In the mangrove swamps of Quang Lang in Vietnam fishermen use stilts to take them into the deeper water on December 18, 2021. (Photo by Bang Nguyen Trong/Solent News)

A drone view of fishermen unloading fish caught in a net during the sardine run in Scottburgh, South Africa, on June 12, 2024. (Photo by Rogan Ward/Reuters)

Sudanese fishermen check their boats and nets before they row through the waters of Nile River near Jebel Aulia, Sudan, May 3, 2019. (Photo by Umit Bektas/Reuters)

Fishermen repair brightly coloured nets before their next trip to the River Matla in West Bengal, India in the last decade of July 2025. (Photo by Avishek Das/Solent News & Photo Agency)

The Belgian rider Wout van Aert crashes during an ascent on the 11th stage of the Tour de France in Col de Néronne, France on July 10, 2024. (Photo by Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP Photo)

Belgian model Stella Maxwell arrives for the screening of the film “The Idol” during the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 22, 2023. (Photo by Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters)

Two Czech Gripen fighter planes demonstrate a flight interception of a Belgian air force transport plane over the Czech Republic, as part of NATO drills on September 12, 2018. (Photo by Francois Lenoir/Reuters)

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.