Four Castes

The first caste in the hierarchy was the nobility, composed primarily of nobles that had inherited their title from their ancestors, and avoided being killed in the war and the subsequent purge, and those individuals awarded Titles of Peerage by the king for meritorious service. Nobles no longer received fiefs, though they could receive Deeds, which gave them the right to govern a territory on behalf of the king.

The second caste were dignitarians, people of dignity, the latter earned by making a contribution to the country in art, academics, business, or service, either in the military of the government, worthy of recognition, though not worthy enough to be given a Title and considered someone of nobility.

The third caste were peasants, people who lacked both nobility and dignity, were mostly uneducated, but obeyed the law. It was the most numerous of the four classes. Its members had to pay taxes and could be conscripted into the military in times of war. The new class was made up of the old peasantry, serf, and slavery classes and the people were given more freedoms. The people were, for example, at the grace of the king, allowed to 'own' -- basically a life-rental -- land, could marry as they pleased, take on any job as long as they were qualified, could travel as they pleased, and so on.

The fourth caste were the villains, those who lacked moral values, broke the law, or were considered a blight on society, mainly refugees, criminals, vagabonds, beggars, lechers, and harlots. They were stripped of all their rights and freedoms, aside from the right to not be killed and being fed enough food and water to stay alive, and had to be reformed through labour. They would have to do whatever jobs the king decided was necessary for a time in accordance with their sentences in order to earn their freedom and return to the peasantry.