Gentry

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This article is about the social concept of gentry. For other uses, see Gentry (disambiguation).
Cleric, Knight, and Peasant archetypes represent the virtues of prudence, fortitude and temperance. In Classical antiquity and Christendom, prudence and fortitude were seen as the main virtues that should govern society. (See also Cardinal virtues, Junzi.)

Gentry (origin Old French genterie, from gentil, "high-born, noble") denotes "well-born and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past.[1][2]

Gentry, in its widest connotation, refers to people of good social position connected to landed estates (see Manorialism), including various ranks of nobility, clerical upper crust and "gentle" families of long descent who never obtained official right to bear a coat of arms.

In England, the term often refers to the social class of the landed aristocracy or to the minor aristocracy (see landed gentry) whose income derives from their large landholdings[3] and thus designates the more narrow definition. The idea of gentry in the continental sense of "noblesse" is extinct in common parlance in England, despite the efforts of enthusiasts to revive it (see A.C. Fox-Davies, Armorial Families, Edinburgh, 1895; The Right to Bear Arms, 1900). Though the untitled nobility in England are normally termed gentry the older sense of "nobility" is that of a quality identical with gentry. Arms are legally ensigns of nobility, that is, gentility.

The fundamental social division in most parts of Europe in the Middle Ages was between the "nobiles", i.e. the tenants in chivalry, whether counts, barons, knights, esquires or franklins, and the "ignobiles", i.e. the villeins, citizens and burgesses; and between the most powerful noble and the humblest franklin there was, until the 15th century, no "separate class of gentlemen".

The division into nobles and ignobles in smaller regions of Europe in the Middle Ages, such as Sweden (including the province of Finland), was less exact due to a more rudimentary feudal order. As such, the difference in the late Middle Ages between the medieval Swedish nobility and the wealthier strata of the peasantry was small. After the Reformation, intermingling between the noble class and the often hereditary clerical upper class became a distinctive feature in several Nordic countries.

The adjective patrician ("of or like a person of high social rank")[4] describes most closely members of the governing elites found within metropolitan areas such as the medieval free cities of Italy (Venice, Genoa), free imperial cities of Germany and Switzerland and the areas of the Hanseatic League, which, by virtue of their urban milieu, differed from the gentry. Still, many urban patricians, e.g., in Venice, had rural residences in the countryside (e.g., Veneto). Following the admired example of the Roman patrician, the Venetian patrician reverted, especially in the Renaissance, to a life more focused on his rural estate.

Contents

[edit] Historical definition

[edit] Indo-European caste systems

Main article: Caste
This part of a 12th-century Swedish tapestry has been interpreted to show, from left to right, the one-eyed Odin, the hammer-wielding Thor and Freyr holding up an ear of corn. This triad corresponds closely to the trifunctional division: Odin is the patron of priests and magicians, Thor of warriors, and Freyr of fertility and farming.[5]

The Indo-Europeans who settled Europe, Western Asia and the Indian Subcontinent conceived their societies to be ordered (not divided) in a tripartite fashion, the three parts being castes.[6] Castes came to be further divided, perhaps as a result of greater specialisation.

The "classic" formulation of the caste system as largely described by Georges Dumézil was that of a priestly or religiously occupied caste, a warrior caste, and a worker caste. Dumézil divided the Proto-Indo-Europeans into three categories: sovereignty, military, and productivity (see Trifunctional hypothesis). He further subdivided sovereignty into two distinct and complementary sub-parts. One part was formal, juridical, and priestly, but rooted in this world. The other was powerful, unpredictable, and also priestly, but rooted in the "other", the supernatural and spiritual world. The second main division was connected with the use of force, the military, and war. Finally, there was a third group, ruled by the other two, whose role was productivity: herding, farming, and crafts.

This caste system can be seen to be that which flourished on the Indian Subcontinent and amongst the Italic peoples.

Examples of the Indo-European Castes:

Kings were born out of the warrior or noble class.

[edit] End of caste system and replacement by class system

Main article: Class society
The feudal social structure in three orders: those who pray (oratores), fight (bellatores) and work (laboratores)

The revolutions in British America and France and then elsewhere directly challenged Indo-European culture and swept away the native caste system and replaced it with a system based on class, but it is noticeable that in many countries, the class system then followed a tripartite division like the caste system: for example, the upper, middle and lower class used in Britain and the Dreiklassen system in Germany.

[edit] Two principal estates of the realm

The gentry is formed on the bases of the medieval societies' two higher estates of the realm, nobility and clergy, both exempted from tax. Subsequent "gentle" families of long descent who never obtained official rights to bear a coat of arms were also admitted to the rural upper-class society: the gentry.

The three estates

The widespread three estates order was particularly characteristic of France:

  • First estate included the group of all clergy, that is, members of the higher clergy and the lower clergy.
  • Second estate has been encapsulated by the nobility. Here too, it did not matter whether they came from a lower or higher nobility or if they were impoverished members.
  • Third estate included all nominally free citizens; in some places, free peasants.

At the top of the pyramid were the princes and estates of the king or emperor, or with the clergy, the bishops and the pope.

The feudal system was, for the people of the Middle Ages and early modern period, fitted into a God-given order. The nobility and the third estate were born into their class, and change in social position was slow, if possible at all. Wealth had little influence on what estate one belonged to. The exception was the Medieval Church, which was the only institution where competent men (and women) of merit could reach, in one lifetime, the highest positions in society.

The first estate comprised the entire clergy, traditionally divided into "higher" and "lower" clergy. Although there was no formal demarcation between the two categories, the upper clergy were, effectively, clerical nobility, from the families of the second estate or as in the case of Cardinal Wolsey, from more humble backgrounds.

The second estate was the nobility. Being wealthy or influential did not automatically make one a noble, and not all nobles were wealthy and influential (aristocratic families have lost their fortunes in various ways, and the concept of the "poor nobleman" is almost as old as nobility itself). Countries without a feudal tradition did not have a nobility as such.

Estates of the realm as an expression of the traditional social stratification in the Occident

The nobility of a person might be either inherited or earned. Nobility in its most general and strict sense is an acknowledged preeminence that is hereditary: legitimate descendants (or all male descendants, in some societies) of nobles are nobles, unless explicitly stripped of the privilege. The terms aristocrat and aristocracy are a less formal means to refer to persons belonging to this social milieu.

Historically in some cultures, members of an upper class often did not have to work for a living, as they were supported by earned or inherited investments (often real estate), although members of the upper class may have had less actual money than merchants. Upper-class status commonly derived from the social position of one's family and not from one's own achievements or wealth. Much of the population that comprised the upper class consisted of aristocrats, ruling families, titled people, and religious hierarchs. These people were usually born into their status, and historically, there was not much movement across class boundaries. This is to say that it was much harder for an individual to move up in class simply because of the structure of society.

In many countries, the term upper class was intimately associated with hereditary land ownership and titles. Political power was often in the hands of the landowners in many pre-industrial societies (which was one of the causes of the French Revolution), despite there being no legal barriers to land ownership for other social classes. Power began to shift from upper-class landed families to the general population in the early modern age, leading to marital alliances between the two groups, providing the foundation for the modern upper classes in the West. Upper-class landowners in Europe were often also members of the titled nobility, though not necessarily: the prevalence of titles of nobility varied widely from country to country. Some upper classes were almost entirely untitled, for example, the Szlachta of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Before the Age of Absolutism, institutions, such as the church, legislatures, or social elites,[7] restrained monarchical power. Absolutism was characterized by the ending of feudal partitioning, consolidation of power with the monarch, rise of state, rise of professional standing armies, professional bureaucracies, the codification of state laws, and the rise of ideologies that justify the absolutist monarchy. Hence, Absolutism was made possible by new innovations and characterized as a phenomenon of Early Modern Europe, rather than that of the Middle Ages, where the clergy and nobility counterbalanced as a result of mutual rivalry.

