Social structure of Britain
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The social structure of Britain has clearly changed with the centuries and it is difficult to adequately discuss the topic in a single article. However, there are specific class names, castes, and categories that are helpful to define.
[edit] General Social Castes
Some basic categories covering most of the population of Britain around the 17th century and arguably well before and after are as follows:
| British Caste | Characteristics |
|---|---|
| Cottagers and labourers | were a step below husbandmen in that they had to work for others for wages. May also include villein. Lowest order of the working castes; perhaps vagabonds, drifters, criminals or other untouchables would be lower. |
| Husbandman (or other trade) | tradesman or farmer that either rented a home or held very little land. Some sources suggest the landholdings of a husbandman were about 30 acres. |
| Yeoman | The yeoman class generally included small farmers that held a reasonable amount of land and were able to protect themselves from neighboring lords et cetera. They played a military role as longbowmen et cetera. |
| Gentry/Gentleman | The gentry class generally held enough assets to live on rents without working. If they worked it was in law, as priests, in politics, or in various other pursuits. The term Esquire was used for gentry who were not knighted. Sometimes Merchant citizens are placed between Yeoman and Gentry in early modern social hierarchy. |
| Knight/Priest/Lawyer | The definition of a knight depends upon the century in which the term was applied. In very early medieval times a knight was a common soldier. By the seventeenth century a knight was a member of the gentry, and the military role would be one of sherriff of a county, or organizing a larger body of military forces. |
| Baronet/Knight (hereditary knight, non peer) | A baronet was not a peer, but the title of knight was hereditary for a baronet. |
| Peer (Noble/Archbishop) | The peers were generally large land holders, lived solely off of assetts, sat in the House of Lords and either held court or played a role in court depending upon the time frame referenced. |
| Royal | Self explanatory. A member of the royal family, a prince, a close relative of the king. |
A non land-holding farmer was a husbandman. In feudal times, this person likely would have been a serf, and paid a large portion of his work or produce to the land holding lord. In the early medieval era the knight was more or less a common soldier. Later as cavalry became more important the knight's role became more associated with wealth. By the 17th century, the knight was a large land owner, and likely a lawyer, priest, or official of some sort.
[edit] Heraldry & Social Class
See wikipedia article on Heraldry. A English subject with arms registered in the College of Arms, or a Scotsman in the Lyon Court can be referred to as armigerous. Any British subject can apply for arms from their respective authority. Arms in and of themselves have little to do with social structure, that is a misconception of the heraldry tradition. A crown and various other symbols, however, may be reserved for members of the royal family in the British tradition. The heraldry tradition was regulated in Scotland by the Lord Lyon from 1437 onwards, but not in England until the reign of Henry VIII when royal heralds were sent out in 'visitations' to record the arms in use and register them appropriately. As arms were used in sealing documents, maintaining the uniqueness and registration of a mark was important at that time.
