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If I'm going to address this in context, the general point is that all we have to go by is written records, and in eras of low literacy, that means all we get is the perspective of the few literate people.
The early Middle Ages (aka: "Dark Ages") were definitely a period of low literacy in Europe, and in this case the few people who had the ability and ...
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An excellent example is Lollardy in England.
Today many people read the Lollards through a lens of modern left wing movements. Ironically this is a useful reading: the Lollards were educated intermediaries who were incensed with moral outrages and tried to harness a movement of ordinary working people for their own benefits. We know more about the Lollards ...
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You won't get a clear definition, as this changes from century to century, from area to area, and also in the eye of the beholder.
Village priests were often poor, illiterate or barely literate, and clearly not an elite unless compared to rest of the village.
Same for monks and nuns.
Priests in more important churches, bishops, and priests who also served ...
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