[edit] Gentries

[edit] Europe

[edit] German

Main article: German nobility

In Germany, nobility and titles pertaining to it were bestowed on a person by higher sovereigns and then passed down through legitimate children of a nobleman. Alternatively, unlike men, women could legally become members of nobility by marrying a noble, although they could not pass it on. Nobility and titles (except for most reigning titles) were always inherited equally by all legitimate descendants of a nobleman.

Divisions of nobility in Germany

  • Uradel (ancient nobility): Nobility that dates back to at least the 16th century. This contrasts with:
  • Briefadel (patent nobility): Nobility by letters patent. The first known such document is from September 30, 1360, for Wyker Frosch in Mainz.
  • Hochadel (high nobility): Nobility that was sovereign or had a high degree of sovereignty. This contrasts with:
  • Niederer Adel (lower nobility): Nobility that had a lower degree of sovereignty.

Edler (Edler von) was, until 1919, the lowest title of nobility in Austria-Hungary and Germany, just beneath a Ritter, but above nobles without title, who used only the preposition von before their surname. It was mostly given to civil servants and military officers, as well as those upon whom the second rank of an Order had been conferred. Women were styled Edle (Edle von).

Originally, from the Middle Ages, under the feudal system (in Europe and elsewhere), the nobility were generally those who held a fief, often in the form of heritable land worked by vassals.

Ritter (German for "knight") is a designation used as a title of nobility in German-speaking areas. Traditionally, it denotes the second lowest rank within the nobility, standing above Edler and below Freiherr. For its historical association with warfare and the landed gentry in the Middle Ages, it can be considered roughly equal to the titles of "Knight" or "Baronet". As with most titles and designations within the nobility in German-speaking areas, the rank was normally hereditary and would generally be used together with the designation of von before a family name.

In the Austrian Empire, the title of "Ritter von" would be bestowed upon citizens who deserved more than the plain "von".

In German, the meaning of Ritter is "rider", and likewise for the Dutch and Scandinavian title ridder. These words are cognates derived from Germanic rīdan, "to ride", from Proto-Indo-European reidh-.[8]

Junker in German means "country squire" and is probably derived from the German words Junger Herr (English: "young lord"). As part of the nobility, many Junker families have particles like von or zu before their family names. In the Middle Ages, a Junker was simply a lesser noble, often poor and politically insignificant. Over the centuries, they rose from mercenary captains to influential commanders and landowners in the 19th century, especially in the Kingdom of Prussia.

Being the bulwark of Hohenzollern Prussia, the Junkers controlled the Prussian Army, led in political influence and social status, and owned immense estates, especially in the north-eastern half of Germany (Brandenburg, Mecklenburg, Pomerania, East Prussia, Saxony and Silesia).[9]

Otto von Bismarck wearing a cuirassier officer's metal Pickelhaube
German Emperor William II reviews Prussian troops, by Carl Röchling.

They dominated all the higher civil offices and officer corps. Supporting monarchism and military traditions, they were often reactionary and protectionist; they were often anti-liberal, siding with the conservative monarchist forces during the 1848 Revolution. Their political interests were served by the German Conservative Party in the Reichstag and the extraparliamentary Agrarian League. This political class held tremendous power over the industrial classes and the government. When Chancellor Caprivi reduced the protective duties on imports of grain, these landed magnates demanded and obtained his dismissal; and in 1902, they brought about a restoration of such duties on foodstuffs as would keep the prices of their own products at a high level.

As landed aristocrats, the Junkers owned most of the arable land in the Prussian and eastern German states. This was in contrast to the Catholic southern states, such as Bavaria, Württemberg or Baden, where land was owned by small farms, or the mixed agriculture of the western states, such as Hesse or Westphalia. This gave the Junkers a virtual monopoly on all agriculture in the German states east of the River Elbe.

The German statesman Otto von Bismarck was a noted Junker, as were President Paul von Hindenburg and Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt.

[edit] Dutch

Ridder (Dutch "knight") is a noble title in the Netherlands and Belgium. The collective term for its holders in a certain locality is the Ridderschap (e.g. Ridderschap van Holland, Ridderschap van Friesland, etc.). In the Netherlands and Belgium, no female equivalent exists. It is placed between the first name(s) and the family name (as ridder, not Ridder, as in Dutch, titles are written in lower case, which in this case also avoids confusion between the family name and the title).

The title Ridder descends in two ways: "op allen" (to all - i.e., every descendant, male or female, in the male line, is entitled to the title) and "met het recht op eerstgeboorte" (with the right of the first-born - i.e., descent by Salic law, i.e., the eldest male descendant of the title's first bearer may take the title, but not the others).

Jonkheer, or Jonkvrouw, is literally translated as "young lord" or "young lady", or "esquire". In medieval times, such a person was a young and unmarried son or daughter of a high-ranking knight or nobleman. Many noble families could not support all their sons to become a knight because of the expensive equipment. So the eldest son of a knight was a young lord, and his brothers remained as esquires. However, in the low countries (and other parts of continental Europe), only the head of most noble families did and does carry a title and inheritability of it is via the male lineage. This resulted, therefore, that most of the nobility was and is nowadays untitled in the Netherlands and Belgium. Jonkheer, and its female equivalent jonkvrouw, developed quite early into a different but general meaning, i.e., an honorific to show that someone does belong to the nobility, but does not possess a title. The abbreviation jhr., or jkvr. for women, is placed in front of the name (preceding academic, but not state titles).

[edit] British

Main articles: British nobility and landed gentry

The British upper classes consist of two entities, the peerage and landed gentry; any male member of either may regard himself as a gentleman, in a special sense mutually understood between hereditary members of the class, which will often exclude life peers. In the British peerage, only the senior family member (typically the oldest son) inherits a substantive title (duke, marquess, earl, viscount, baron); these are referred to as peers or lords. The rest of the nobility is referred as landed gentry (abbreviation, gentry), and with the exceptions of the baronet, which is a title akin to a hereditary knighthood; those that are knighted (for life), being called Sir X Y; Scottish barons, who bear the designation Baron of X after their name;[10] and Scottish lairds, whose names include a description of their lands in the form of a territorial designation,[11] they bear no titles apart from the qualifications of esquire or gentleman (which are ranks recognised in law, although now without any legal consequence).

The term landed gentry, although originally used to mean nobility, came to be used of the lesser nobility 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. The term gentry by itself as commonly used by historians, so Peter Coss argues, is a construct that historians have applied loosely to rather different societies. Any particular model may not fit a specific society, yet a single definition nevertheless remains desirable.[12][13]

Titles, while often considered central to the upper class, are not strictly so. Both Captain Mark Phillips and Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence, the respective first and second husbands of HRH The Princess Anne, lacked any rank of peerage, yet could scarcely be considered anything other than upper class. The same is true of Francis Fulford, who was memorably featured in a Channel 4 documentary and whose family has owned estates in Devon for over 800 years. In fact, the Fulfords represent the group that makes up the largest component of the upper class: the landed gentry.

Landed gentry is a traditional British social class consisting of gentlemen in the original sense; that is, those who owned land in the form of country estates to such an extent that they were not required to actively work, except in an administrative capacity on their own lands. The estates were often (but not always) made up of tenanted farms, in which case the gentleman could live entirely off rent income.

Burke's Landed Gentry

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the names and families of those with titles (specifically peers and baronets, less often including those with the non-hereditary title of knight) were often listed in books or manuals known as "Peerages", "Baronetages", or combinations of these categories, such as the "Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage". As well as listing genealogical information, these books often also included details of a given family right to a coat of arms. Jane Austen, who was herself a member of the gentry, shrewdly summarised the appeal of these works, which was particularly strong for those included in them, in the opening words of her novel Persuasion (1818):

"Sir Walter Elliot, of Kellynch Hall, in Somersetshire, was a man who, for his own amusement, never took up any book but the Baronetage; there he found occupation for an idle hour, and consolation in a distressed one; there his faculties were roused into admiration and respect, by contemplating the limited remnant of the earliest patents; there any unwelcome sensations, arising from domestic affairs changed naturally into pity and contempt as he turned over the almost endless creations of the last century; and there, if every other leaf were powerless, he could read his own history with an interest which never failed."

