The idea of the “Three Orders” was first formulated in France in the early eleventh century.

• It divided society into three classes: those who prayed, those who fought, and those who tilled the land.
• This division of society into “Three Orders” was supported by the Church to consolidate its dominant role in society.
• This helped the emergence of a new warrior group called knights.

Thus, we can say that both statements A and B are true.

• The Church patronised this group and used them to propagate their idea of “Peace of God”.
• The attempt was to direct warriors away from conflict amongst themselves and send them instead on a campaign against the Muslims who had captured the city of Jerusalem. This led to a series of campaigns called the Crusades.
• These campaigns in the service of God and the Church completely altered the status of knights.
• Originally, these knights did not belong to the class of nobles.
• But by the end of the eleventh century in France, and a century later in Germany, the humble origins of these warriors were forgotten.
• By the twelfth century, nobles also wanted to be known as knights