Rules of etiquette may prevent embarrassment and even serious disputes. The general rule of social precedence is that people of greater importance precede those of lesser importance. Before the rules of diplomatic precedence were worked out in the early sixteenth century, rival ambassadors often fought for the most honourable seating position at a ceremony. Before the principle was established that ambassadors of various countries should sign treaties in order of seniority, disputes arose as to who should sign first. The establishment of rules for such matters prevented uncertainty and disagreement, as to rules for less important occasions. For example, at an English wedding, the mother of the bridegroom should sit in the first pew or bench on the right-hand side of the church. The result is dignity and order.
Outside palace circles, the main concern of etiquette has been to make harmonious the behaviour of equals, but sometimes social classes have used etiquette as a weapon against intruders, refining their manners in order to mark themselves off from the lower classes.
In sixteenth-century Italy and eighteenth-century France, decreasing prosperity and increasing social unrest led the ruling families to try to preserve their superiority by withdrawing from the lower and middle classes behind barriers of etiquette. In a prosperous community, on the other hand, polite society soon absorbs the newly rich, and in England there has never been any shortage of books on etiquette for teaching them the manners appropriate to their new way of life.
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