A Simple Social World?

PETRARCA-MEISTER, The Social Order (ca. 1515)

At first glance, this German woodcut seems to be a straightforward depiction of the traditional medieval social and political hierarchy, with peasants at the bottom, merchants and craftsmen at the next level, secular and clerical elites one level higher, and the pope and emperor at the top. That interpretation is challenged, however, by the peasants perched at the top of tree, one with his foot on the pope’s shoulder and the other enjoying a nap. Moreover, instead of presenting the various social groups as part of a collective, with each group playing its own distinct and necessary role, the branches create clear separations between the groups, giving the impression that each group occupies a world of its own. As you examine the woodcut, come up with your own interpretation. What connections can you make between the woodcut and the social and economic developments of the fourteenth century?

Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche, Museen, Berlin, Germany/Jorg P. Anders/Art Resource, N.Y.