commoners

Commoners is a term used to describe members of society who do not possess noble titles or privileged status. Historically, in feudal Europe, commoners were everyone outside the clergy and nobility: peasants, serfs, freemen, artisans, merchants, and townspeople. Their legal and economic obligations often involved paying rents or taxes to landholders, performing corvée labor, or serving in local militias. Although some freemen could acquire land and wealth, political power typically favored the nobility and ruling classes. In early modern Europe the concept of the Third Estate formalized the broader body of commoners within the Estates-General and other assemblies.

In other regions and periods, similar distinctions existed between elites and non-elites, with variations in rights and duties. While commoners seldom held formal political authority, urban centers could empower them through guilds, burgher status, or municipal charters, enabling rising merchant and professional classes. Over time, legal reforms, revolutions, and industrialization expanded civil rights, property ownership, and political participation for many who were once considered commoners.

In contemporary use, commoners generally refers to ordinary people, or to those without a hereditary or official noble status. The term can also appear in literature and media to contrast everyday characters with royalty or aristocracy. While class structures persist in different forms, modern states typically emphasize equal citizenship, with social mobility shaped by education, economy, and policy.