estate actually came from the wealthy upper bourgeoisie; sometimes the term's meaning has been restricted to the Middle Class , as opposed to the Working Class . The French Estates-General ''See main articles French States-General , Estates-General Of 1789 The first Estates-General was called by Philip IV in 1302 , in order to obtain national approval for his Anticlerical policy. Philip organized the assembly into three divisions, and the divisions were maintained through to 1789 . The Third Estate demanded a greater role; the lower clergy (and some nobles and upper clergy) eventually sided with them; the king was forced to yield. The Estates-General was reconstituted first as the National Assembly ( June 17 , 1789 ) and then as the National Constituent Assembly ( July 9 , 1789 ), a unitary body composed of the former representatives of the three estates. End of feudalism in France The formation of the National Constituent Assembly marked the end of the Estates-General, but not of the three estates. The momentum continued rapidly in that direction. On August 4 , 1789, Seigniorial Dues were abolished, along with religious Tithe s. The nobility were subjected to the same taxation as their co-nationals, but for the moment they retained their titles. Notions of equality and fraternity would soon triumph over official recognition of a noble class. Some nobles such as the Marquis De Lafayette supported the abolition of legal recognition of nobility, but even some other liberal nobles who had happily sacrificed their fiscal privileges saw this as an attack on the culture of honor. Nonetheless, the French Nobility was disbanded outright by the National Constituent Assembly on June 19 , 1790 , during the same period in which they were debating the Civil Constitution Of The Clergy . IN SCOTLAND See Also: Parliament of Scotland The members of the parliament of Scotland were collectively referred to as the Three Estates (), composed of:
From the , after the Union Of The Crowns , a ''fifth estate'' of royal office holders (see Lord High Commissioner To The Parliament Of Scotland ) has been identified as well. These latter identifications remain highly controversial among parliamentary historians. Regardless, the term used for the assembled members continued to be 'the Three Estates'. A '' Shire Commissioner '' was the closest equivalent of the English office of '' Member Of Parliament '', namely a Commoner or member of the lower nobility. Because the parliament of Scotland was unicameral, all members sat in the same Chamber , as opposed to the separate English House Of Lords and House Of Commons . The Parliament also had University Constituencies (see Ancient Universities Of Scotland ). The system was also adopted by the Parliament Of England when James VI ascended to the English Throne . It was believed that the universities were affected by the decisions of Parliament and ought therefore to have representation in it. This continued in the Parliament Of Great Britain after 1707 and the Parliament Of The United Kingdom until 1950 . UNITED KINGDOM In the United Kingdom , an analogous division exists to this day, although with attenuated significance, between Lords Temporal , Lords Spiritual , and Commons . One contrast between the French and British systems: the lower clergy in France were part of the First Estate, but in Britain they were commoners. Similarly, in Britain only titled Peers are Lords Temporal. Other members of aristocratic families are also considered commoners. SWEDEN AND FINLAND The Estates in Sweden and Finland were nobility, clergy, Burgher s, and land-owning Peasants . Each were free men, and had specific rights and responsibilities, and the right to send a representative to the governing assembly, the Riksdag Of The Estates in Sweden and the Diet Of Finland (only after 1809 ), respectively. A summary of this division is:
This legal division existed until the modern age in Finland. However, at the start of the 20th Century , most of the population did not belong to any Estate and had no political representation. A particularly large class were the rent farmers, who did not own the land they cultivated, but had to work in the land-owner's farm to pay their rent. (Unlike Russia, there were no slaves or Serf s.) Furthermore, the industrial workers living in the city were not represented by the four-estate system. The political system was reformed, and the last Diet Was Dissolved in 1905 , to create the Modern Parliamentary System . Nevertheless, the old traditions and in particular ownership of property changed slowly, and the rent-farmer problem became so severe that it was a major cause to the Finnish Civil War . Although the division became irrelevant following the establishment of a Parliamentary Democracy and political parties, Industrialization and Urbanization , their traditions live on in the political parties of Sweden and Finland. HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE The Holy Roman Empire had the Imperial Diet . The clergy was represented by the independent prince-bishops, prince-archbishops and abbots of the many monasteries. The nobility consisted of independent aristocratic rulers: secular electors, kings, dukes, margraves, counts and others. Burghers consisted of representatives of the independent imperial cities. Many peoples whose territories within the Holy Roman Empire had been independent for centuries had no representatives in the Imperial Diet, and this included the imperial knights and independent villages. The power of the Imperial Diet was limited, despite efforts of centralization. Large realms of the nobility or clergy had estates of their own that could wield great power in local affairs. Power struggles between ruler and estates were comparable to similar events in the history of the British and French parliaments. RUSSIAN EMPIRE In late was carried out by estates. Russian Empire Census recorded the reported estate of a person. SEE ALSO
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