A question about class in Middle Earth

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by Mansun

Did a class divide exist between all the races in Middle Earth? Elves and great lords such as Gandalf being of the upper classes, with Hobbits, Dwarves and lesser men perhaps being the working classes?

It would depend on exactly the Age you are referring to and what specifics you are inquiring about. Elves had effectively removed themselves from most traffic with Men by the 3rd Age (save for the Silvan Elves of Mirkwood, who still did business with the Men of Laketown), but in the 3rd Age one doesn't find the fealty extant in the 1st Age between Elves and Men (where the Edain in many cases were under vassalage to Elvish Lords).

Men independently of Elves had caste systems (readily apparent in Rohan, as there was a definite feeling of inferiority among the Dunlenders towards the Rohirrim), and certainly there was a nobility present in Gondor (where lineage to Numenor would play an important role). Dwarves had their lords as well, and even the Hobbits had a squirearchy of sorts, with leading families holding sway over territories in the Shire (the Brandybucks and the Tooks for instance). There is certainly an intimation of class in the manner in which Bilbo and Frodo have employed the Gamgees.