commoner
Sign in to saveA commoner, also known as the common man, commoners, the common people or the masses, was in earlier use an ordinary person in a community or nation who did not have any significant social status, especially a member of neither royalty, nobility, nor any other part of the aristocracy. Depending on culture and period, other elevated persons (such as members of clergy) may have had higher social status in their own right, or were regarded as commoners if lacking an aristocratic background.
Article
7 sectionsContents
- History
- Trifold division breakdown
- Social divisions in non-Western civilizations
- See also
- Notes and references
- Further reading
- External links
A commoner, also known as the common man, commoners, the common people or the masses, was in earlier use an ordinary person in a community or nation who did not have any significant social status, especially a member of neither royalty, nobility, nor any other part of the aristocracy. Depending on culture and period, other elevated persons (such as members of clergy) may have had higher social status in their own right, or were regarded as commoners if lacking an aristocratic background.
This class overlaps with the legal class of people who have a property interest in common land, a longstanding feature of land law in England and Wales. Commoners who have rights for a particular common are typically neighbors, not the public in general.