Esquire (abbreviated Esq.) is a term of British origin (ultimately from Latin scutarius, in the sense of shield bearer, via Old French esquier), referring only to males, and used to denote a high but indeterminate social status.

The most common occurrence of term Esquire today is the conferral as the suffix Esq. in order to pay an informal compliment to a male recipient by way of implying gentle birth. Today, there remain respected protocols, especially in the US, for identifying those to whom it is thought most proper that the suffix should be given in very formal or in official circumstances. The social rank of Esquire is that above gentlemen. Nineteenth-century tables of precedences further distinguished between esquires by birth and esquires by office (and likewise for gentlemen).[citation needed].

According to one typical definition,[14] esquires in English law included:

  • The eldest sons of knights, and their eldest sons in perpetual succession
  • The eldest sons of younger sons of peers, and their eldest sons in perpetual succession (children of peers already had higher precedence)
  • Esquires created by letters patent or other investiture, and their eldest sons
  • Esquires by virtue of their offices, as Justices of the Peace and others who bear any office of trust under the Crown
  • Esquires of knights constituted at their investiture
  • Foreign noblemen
  • Persons who are so styled under the Royal sign manual (officers of the Armed Forces of or above the rank of Captain in the Army or its equivalent)
  • Barristers (but not Solicitors)

A slightly later source[15] defines the term as

Esquire — A rank next below that of Knight. Besides those Esquires who are personal attendants of Knights of Orders of Knighthood, this title is held by all attendants on the person of the Sovereign, and all persons holding the Sovereign's commission being of military rank not below Captain; also, by general concession, by Barristers at Law, Masters of Arts and Bachelors of Law and Physic.

In the post-mediaeval world, the title of esquire came to belong to all men of the higher landed gentry; an esquire ranked socially above a gentleman but below a knight. In the modern world, where all men are assumed to be gentlemen, the term has correspondingly often been extended (albeit only in very formal writing) to all men without any higher title. It is used post-nominally, usually in abbreviated form: "Thomas Smith, Esq.", for example.

The linguistic and social development of squire is paralleled by that of the German junker, which originally meant "young lord" and denoted the poorer and unimportant part of the aristocracy, but "went up in the world" in much the same time as squire did in England.

Knight, from Old English cniht ("boy" or "servant"),[16] is a cognate of the German word Knecht ("laborer" or "servant").[17] A knight can be either a medieval tenant giving military service as a mounted man-at-arms to a feudal landholder, or a medieval gentleman-soldier, usually high-born, raised by a sovereign to privileged military status after training as a page and squire (contemporary reference, see British honours system).

In the century or so following Charlemagne's death, his newly empowered warrior class grew stronger still, and Charles the Bald declared their fiefs to be hereditary. The period of chaos in the 9th and 10th centuries, between the fall of the Carolingian central authority and the rise of separate Western and Eastern Frankish kingdoms (later to become France and Germany respectively), only entrenched this newly landed warrior class. This was because governing power, and defense against Viking, Magyar and Saracen attack, became an essentially local affair that revolved around these new hereditary local lords and their demesnes. The resulting hereditary, landed class of mounted elite warriors, the knights, were increasingly seen as the only true soldiers of Europe, hence the exclusive use of miles (Latin, "soldier") for them.

All nobles of military age were generally considered as knights; knighthood still had to be earned through some exploit involving the use of arms. The general route for a son of a nobleman would be to first serve as page, then as squire, before being knighted.

In formal protocol, Sir is the correct styling for a knight or a baronet (the UK nobiliary rank just below all peers of the realm), used with (one of) the knight's given name(s) or full name, but not with the surname alone. The equivalent for a woman is Dame, that is, for one who holds the title in her own right; for such women, the title Dame is used as Sir for a man, that is, never before the surname on its own. This usage was devised in 1917, derived from the practice, up to the 17th century (and still also in legal proceedings), for the wife of a knight. The wife of a knight or baronet now, however, is styled "Lady [Surname]".

Until the 17th century, it was also a title of priests (the related word monsignor, from French monseigneur, is still used for Catholic prelates). In Icelandic, the cognate word séra is used exclusively to address a priest, together with his first name: a priest named Jón Jónsson would be addressed as séra Jón and referred to as presturinn séra Jón Jónsson ("the priest, séra Jón Jónsson").

The Peerage is a system of titles in the United Kingdom, which represents the upper ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system. The term is used both collectively to refer to the entire body of titles, and individually to refer to a specific title. All modern British honours, including peerage dignities, are created directly by the British monarch, taking effect when letters patent are affixed with the Great Seal of the Realm. The Sovereign is considered the fount of honour, and as "the fountain and source of all dignities cannot hold a dignity from himself",[18] cannot hold a peerage.

The modern peerage system is a vestige of the custom of English kings in the 12th and 13th centuries in summoning wealthy individuals (along with church officials and elected representatives for commoners) to form a Parliament. The economic system at the time was manorialism (or feudalism), and the burden or privilege of being summoned to Parliament was related to the amount of land one controlled (a "barony"). In the late 14th century, this right (or "title") began to be granted by decree, and titles also became inherited with the rest of an estate under the system of primogeniture. Non-hereditary positions began to be created again in 1867 for Law Lords, and 1958 generally.

Peers are of five ranks, in descending order of hierarchy:

  • Duke comes from the Latin dux, leader. Created in 1337.[19]
  • Marquess comes from the French marquis, which is a derivative of marche, or march. This is a reference to the borders ("marches") between England, Scotland and Wales, a relationship more evident in the feminine form: Marchioness. Created in 1385.[19]
  • Earl comes from the Old English or Anglo-Saxon eorl, a military leader. The meaning may have been affected by the Old Norse jarl, meaning free-born warrior or nobleman, during the Danelaw, thus giving rise to the modern sense. Since there was no feminine Old English or Old Norse equivalent for the term, "Countess" is used (an Earl is analogous to the Continental count), from the Latin comes. Created circa 800–1000.[19]
  • Viscount comes from the Latin vicecomes, vice-count. Created in 1440.[19]
  • Baron comes from the Old Germanic baro, freeman. Created in 1066.[19]

Portrait gallery of British Gentry The portraits (below) are an illustration of people and surnames from the gentry.

[edit] Swedish (and Finnish)

Main article: Swedish nobility

The Swedish nobility (Adeln) were historically a legally privileged class in Sweden, part of the so-called frälse (a classification defined by tax exemptions and representation in the diet that also applied to clergy).

Generally, the nobility grew from wealthier or more powerful members of the peasantry, those who were capable of assigning work or wealth to provide the requisite cavalrymen. In Sweden, there never existed outright serfdom. Hence, nobility was basically a class of well-off citizens, not owners of other human beings. In the Middle Ages and much of the modern age, nobles and other wealthy men were landowners, as well as lords of villeins and servants. Members of the nobility utilized their economic power and sometimes also other powers to have small-farm owners sell their lands to manor lords, so landowning centralized gradually more in the hands of the noble class.

There was a special group of petty nobility, the so-called knapadel, derived from the last centuries of the Middle Ages, who generally were not able to produce a royal letter of ennoblement to support their status. Regarding certain districts where there existed a disproportionally high number of such families, their introduction to the House of Nobility was often denied. However, in most cases, such petty noble families were ultimately registered as nobles (the concept of "ancient nobility" was a loose one, in many cases demonstrated only by privileges enjoyed for a long time, for example in taxation or holding offices). Thus, quite many families confirmed in their nobility in the 17th century were presumably actually without any original royal ennoblement, but only became frälse by decisions of past royal bailiffs of castles and such.

