Editing Ciompi Revolt (section)

===Upper class versus lower class and the origins of the term ''ciompi''===
Tensions between the upper and lower classes were a major factor in bringing about the revolt. It is unclear who exactly qualified as belonging to the Florentine upper class, unlike in [[Venice]], where the class hierarchy was solidly entrenched.<ref name=laboring />{{rp|44}} For the most part of the 14th century, a [[Patrician (post-Roman Europe)|patriciate]] could be identified by the presence of a family name.<ref name=laboring />{{rp|45}} On the other side of the spectrum were the ''popolo minuto'', or the labouring classes of Florence, which also had no set boundaries.<ref name=laboring />{{rp|65}} For example, an artisan could be considered elite if he was wealthy and successful.<ref name=laboring />{{rp|66}} The majority of the ''popolo minuto'', however, consisted of poor labourers flocking from villages to the city for work.<ref name=laboring />{{rp|67}} Forced loans, high taxes and an even higher incidence of indebtedness kept the ''ciompi'' impoverished. In 1355, the ''miserabiles'', defined as having no property, whose possessions were worth less than 100 lire and had no trade or profession, accounted for 22% of households in Florence.<ref name=najemy />{{rp|160}} The most important aspect of this class is that they had no representation in the Florentine government, which would be one of the main changes implemented by the ''ciompi'' later on. These artisans and labourers were not part of guilds until the ''ciompi'' and the Arti Minori took over the government beginning in 1378.<ref name=laboring />{{rp|67}} In becoming the ''ciompi'', the word derives from the florentine word for ‘cardare la lana’ or ‘ciompare’ as the wool workers were the most representative and numerous group of people involved in the revolt although it included also other groups. Records of condemned ''ciompi'' rebels show, in fact, that tavern owners were also found to be part of the revolt.<ref name=laboring />{{rp|89}}