Social mobility is not widely recorded throughout the Middle Ages. For the long eighth century in Northumbria, two cases illuminate this discussion, as well as the awareness of the aristocracy about their own social positions. These case...
moreSocial mobility is not widely recorded throughout the Middle Ages. For the long eighth century in Northumbria, two cases illuminate this discussion, as well as the awareness of the aristocracy about their own social positions. These case studies are: a) Caedmon, a herdsman who became a saint through a miracle; b) Imma, an aristocrat who pretended to be a person of low-rank to avoid being killed, but who could not remain bound and shackled as other slaves. The objective of this article is to present the cases of social mobility as virtually impossible. Social differentiation is therefore perceived as natural among aristocracy.