At the head of the Swedish clergy stood the Archbishop of Uppsala since 1164. The clergy encompassed almost all the educated men of the day and furthermore was strengthened by considerable wealth, and thus it came naturally to play a significant political role. Until the Reformation, the clergy was the first estate but was relegated to the secular estate in the Protestant North Europe. Clerical (pastor) Families is a concept in genealogy to characterize some families in the Swedish Church after the Reformation, in which members of the family had served for generations in the Swedish Church either as active clergy in the Church, educational institutions or in the civil service.

Divisions of nobility in Sweden

Swedish nobility is organized into three classes according to a scheme introduced in riddarhusordningen (Standing orders of the House of Knights), 1626

The last two classes contain the so-called untitled nobility (Swedish: obetitlad adel). The division into classes has roots in the Middle Ages when the nobility frälse was divided into lords in the Privy Council, knights and esquires.

Surnames

Surnames in Sweden can be traced to the 15th century, when they were first used by the Gentry (Frälse), i.e., priests and nobles. The names of these were usually in Swedish, Latin, German or Greek.

The adoption of Latin names was first used by the Catholic clergy in the 15th century. The given name was preceded by Herr (Sir), such as Herr Lars, Herr Olof, Herr Hans, followed by a Latinized form of patronymic names, e.g., Lars Petersson Latinized as Laurentius Petri. Starting form the time of the Reformation, the Latinized form of their birthplace (Laurentius Petri Gothus, from Östergötland) became a common naming practice for the clergy. The Swedish family Benzelius was derived from Bentseby (Bentse village) in Luleå, the birthplace of Ericus Henrici Benzelius Bothniensis, who was the first to adopt the family name. The Retzius surname was from Lake Ressen, near the Odensvi parish vicarage in Västervik. Later merchants and other social groups discarded the formerly used family names (such as patronymic surnames) and adopted high-sounding Latin surnames, which conjured an image of an old family pedigree.

Another subsequent practice was the use of the Greek language with the ending of ander, the Greek word for man (e.g., Micrander, Mennander). The use of surnames was still quite uncommon in the 17th century among the nobility and the educated class. Furthermore, the concept of hereditary surnames was also limited to a few families.

When a family was ennobled, it was usually given a name—just as lordships of England and other Western European countries. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the surname was only rarely the original family name of the ennobled; usually, a more imposing new name was chosen. This was a period which produced a myriad of two-word Swedish-language family names for the nobility (very favored prefixes were Adler, "eagle"; Ehren - "ära", "honor"; Silfver, "silver"; and Gyllen, "golden"). The regular difference with Britain was that it became the new surname of the whole house, and the old surname was dropped altogether. The ennoblement (in 1632) of Peder Joenson is a case in point, where the use the old surname was discontinued, and thus, after the ennoblement, "Peder Gyllensvärd" came in to use. An illustration of the old name having an addition to it can be seen in the ennoblement of the brothers Johan Henrik Lang and Lars Adam Lang (in 1772) taking the surname Langenskjöld.

Usually, the descendants of a bishop where ennobled, but not the bishop himself or any other member of the clergy. This was due to the fact that clergy represented the clerical estate and hence would have no use of nobility. The medieval tradition continued in Catholic countries, which meant that the clergy was the first estate, and noblemen who took orders should not in principle use their own family coat of arms.

Portrait gallery of Swedish (Finnish) Gentry The portraits (below) are an illustration of people and surnames from the gentry.

Grand Principality of Finland

Finnish 17th-century nobleman Gustaf Horn
Finnish 17th-century clergyman Johannes Gezelius the elder

Areas of modern-day Finland were integrated into the Swedish realm in the 13th century, at a time when that realm was still in the process of being formed. The formal nobility in Finland dates back to 1280 when it was agreed in the entire Swedish realm by the Decree of Alsnö that magnates who could afford to contribute to the cavalry with heavily equipped soldiers were to be exempted from tax, at least from ordinary land taxes, as the clergy already had been. The archaic term for nobility, frälse, also includes the clergy when referring to their exemption from tax.

At the time of Late Middle Ages, Latin was still the language of instruction from the secondary school upwards and in use among the educated class and priests. As Finland was part of Sweden for 500 years, Swedish was the language of the nobility, administration and education. Hence the two highest estates of the realm, i.e. nobles and priests, had Swedish as the language of the gentry. In the two minor estates, burghers and peasants, Swedish also held sway, but in a more varying degree depending on regional differences.

In the Middle Ages, celibacy in the Catholic Church was a natural barrier to the formation of an hereditary priestly class. After compulsory celibacy was abolished in Sweden during the Reformation, the formation of an hereditary priestly class became possible, whereby wealth and clerical positions were frequently inheritable. Hence the bishops and the vicars, who formed the clerical upper class, would frequently have manors similar to those of the nobility. Hence continued the medieval Church legacy of the intermingling between noble class and clerical upper class and the intermarriage as the distinctive element in several Nordic countries after the Reformation. As a result, the gentry in Finland was constituted by nobles, clerical and some burgher families.

Among the nobility, a very large proportion of the families arrived directly from Sweden, but a significant amount had foreign origins (predominantly German)[20][21] but their descendants normally adopted Swedish as their first language. The clergy in the earlier part of the formation of the Lutheran Church (in its High Church form) was constituted most often of the wealthier strata of the peasantry with the closely linked medieval Finnish nobility and the rising burgher class in the expanding cities. Their descendants usually adopted Swedish as their first language, but, as the Church required fluency in Finnish from clergymen serving in predominantly or totally Finnish-speaking parishes (most of the country), they tended to maintain a high degree of functional bilingualism. In the Middle Ages, commerce in the Swedish realm, including Finland, was dominated by German merchants who immigrated in large numbers to the cities and towns of Sweden and Finland. As a result, the wealthier burghers in Sweden (and in Finnish cities such as Åbo and Vyborg) during the late Middle Ages tended to be of German origin. In the 19th century, a new wave of immigration came from German-speaking countries predominantly connected to commercial activities, which has to date formed a notable part of the Swedish-speaking grand bourgeoisie in Finland.

The lowest, non-titled level of hereditary nobility was "adelsman" (i.e., "noble"). The untitled nobility was basically a rank without a fief. In practice, however, the majority of noble houses were fief holders until the late 19th century.

In contrast to the United Kingdom and the Benelux countries, it has been impossible to grant hereditary titles or honours since 1917. The last baron created was August Langhoff in 1912; he was Finnish Minister Secretary of State.

[edit] Hungarian

Main article: Nobility in the Kingdom of Hungary

Nobility in the Kingdom of Hungary

The origin of the nobility in the Kingdom of Hungary can be traced back to the "men distinguished by birth and dignity" (maiores natu et dignitate) mentioned in the charters of the first kings. They descended partly from the leaders of the Magyar tribes and clans and partly from the immigrant (mainly German, Italian and French) knights who settled in the kingdom in the course of the 10th-12th centuries.

A little noble (gentry) manor house in Magyarnádas (today, Nădăşelu in Romania)

By the 13th century, the royal servants (servientes regis), who mainly descended from the wealthier freemen (liberi), managed to ensure their liberties and their privileges were confirmed in the Golden Bull issued by King Andrew II of Hungary in 1222. Several families of the soldiers of the royal fortresses (iobagio castri) could also strengthen their liberties, and they received the status of the "true nobles of the realm" (veri nobiles regni) by the end of the 13th century, although most of them lost their liberties and became subordinate to private-castle holders. Many leaders of the mainly Slavic, German and Romanian colonists who immigrated to the kingdom during the 11th-15th centuries also merged into the nobility. Moreover, the kings had the authority to reward commoners with nobility, and thenceforward, they enjoyed all the liberties of other nobles.

