A sea otter in the Great Bear Rainforest, off the Pacific coast of British Columbia, Canada in the second decade of December 2024, appeared to be enjoying a relaxing swim as it preened its fur, the densest of any mammal. (Photo by Max Waugh/Solent News & Photo Agency)

People swim underwater at Clovelly Beach on December 14, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. A severe heat wave hit Sydney over the weekend, a precursor of hot and dry conditions expected for the rest of the summer which will also bring heightened bushfire risk. The mercury rose to alarming levels again on Thursday. (Photo by Jenny Evans/Getty Images)

Matilda Thurston 10, enjoys a warm day at Hathersage Swimming Pool in Hathersage on April 27, 2025. A mini heatwave is set to hit parts of the UK with temperatures reaching 27 degrees next week. (Photo by Ioannis Alexopoulos/London News Pictures)

Zoi Karangelou of Greece compete in the Women's Solo Technical final on day one of World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup Super Final 2025 at Xi'an Olympic Sports Centre on June 13, 2025 in Xi An, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

Doctor Boaz Zissu of the Bar Ilan University shows the inscription on a 2,000-year-old ossuary at the Rockefeller Museum on June 30, 2011 in Jerusalem, Israel. The Israel Antiquities Authority have confirmed the credibility of the ancient ossuary, otherwise known as a stone chest in which to store bones, as bearing the name of a relative of the high priest Caiaphas from the New Testament. Laboratory tests have come back saying that the inscription with the name of “Miriam daughter of Yeshua son of Caiaphas, priest of Maaziah from Beth Imri” is both “genuine and ancient”. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

A sculpture of a swimming man is displayed on the banks of the Thames on September 18, 2007 in London. The new artwork, unveiled today, is to promote a new television programme set in a tattoo parlour. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

Bees cover beekeeper Lu Kongjiang as he competes in a “bee bearding” contest on July 16, 2011 in Shaoyang, Hunan Province of China. Wang Dalin won the contest after attracting 26.86kg of bees onto his body, covered only by a pair of shorts and swimming goggles. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images)

During the feudal times, the society was very structured where everyone knew their place. Fishermen knew that they would always have to bend their knee for highborn ladies and gentlemen, while the latter considered themselves to be far too superior to even look at the common folk. Mont Saint-Michel is a living memorial of those times. Its structural composition clearly reflects the structure of feudal society: The monastery and abbey were built on the highest point; housing and stores were built some distance below; finally, fishermen’s and farmer’s houses were constructed, not even being within the city walls, making them the most vulnerable to the possible attack.