Treść książki

Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
contemporariesasyeomen;theboundarybetweenthelowestgentleclassandyeomen
wasprettyblurred.56
Thepicturehadnotchangedmuchonehundredyearslater.In1524theEnglish
ruralelitewasalmostthesameasfarasnumberandincomewereconcerned.Inthat
yearthereweresixtypeerswithanincomebetween£400and£1,400,whichshows
anincreaseintheirearningsincomparisontothepreviousperiod.Thenumberof
knightsamountedto500andtheirincomewasbetween£120and£200.Neither
J.C.K.CornwallnorJ.R.Landermakeadistinctionbetweenlesserandgreater
knights,whichmeansthattheyconsiderallknightsasonegroup.Thefigureshows
thatinahundredyearsthenumberofknightlyfamilieshaddroppedconsiderably.
Therewere800esquireswithanincomebetween£50and£80pounds,and5,000
gentlemenwithanincomewithintherangeof£10to£20.57Thegentryparticipated
activelyinlocaladministrationbeingcountyMembersofParliamentandmagis-
trates.AsMPstheyrepresentedthelandedinteresttogovernmentandtheyalsore-
portedgovernmentdecisionsbacktotheirpeers.58Asmagistratestheyadministered
localgovernmentandalsoadministeredjusticeinallkindofoffencesexceptserious
criminalcases.59Bytheendofthesixteenthcenturytheirsenseofclassidentitywas
alreadywelldeveloped,confirmedbyaneducationthatfittedthemfortheirrolein
societyandinthestate.
1.6.GentilityandService
Gentilitywasassociatedwithservice,andthisserviceneededtobehonourableser-
vice.Honourableservicemeantarecognitionofaqualityintheservant,“thathe
56
H.L.Gray,“IncomesfromLandinEnglandin1436”,EnglishHistoricalReview,49(1934),
pp.607–39.SeealsoT.B.HughandC.D.Ross,“TheEnglishBaronageandtheIncome
Taxof1436”,BulletinoftheInstituteofHistoricalResearch,26(1953),pp.1–28.
57
Cornwall,WealthandSocietyinEarlySixteenth-CenturyEngland,pp.144–7;J.R.Lander,
ConflictandStabilityinFifteenth-CenturyEngland,3rdedition(London,1977),p.168.
58
C.Carpenter,LordshipandPolity:AStudyofWarwickshireLandedSociety1401–1499
(Cambridge,1992),p.61
59
Thegentry'sroleinthecommunity“hadbeenestablishedthroughthemanorcourt,enforcing
acombinationofstatutelawandlocalcustom.”N.Cooper,HousesoftheGentry1480–1680
(NewHavenandLondon,1999),p.7.Duringthesixteenthcenturyanincreasingnumber
ofjudicialandadministrativetaskswereaddedtotheresponsibilitiesoflocalJPs.Apartfrom
criminalcasesthemagistratesadministeredpoorrelief,determinedpoorrates,dealtwith
vagrants,enforcedfairweightsandmeasures,enforcedlawsthatmaintainedpublicmorality,
supervisedthemaintenanceandrepairofroadsandbridges,etc.
~50~