From the 14th century, the idea of "one and the same liberty" (una eademque libertas) appeared in the public law of the kingdom; the idea suggested that all the nobles enjoyed the same privileges independently of their offices, birth or wealth. Moreover, public law also recognized the existence of some groups of the "conditional nobility" (conditionarius) whose privileges were limited; e.g., the "nobles of the Church" (nobilis ecclesiæ) were burdened with defined services to be provided to certain prelates. In some cases, not individuals but a group of people was granted a legal status similar to that of the nobility; e.g., the Hajdú people enjoyed the privileges of the nobility not as individuals but as a community.

[edit] Spanish

Main article: Spanish nobility

Spanish nobles are classified either as Grandes de España (also called in English grandees), or as titled nobles. Formerly, grandees were divided into the first, second and third classes, but now, all grandees enjoy the same privileges. Lower nobility held titles such as hidalgo, infanzon (Aragonese equivalent to hidalgo), and escudero (esquire), but these do not correspond to baron, a title unknown to Spanish nobility but in Catalonia. Hidalgo (plural: hijosdalgo) was the most common one, all the people of Biscay having been granted that noble title. All titled and untitled nobles are considered hidalgos.

Grandee (Grandeza de España)

The dignity of grandee ("grand one") was apparently originally assumed by the most important nobles. Being a grandee formerly implied certain privileges, notably that of the ancient uses of remaining covered or seated in the presence of royalty.

Hidalgo

Main article: Hidalgo (Spanish nobility)
Gustave Doré: Don Quixote of La Mancha and Sancho Panza, 1863

An hidalgo or fidalgo is a member of the Spanish nobility. In popular usage, it has come to mean the non-titled nobility. Hidalgos were exempt from paying taxes, but did not necessarily own real property.

Since at least the 12th century, the phrase fijo dalgo (often literally translated as "son of something"), or its common contraction, fidalgo, was used in the Kingdoms of Castile and Portugal to refer to the nobility. In Portugal, the cognate remained fidalgo, although these "nobles" had a somewhat different status from the Spanish hidalgos. In the Kingdom of Aragon the counterpart of the Castilian hidalgos were called infanzones (singular: infanzón). With the changes in Spanish pronunciation that occurred in the late Middle Ages, the [f] became silent, giving rise to the modern pronunciation and spelling, hidalgo.[22] (See History of the Spanish language.)

The term is a calque of the Arabic expressions which used ibn ("son") or bint ("daughter") and an noun to describe someone. Although the word algo generally means "something", in this expression, the word specifically denotes "riches" or "wealth"; therefore, it was originally a synonym of "noble" or ricohombre (literally a "rich man") in the Spanish of the period.

In literature, the hidalgo is usually portrayed as a noble who has lost nearly all of his family's wealth but still held on to the privileges and honours of the nobility. The prototypical fictional hidalgo is Don Quixote, who was given the sobriquet "the Ingenious Hidalgo" by his creator, Miguel de Cervantes. In the novel, Cervantes has Don Quixote satirically present himself as an hidalgo de sangre that aspires to live the hardships life of an adventurer knight-errant despite the fact that his reduced economic responsibilities to his niece and tenants can not afford him to do so and take leave .[23] Don Quixote's possessions allowed him to have more than a villain's meager life but he sold much of his landed patrimony in order to buy still costly books and devote himself to their reading obsession, yet his concept of honour led him to emulate the knights-errant.

[edit] Polish

Szlachta

Main article: Szlachta

The Polish term szlachta designates the formalized, hereditary noble class. In official Latin documents, the old Commonwealth hereditary szlachta is referred to as nobilitas and is equivalent to the English nobility.

The Polish nobility probably derived from a Slavic warrior class, forming a distinct element within the ancient Polonic tribal groupings. This is uncertain, however, as there is little surviving documentation on the early history of Poland, or of the movements of the Slavonic people into what became the territory so designated. The szlachta themselves claimed descent from the Sarmatians (see paragraph 2.2 below) who came to Europe in the 5th century C.E. Around the 14th century, there was little difference between knights and the szlachta in Poland, apart from legal and economic. Members of the szlachta had the personal obligation to defend the country (pospolite ruszenie), thereby becoming the kingdom's privileged social class.

All children of the Polish nobility inherited their noble status from a noble mother and father. Any individual could attain ennoblement (nobilitacja) for special services to the state. A foreign noble might be naturalised as a Polish noble (Polish: indygenat) by the Polish king (later, from 1641, only by a general sejm).

Polish noblemen, early 17th century

In theory at least, all Polish noblemen were social equals. Also in theory, they were legal peers. Those who held "real power" dignities were more privileged but these dignities were not hereditary. Those who held honorary dignities were higher in "ritual" hierarchy, but these dignities were also granted for a lifetime. Some tenancies became hereditary and went with both privilege and titles. Nobles who were not direct barons of the Crown but held land from other lords were only peers "de iure". The poorest enjoyed the same rights as the wealthiest magnate. The exceptions were a few symbolically privileged families such as the Radziwiłł, Lubomirski and Czartoryski, who sported honorary aristocratic titles recognized in Poland or received from foreign courts, such as "Prince" or "Count". (See also The Princely Houses of Poland.) All other szlachta simply addressed each other by their given name or as "Sir Brother" (Panie bracie) or the feminine equivalent. The other forms of address would be "Illustrious and Magnificent Lord", "Magnificent Lord", "Generous Lord" or "Noble Lord" (in decreasing order), or simply "His/Her Grace Lord/Lady".

According to their financial standing, the nobility were in common speech divided into:

  • magnates: the wealthiest class; owners of vast lands, towns, many villages, thousands of peasants
  • middle nobility (średnia szlachta): owners of one or more villages, often having some official titles or Envoys from the local Land Assemblies to the General Assembly,
  • petty nobility (drobna szlachta): owners of a part of a village or owning no land at all, often referred to by a variety of colourful Polish terms such as:
    • szaraczkowa - "grey nobility", from their grey, woollen, uncoloured żupans
    • okoliczna - "local nobility", similar to zaściankowa
    • zagrodowa - from zagroda, a farm, often little different from a peasant's dwelling
    • zagonowa - from zagon, a small unit of land measure, "hide nobility"
    • cząstkowa - "partial", owners of only part of a single village
    • panek - little pan (i.e. lordling), term used in Kaszuby, the Kashubian region, also one of the legal terms for legally separated lower nobility in late medieval and early modern Poland
    • hreczkosiej - "buckwheat sowers" - those who had to work their fields themselves
    • zaściankowa - from zaścianek, a name for plural nobility settlement, "neighbourhood nobility"; just like hreczkosiej, zaściankowa nobility would have no peasants
    • brukowa - "cobble nobility", for those living in towns like townsfolk
    • gołota - "naked nobility", i.e., the landless. Gołota szlachta would be considered the 'lowest of the high'.

The rise of the aristocrat magnate

For many centuries, wealthy and powerful members of the szlachta sought to gain legal privileges over their peers. Few szlachta were wealthy enough to be known as magnates (karmazyni — the "Crimsons", from the crimson colour of their boots). A proper magnate should have been able to trace noble ancestors back for many generations and owned at least 20 villages or estates. He should also have held a major office in the Commonwealth.

Some historians estimate the number of magnates as 1% of the number of szlachta. Out of approximately one million szlachta, tens of thousands of families, only 200-300 persons could be classed as great magnates with country-wide possessions and influence, and 30-40 of them could be viewed as those with significant impact on Poland's politics.

