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Thearmsofesquiresstartedtoberecordedintherollsofarmsinthesecondhalfof
thefourteenthcentury.Thearmsofgentlemenbegantoberecordedfromthesecond
quarterofthefifteenthcentury.“Beforetheendofthefifteenthcenturytheideaofthe
‘gentlemanofcoatarmour'hadbecomeafamiliarone.”53BythetimeofHenryVIII,
armigerousgentlemenwerealreadynumerousandtheirnumbergrewsignificantlyin
thecourseoftheTudorperiod.In1485thegentry,whototalledabout3,000men,
ownedbetweentwenty-fiveandthirtypercentofthelandinEngland.SinceEnglish
societythroughouttheMiddleAgeswasoverwhelminglybasedupontheland,an
individualwasassignedtoonecategoryoranotherdependingontheamountofland
held.Theanalysisoftheincometaxcollectedin1436performedbyH.L.Grayin
1934ledhimtotheconclusionthattheso-calledsecondestateinfifteenth-century
Englandcanbecategorisedintofivegroups.Grayfoundfifty-onepeerswithan
averageincomeof£865,includingannuities;933taxpayersbelongingtoEngland's
‘knightly'class183‘greaterknights'withanaverageincomeofaround£200;750
‘lesserknights'withincomesbetween£40and£100;1,200esquires(amongthis
grouponecancountalsomerchantsandyeomen)withincomesbetween£20and
£39;andtwogroupsof‘gentle'status,orgentlemen1,600withincomesbetween
£10and£19(£10wastheminimumfreeholdincomequalifyingamantobearacoat
ofarmsafter1530),aswellas3,400taxpayerswithincomesbetween£5and£10.
Thesumof£10perannumseemstobeanimportantmarkerinthedivisionofEng-
lishsocietyintogentlemenandungentlefolk.Itwasprobablysobutwithtwocaveats
tobeborneinmind.Firstly,manyyoungersonsofanarmigerousgentlemanwereof
gentlebloodandhadarighttobearthefamilyarms,however,theydidnotpossess
landsinceitpassedtotheeldestmaleheir.Thesegentlemenhadtolookforother
meanstosupporttheirgentility.Secondly,thepossessionofalandedincomeof£10
perannumwasneversolelyregardedasaqualificationforgentility.Yeomenfarm-
ers,forinstance,wholivedbythelandwereusuallymuchricherthanthatbutthey
werenotgenteel,whereastheyoungersonofagentlemanlivingonanannuityof£5
chargedonhiselderbrother'sestateunderhisfather'swill,certainlywas.54
TheSumptuaryLawof1463distinguishedbetweengreatknightswhoseincome
was£200andlesserknightswithanincomeof£60.Esquireswerelimitedtoand
above£25ayearandgentlementoandabove£7ayear.55Belowtheranksofthe
gentlemenwereyeomenwhoinfactcouldbeclassifiedwithinthelowestgroupof
thegentlemensincetheirincomewasoftenthesameorsometimesevengreater.On
theotherhand,manyofthe3,400lessergentrywereprobablydescribedbytheir
53
Keen,EnglishSocietyintheLaterMiddleAges,p.11.
54
SeeS.M.Wright,TheDerbyshireGentryintheFifteenthCentury,DerbyshireRecordSociety
(Chesterfield,1983),pp.2–6.
55
Heard,TudorEconomyandSociety,p.85.
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