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Markup View
Author: Koveras
Jul 30th 2012
at
1:53:53 PM
What we call "middle-class" existed in some form or the other since the ancient world but it was only after the scientific and industrial revolutions, with the proliferation of urbanization, that the middle-class became a major force within European population. The reason why only aristocrats and serfs appear prominently in fiction is that the former ''mattered'' by default, while the latter had the sheer numbers to matter occasionally. It wasn't until the merchants, bankers, scholars, and other well-educated commoners grew in numbers and wealth in the 18th century that they managed to edge in onto the nobility's traditional place under the sun. The above not entirely true, by the way: the clergy was the third major player in Medieval power plays (at least, until the ThirtyYearsWar). In fantasy works with major religions, the clerics always play major roles, as well.
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