[edit] Baltic

Main articles: Baltic nobility, Baltic Germans, Lithuanian nobility, Szlachta, Terra Mariana, Danish Estonia, Swedish Livonia, Swedish Estonia, Baltic governorates, and Baltic states
Coat of arms of Terra Mariana (Land of St. Mary), which was the official name[24] for Medieval Livonia[25] or Old Livonia[26]
Columns of Gediminas, among the first symbols of Lithuania and used as a part of heraldic signs of leading the aristocracy

The Baltic nobility in Latvia and Estonia has existed continuously since the medieval days of Terra Mariana, which was formed in the aftermath of the Livonian Crusade in the territories comprising present-day Estonia and Latvia. Most of the nobles in Livonia were Baltic Germans, but Poles and Swedes joined as well, and Russians later under the Russian empire.[27]

The Baltic nobility of Livonia was a source of officers and other servants to Swedish and Polish kings in the 16th and particularly 17th centuries, when Couronian, Estonian, Livonian and Oeselian lands belonged to them. Russian emperors used Baltic nobles in government.

They were organized in the Estonian Noble Corporation in Reval, Couronian Noble Corporation in Mitau, and Livonian Noble Corporation in Riga.

It should be noted that in the course of their 700-year history, Baltic German families often had not only ethnic German roots, but also mixed with peoples of non-German origin, such as native Estonians, Livonians and Latvians, as well as with Danes, Swedes, English, Scots, Poles, Dutch, and Hungarians.

In those cases where intermarriage occurred, the other ethnic group usually assimilated into the German culture and adopted the German language and customs, which often included "Germanizing" their names and surnames. They were then considered Baltic Germans as well. (See also: Ethnogenesis.)

In the Imperial census of 1897, 98,573 Germans (7.58% of total population) lived in the Governorate of Livonia, 51,017 (7.57%) in the Governorate of Curonia, and 16,037 (3.89%) in the Governorate of Estonia.[28]

The Lithuanian gentry consisted mainly of Lithuanians, but due to strong ties to Poland, had been culturally Polonized. After the Union of Lublin in 1569, they became less distinguishable from Polish szlachta, although preserved Lithuanian national awareness.

The Lithuanian nobility was historically a legally privileged class in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, from the historical regions of Lithuania Proper and Samogitia, and in some cases Ruthenian noble families. Families were primarily granted privileges for their military service to the Grand Duchy.

The Church had been from the beginning the foundation of the learned society in the Baltic region. It was not only the religious, but also the social and political aspects of which were intervowen in the life of the Church in the Middle Ages. A noticeable part of the clergy were recruited from the local inhabitants, and the celibacy of clergy constrained the rise of structure-based inheritable privileges in the Church. The Protestant Reformation brought about great change in the Baltic Region of Europe. The Church in Lithuania remained Catholic, but a large part of Livonia came under the sway of the Reformation. The first to accept the ideas of the Reformation where the merchants of Riga and Reval, which subsequently functioned as the centers of the Reformation. The Lutheran Church in the Baltics did not come to have the institutional importance or independence its counterpart had in the Nordic countries. Up until the 20th century, the Lutheran Church was dominated by the German segment of the population. The clergy were mostly constituted of German-speaking inhabitance or had often come from Germany. Financially, the clergy where tied to the Baltic German nobilities' estates, which provided revunues. All this added to the notion of the Lutheran Church by the ethnic majority of Estonians and Latvians as Baltic German and not their own. Following the independence of Latvia and Estonia, the refounded national churches took steps to distance itself from its Baltic German association and emphasize Estonian and Latvian aspects.

Noble titles in Estonia and Livonia

Baltic German gentry from Curonia, Estonia and Livonia

[edit] Holy Roman Empire - Austrian Empire

Western Ukrainian Clergy

Main article: Western Ukrainian Clergy
Clergy from the Greek Catholic Church in a procession

The Western Ukrainian Clergy of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church were a hereditary tight-knit social caste that dominated western Ukrainian society from the late eighteenth until the mid-20th centuries, following the reforms instituted by Joseph II, Emperor of Austria. Because, like their Orthodox brethren, Ukrainian Catholic priests could marry, they were able to establish "priestly dynasties", often associated with specific regions, for many generations. Numbering approximately 2,000-2,500 by the 19th century, priestly families tended to marry within their group, constituting a tight-knit hereditary caste.[29] In the absence of a significant native nobility and enjoying a virtual monopoly on education and wealth within western Ukrainian society, the clergy came to form that group's native aristocracy. The clergy adopted Austria's role for them as bringers of culture and education to the Ukrainian countryside. Most Ukrainian social and political movements in Austrian-controlled territory emerged or were highly influenced by the clergy themselves or by their children. This influence was so great that western Ukrainians were accused of wanting to create a theocracy in western Ukraine by their Polish rivals.[30] The central role played by the Ukrainian clergy or their children in western Ukrainian society would weaken somewhat at the end of the 19th century but would continue until the mid-20th century.

[edit] North America

[edit] United States of America

Colonial families of the United States

Main articles: First Families of Virginia, Colonial families of Maryland, and Colonial families of the United States
Mount Vernon, Virginia, was the plantation home of George Washington.
George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
Jefferson's home, Monticello
Monticello, in Virginia, was the estate of Thomas Jefferson.

The Colonial American use of gentry followed the British usage (i.e., landed gentry); before the independence of the United States, Southern plantation owners were often the younger sons of British landowners, who perpetuated the British system in rural Virginia and Charleston, South Carolina, by employing tenant farmers, indentured servants, and chattel slaves. In the Northeastern United States, the gentry included (colonial and British) offshoot families who established the city of Boston, Massachusetts, and Harvard and Yale colleges.

The families of Virginia (see First Families of Virginia, Colonial families of Maryland) formed the Virginia gentry class as the old guard of plantation owners in United States. As General Robert E. Lee's paternal ancestors were among the earliest settlers in Virginia, his family was considered among the oldest of the Virginia gentry class.

The concept of the gentleman farmer as a man who farms mainly for pleasure rather than for profit was not only a model for the Southern gentry, but very much an ideal befitting some of founding fathers of America, such as Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. Thomas Jefferson, the patron of American agrarianism, wrote in his Notes on Virginia (1785), "Those who labor in the earth are the chosen people of God, if He ever had a chosen people, whose breasts He has made His peculiar deposit for substantial and genuine virtue."

George Washington resumed himself the life of a gentleman farmer at his Mount Vernon estate in Virginia following his resignation as commander in chief of the army in December 1783. Washington lived an aristocratic lifestyle—fox hunting was a favorite leisure activity. Like most Virginia planters, he imported luxuries and other goods from England and paid for them by exporting his tobacco crop. Extravagant spending and the unpredictability of the tobacco market meant that many Virginia planters of Washington's day were losing money.

The American gentry, even in cases where the family never had obtained official rights to bear a coat of arms in history, bore all the same hallmarks of traditional elite as in the old continent.

The first Families of Virginia and Maryland

George Mason IV
Gunston Hall was the home of the United States Founding Father George Mason IV.
Bishop John Carroll
Mount Clare, one of the Carroll family residences
Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee's Arlington estate

First Families of Virginia originated with colonists from England who primarily settled at Jamestown and along the James River and other navigable waters in the Colony of Virginia during the 17th century. As there was a propensity to marry within their narrow social scope for many generations, many descendants bear surnames which became common in the growing colony.

Many of the original English colonists considered members of the First Families of Virginia migrated to the Colony of Virginia during the English Civil War and English Interregnum period (1642–1660). Royalists left England on the accession to power of Oliver Cromwell and his Parliament. Because most of Virginia's leading families recognized Charles II as King following the execution of Charles I in 1649, Charles II is reputed to have called Virginia his "Old Dominion", a nickname that endures today. The affinity of many early aristocratic Virginia settlers for the Crown led to the term "distressed Cavaliers", often applied to the Virginia oligarchy. Many Cavaliers who served under King Charles I fled to Virginia. Thus, it came to be that FFVs often refer to Virginia as "Cavalier Country". These men were offered rewards of land, etc., by King Charles II, but they had settled Virginia and so remained in Virginia.

Most of such early settlers in Virginia were so-called "Second Sons". Primogeniture favored the first sons' inheriting lands and titles in England. Virginia evolved in a society of second or third sons of English aristocracy who inherited land grants or land in Virginia. They formed part of the southern elite in America.

