In Scotland, the Three Estates were the Clergy (First Estate), Nobility (Second Estate), and Shire Commissioners, or "burghers" (Third Estate), representing the bourgeoisie and lower commoners. The Estates made up a Scottish Parliament.

Feb 10, 2025 · Estates-General, in France of the pre-Revolution monarchy, the representative assembly of the three “estates,” or orders of the realm: the clergy (First Estate) and nobility (Second Estate)—which were privileged minorities—and the Third Estate, which represented the majority of the people.

Sep 14, 2019 · Before the revolution, French society was divided into three estates or orders. The First Estate contained around 130,000 ordained members of the Catholic church: from archbishops and bishops down to parish priests, monks, friars and nuns.

Mar 7, 2022 · Society in the Kingdom of France in the period of the Ancien Regime was broken up into three separate estates, or social classes: the clergy, the nobility, and the commoners. These classes and their accompanying power dynamics, originating from the feudal tripartite social orders of the Middle Ages, was the fabric in which the kingdom was woven.

Prior to the French Revolution of 1789, the First Estate was comprised of all the members of the Catholic Church (the clergy). The smallest of the Three Estates, the First Estate nonetheless wielded outsized influence over domestic affairs, benefited from a wide variety of privileges, and controlled significant sums of wealth.

The Estates, also known as the States (French: États, German: Landstände, Dutch: Staten, Hungarian: Rendek), was the assembly of the representatives of the estates of the realm, the divisions of society in feudal times, called together for …

The first estate, the clergy, occupied a position of conspicuous importance in France. Though only .5 percent of the population, the clergy controlled about 15 percent of French lands. They performed many essential public functions—running schools, keeping records of vital statistics, and dispensing relief to the poor.

Feb 10, 2025 · The First Estate consisted of Roman Catholic clergy, and it was by far the smallest group represented in the Estates-General. The Second Estate represented the nobility, which comprised less than 2 percent of the French population.

The Estates General of 1789 (French: États Généraux de 1789) was a general assembly representing the French estates of the realm: the clergy (First Estate), the nobility (Second Estate), and the commoners (Third Estate).

France under the Ancien Régime was divided society into three estates: the First Estate (clergy); the Second Estate (nobility); and the Third Estate (commoners). One critical difference between the estates of the realm was the burden of taxation.