The English Gentry
The term gentry' although originally used to mean nobility, "came to be used of the lesser nobility," (pg. 2) in England around 1540. Once identical, eventually these terms became complementary, in the sense that their definitions began to fill in parts of what the other lacked. Although the members of the class had a great range in the wealth, at its core they "consisted of the landed proprietors, above the yeomanry, and below the peerage," (pg.4). The gentry were characterized as being high-class commoners. They were not nobility, so they lacked hereditary titles, but they did not work the land themselves like the yeomanry, instead they hired tenant farmers. The gentry of Tudor-Stuart England were divided into three groups: knights, gentlemen and the younger brothers and relatives of titles nobility. In contrast to the rest of Europe where all relatives and children of Nobles were considered nobility, in England, only the eldest son gained the family title. Therefore the rest of the family became part of the gentry. The knights of Tudor-Stuart England also differed from knights of other European countries, as they were not considered aristocrats, but rather commoners, which is why they fall into the gentry category as well. Finally, the lowest levels of the gentry were the gentlemen, who consisted of professionals, doctors, lawyers, bankers and royal officials who purchased or acquired manorial estates.
Peter Coss, in his book entitled The Origins of the English Gentry' claims that the formation of this group is very simply in nature, in fact, he says that "the gentry were all those who are accepted as, or who lay claim to being, gentle," i (pg.3). After sumptuary legislation in 1364, Coss says that both esquires and knights were considered gentle but that "gentility was by no means confined to the knights,"i (pg. 3). Gentility also dealt with men who wore uniforms or were involved with household services. In fact, as time progressed more...
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