Many of the great Virginia dynasties traced their roots to families like the Lees and the Fitzhughs, who traced lineage to England's county families and baronial legacies. But not all: even the most humble Virginia immigrants aspired to the English manorial trappings of their betters. Virginia history is not the sole province of English aristocrats. Such families as the Shackelfords, who gave their name to a Virginia hamlet, rose from modest beginnings in Hampshire to a place in the Virginia firmament based on hard work and smart marriages. At the same time, other once-great families were decimated not only by the English Civil War, but also by the enormous power of the London merchants to whom they were in debt and who could move markets with the stroke of a pen.

The Colonial families of Maryland were the leading families in the Province of Maryland. Several also had interests in the Colony of Virginia, and the two are sometimes referred to as the Chesapeake Colonies. Many of the early settlers came from the West Midlands in England, although the Maryland families were composed of a variety of European nationalities, e.g., French, Irish, Welsh, Scottish, and Swedish, in addition to English.

The Carroll family is an example a prominent political family from Maryland, of Irish descent and origin in the ancient kingdom of Éile, commonly anglicized Ely, as a branch of the ruling O'Carroll family. Another is the Mason family of Virginia, who descended from the progenitor of the Mason family, George Mason I, a Cavalier member of the Parliament of England born in Worcestershire, England.

Charles I of England granted the province palatinate status under Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore. The foundational charter created an aristocracy of lords of the manor for Maryland. Maryland was uniquely created as a colony for Catholic aristocracy and landed gentry, but Anglicanism eventually came to dominate, partly through influence from neighboring Virginia.

[edit] Church

Teaching at Paris, in a late 14th-century Grandes Chroniques de France: the tonsured students sit on the floor

Roman authority in the West completely collapsed, and the western provinces soon became a patchwork of Germanic kingdoms. However, the city of Rome, under the guidance of the Catholic Church, still remained a centre of learning and did much to preserve classic Roman thought in Western Europe.[31]

The only universal European institution was the Catholic Church, and even there, a fragmentation of authority was the rule; all the power within the church hierarchy was in the hands of the local bishops and finally the Bishop of Rome.[32][33] The clergy encompassed almost all of the time's educated men and was furthermore strengthen by considerable wealth, and thus, it came naturally to play a significant political role.

Education

During the Early Middle Ages, the monasteries of the Catholic Church were the centres of education and literacy, preserving the Church's selection from Latin learning and maintaining the art of writing. Medieval universities had been run for centuries as Christian episcopal or monastic schools (scholae monasticae), in which monks and nuns taught classes; evidence of these immediate forerunners dates back to the 6th century AD.[34]

With the increasing growth and urbanization of European society during the 12th and 13th centuries, a demand grew for professional clergy. Before the 12th century, the intellectual life of Western Europe had been largely relegated to monasteries, which were mostly concerned with performing the liturgy and prayer; relatively few monasteries could boast true intellectuals.

Detail from the Seven Sacraments Altarpiece - Baptism, Confirmation, Penance; detail, left wing (ca. 1445-1450) by Rogier van der Weyden.

Following the Gregorian Reform's emphasis on canon law and the study of the sacraments, bishops formed cathedral schools to train the clergy in Canon law, but also in the more secular aspects of religious administration, including logic and disputation for use in preaching and theological discussion, and accounting to control finances more effectively. Learning became essential to advancing in the ecclesiastical hierarchy, and teachers also gained prestige.

Modern systems of education in Europe derive their origins from the schools of the High Middle Ages. Most schools during this era were founded upon religious principles with the primary purpose of training the clergy. Many of the earliest universities, such as the University of Paris founded in 1160, had a Christian basis. In addition to this, a number of secular universities existed, such as the University of Bologna, founded in 1088. Free education for the poor was officially mandated by the Church at the Third Lateran Council (1179), which decreed that every cathedral must assign a master to teach boys too poor to pay the regular fee; parishes and monasteries also established free schools teaching at least basic literary skills. With few exceptions, priests and brothers taught locally, and their salaries were frequently subsidized by towns. Private, independent schools reappeared in medieval Europe during this time, but they, too, were religious in nature and mission.[35]

By the 13th century, almost half of the highest offices in the Church were occupied by degreed masters (abbots, archbishops, cardinals), and over one-third of the second-highest offices were occupied by masters. In addition, some of the greatest theologians of the High Middle Ages, Thomas Aquinas and Robert Grosseteste, were products of the medieval university.

Social Rituals

Social rituals have formed a part of human culture for tens of thousands of years. Anthropologists see social rituals as one of many cultural universals.

The Christian clergy has traditionally officiated over of acts worship, reverence, rituals and ceremonies. The basic social function it has served as, has been the expressing, fixing and reinforcing of shared values and beliefs of a society. Among these central traditions have been baptism, Confirmation, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, marriage, the Mass or the Divine Service, and coronations.

Coronation

In the past, concepts of royalty, coronation and deity were often inexorably linked. In some ancient cultures, rulers were considered to be divine or partially divine: the Egyptian Pharaoh was believed to be the son of Ra, the sun god, while in Japan, the Emperor was believed to be a descendant of Amaterasu, the sun goddess. Rome promulgated the practice of emperor worship; in Medieval Europe, monarchs claimed to have a divine right to rule.

The European coronation ceremonies of the Middle Ages were essentially a combination of the Christian rite of anointing with additional elements. In some European countries prior to the adoption of Christianity, the ruler upon his election was raised on a shield and, while standing upon it, was borne on the shoulders of several chief men of the nation (or tribe) in a procession around his assembled subjects. Following Europe's conversion to Christianity, crowning ceremonies became more and more ornate, depending on the country in question, and their Christian elements—especially anointing—became the paramount concern.[36][37]

The coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor refers to a ceremony in which the ruler of Europe's then-largest political entity received the Imperial Regalia at the hands of the Pope, symbolizing the pope's alleged right to crown Christian sovereigns and the emperor's role as protector of the Roman Catholic Church. The Holy Roman Empire was last established in 962 AD under Otto the Great, though Otto was not the first Western sovereign to have been crowned Imperator Augustus by the Pope. Charlemagne was crowned as Emperor by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800, but his dominions were divided between his heirs, with the eastern portions ultimately reunited under Otto I.

Anointing a king was equivalent to crowning him; in fact, in Israel, a crown was not required (1 Samuel 16:13; 2 Samuel 2:4, etc.). Thus, David was anointed as king by the prophet Samuel:

Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.—1 Samuel 16:13.

Clergy - Priests and Pastors

The Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican and the Church of Sweden (including former dominions of the Swedish Empire: Finland, Estonia and Livonia) have applied the formal, church-based leadership or an ordained clergy in matters of either the church or broader political and sociocultural import.

Until the reformation, the clergy was the first estate but was relegated to the secular estate in the Protestant Northern Europe. Clerical (pastor) Families is a concept in genealogy to characterize some families in the Swedish Church after the reformation, in which members of the family had served for generations in the Swedish Church either as active clergy in the Church, educational institutions or in the civil service.

After compulsory celibacy was abolished in Sweden during the Reformation, the formation of an hereditary priestly class became possible, whereby wealth and clerical positions were frequently inheritable. Hence the bishops and the vicars, who formed the clerical upper class, would frequently have manors similar to those of the nobility.

Historically, Sweden, including the former Swedish province of Finland, has had a more elaborate form of liturgy, which preserved more than other Nordic countries links to the Medieval Catholic tradition. In Germany, the high church movement is much smaller than in Sweden. Because of several unions between Lutheran and Reformed churches since the Prussian Union, resulting in the simple spread of Calvinist concepts from the Reformed Churches by "osmosis", Lutheranism has often taken on a Reformed context.

Ecclestical residences

A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases, an academic rector or other person with that title. Many former rectories may still be referred to locally as a rectory once a church or religious organisation has vacated the property.

