The aristocratic society of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries was hierarchical and ruthlessly competitive. Although it was possible to cross the boundaries which divided each level, and men could be ‘raised from the dust’ by patronage of king, magnates or Church, yet there were very clear marker posts which men ignored at their peril. It was easier to fall than to rise. In such a society it was essential to a baron's survival that he not only knew his own position within the hierarchy but made that position plain to his associates, both superior and inferior, in order that he might take whatever action was appropriate to maintain or advance his standing among his contemporaries. While status could be manifested by such outward signs as the extent of his lands, size of his household, his following and his links with the royal court, a baron still depended on the support of his peers, his own overlords, tenants and indeed his family in order to prosper. Marriage alliances were one very evident measure of a baron's position within the hierarchy, and one which was supremely dependent on the concurrence of his fellows, but other aspects of family life, such as the achievements of younger sons and sphere of religious patronage, also served as indicators of his success. Many of these, as they relate to the Bruses, have already been discussed in the earlier chapters of this study.