The aristocrat or court patron lent his prestige to a powerful provincial proprietor, who employed a competent estate-manager to oversee smallholders, who in turn worked their farms with dependent laborers.
The court patron never came into contact with a proprietor in all his life.
mnli hypothesis: The court patron never came into contact with a proprietor in all his life. premise: The aristocrat or court patron lent his prestige to a powerful provincial proprietor, who employed a competent estate-manager to oversee smallholders, who in turn worked their farms with dependent laborers.