The Second estate 🥈- the nobility 🎓
-roughly 120,000 nobles, less than 1% of the population but owned between a quarter and a third of French land⛰️
-Noblesse de court-at Versailles, very wealthy provided the king's advisers, ambassadors, intendants and ministers and had access to royal patronage
-Noblesse de robe created by the monarchy selling legal administrative offices with a hereditary title venality. in 1789 there were over 70,000 venal offices.
-most over nobles lived in their country estate. many were not that wealthy and jealous of court nobles
-protective of their own status and privileges and dependent on their own feudal rights