Bishop's Palace refers to the official residence of any bishop. Often the most grand ecclestical palaces were built by Prince-Bishops.

[edit] Values and traditions associated with the gentry

[edit] Military and clerical tradition of the gentry

Historically, the nobles in Europe became soldiers. Actually, the aristocracy in Europe can trace their origins to military leaders from the migration period and the Middle Ages. For many years, the British Army, together with the Church, was seen as the ideal career for the younger sons of the aristocracy, those who would not inherit their fathers' titles or estates. Although now much diminished, the practice has not totally disappeared, the slang term Rupert being used to describe such blue-blooded, usually British public-school-educated, officers. Such practices are not unique to the British either geographically or historically. As a very practical form of displaying patriotism, it has been at times "fashionable" for "gentlemen" to participate in the military, usually the militia, to fulfill societal expectations. It has been said that the title "Colonel" was the ultimate fashion accessory for a Southern gentleman.

[edit] Superiority of the fighting man

The fundamental idea of gentry, symbolised in this grant of coat-armour, had come to be that of the essential superiority of the fighting man; and, as Selden points out (page 707), the fiction was usually maintained in the granting of arms "to an ennobled person though of the long Robe wherein he hath little use of them as they mean a shield." At the last, the wearing of a sword on all occasions was the outward and visible sign of a "gentleman"; the custom survives in the sword worn with "court dress".

A suggestion that a gentleman must have a coat of arms was vigorously advanced by certain 19th- and 20th-century heraldists, notably Arthur Charles Fox-Davies in England and Thomas Innes of Learney in Scotland, but the suggestion is discredited by an examination, in England, of the records of the High Court of Chivalry and, in Scotland, by a judgment of the Court of Session (per Lord Mackay in Maclean of Ardgour v. Maclean [1941] SC 613 at 650). The significance of a right to a coat of arms was that it was definitive proof of the status of gentleman, but it recognised rather than conferred such a status, and the status could be and frequently was accepted without a right to a coat of arms.

[edit] Chivalry

A knight being armed.
Main article: Chivalry

Chivalry[38] is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood. It is usually associated with ideals of knightly virtues, honor and courtly love. The word is derived from the French word chevalerie, itself derived from chevalier, which means "knight", derived from cheval, "horse" (indicating one who rides a horse).

Christianity had a modifying influence on the virtues of chivalry. The Peace and Truce of God in the 10th century was one such example, with limits placed on knights to protect and honor the weaker members of society and also help the church maintain peace. At the same time, the church became more tolerant of war in the defense of faith, espousing theories of the just war, and liturgies were introduced which blessed a knight's sword, and a bath of chivalric purification. In the 11th century, the concept of a "knight of Christ" (miles Christi) gained currency in France, Spain and Italy.[39] These concepts of "religious chivalry" were further elaborated in the era of the Crusades, with the Crusades themselves often being seen as chivalrous enterprises.[39] Their ideas of chivalry were also further influenced by Saladin, who was viewed as a chivalrous knight by medieval Christian writers.

The relationship between knights and the nobility varied based on region. In France, being dubbed a knight also bestowed noble status. In Germany and the Low Countries, knights and the nobility were distinctly different classes. In England, the relations between knights, nobles and land-owning landed gentry were complex.

In the later Middle Ages, wealthy merchants strove to adopt chivalric attitudes - the sons of the bourgeoisie were educated at aristocratic courts, where they were trained in the manners of the knightly class.[39] This was a democratization of chivalry, leading to a new genre called the courtesy book, which were guides to the behavior of "gentlemen". Thus, the post-medieval gentlemanly code of the value of a man's honor, respect for women, and a concern for those less fortunate, is directly derived from earlier ideals of chivalry and historical forces which created it.[39]

When examining medieval literature, chivalry can be classified into three basic but overlapping areas:

  1. Duties to countrymen and fellow Christians: this contains virtues such as mercy, courage, valor, fairness, protection of the weak and the poor, and in the servant-hood of the knight to his lord. This also brings with it the idea of being willing to give one's life for another's; whether he would be giving his life for a poor man or his lord.
  2. Duties to God: this would contain being faithful to God, protecting the innocent, being faithful to the church, being the champion of good against evil, being generous and obeying God above the feudal lord.
  3. Duties to women: this is probably the most familiar aspect of chivalry. This would contain what is often called courtly love, the idea that the knight is to serve a lady, and after her all other ladies. Most especially in this category is a general gentleness and graciousness to all women.

These three areas obviously overlap quite frequently in chivalry and are often indistinguishable.

Different weight given to different areas produced different strands of chivalry:

  1. warrior chivalry, in which a knight's chief duty is to his lord, as exemplified by Sir Gawain in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle
  2. religious chivalry, in which a knight's chief duty is to protect the innocent and serve God, as exemplified by Sir Galahad or Sir Percival in the Grail legends
  3. courtly love chivalry, in which a knight's chief duty is to his own lady, and after her, all ladies, as exemplified by Sir Lancelot in his love for Queen Guinevere or Sir Tristan in his love for Iseult

One particular similarity between all three of these categories is honor. Honor is the foundational and guiding principle of chivalry. Thus, for the knight, honor would be one of the guides of action.

[edit] Gentleman

A page from Brathwait's book that displays the qualities associated with being a gentleman
Main article: Gentleman

The term gentleman (from Latin gentilis, belonging to a race or gens, and "man", cognate with the French word gentilhomme, the Spanish hombre gentil and the Italian gentil uomo or gentiluomo), in its original and strict signification, denoted a man of good family, analogous to the Latin generosus (its invariable translation in English-Latin documents). In this sense the word equates with the French gentilhomme ("nobleman"), which was in Great Britain long confined to the peerage. The term gentry (from the Old French genterise for gentelise) has much of the social-class significance of the French noblesse or of the German Adel, but without the strict technical requirements of those traditions (such as quarters of nobility). This was what the rebels under John Ball in the 14th century meant when they repeated:

When Adam delft and Eve span,
Who was then the Gentleman?[1]

To a degree, gentleman signified a man with an income derived from property, a legacy or some other source and was thus independently wealthy and did not need to work.

Confucianism

The Far East also held similar ideas to the West of what a gentleman is, which are based on Confucian principles. The term Jūnzǐ (君子) is a term crucial to classical Confucianism. Literally meaning "son of a ruler", "prince" or "noble", the ideal of a "gentleman", "proper man", "exemplary person", or "perfect man" is that for which Confucianism exhorts all people to strive. A succinct description of the "perfect man" is one who "combine[s] the qualities of saint, scholar, and gentleman" (CE). (In modern times, the masculine bias in Confucianism may have weakened, but the same term is still used; the masculine translation in English is also traditional and still frequently used.) A hereditary elitism was bound up with the concept, and gentlemen were expected to act as moral guides to the rest of society. They were to:

  • cultivate themselves morally;
  • participate in the correct performance of ritual;
  • show filial piety and loyalty where these are due; and
  • cultivate humaneness.

The opposite of the Jūnzǐ was the Xiǎorén (小人), literally "small person" or "petty person". Like English "small", the word in this context in Chinese can mean petty in mind and heart, narrowly self-interested, greedy, superficial, and materialistic.

[edit] Noblesse oblige

The idea of Noblesse oblige, "nobility obliges", among gentry is, as the Oxford English Dictionary expresses, that the term "suggests noble ancestry constrains to honourable behavior; privilege entails to responsibility". Being a noble meant that one had responsibilities to lead, manage and so on. One was not to simply spend one's time in idle pursuits.

General Robert E. Lee's definition speaks only to conduct.

The forbearing use of power does not only form a touchstone, but the manner in which an individual enjoys certain advantages over others is a test of a true gentleman.
The power which the strong have over the weak, the employer over the employed, the educated over the unlettered, the experienced over the confiding, even the clever over the silly — the forbearing or inoffensive use of all this power or authority, or a total abstinence from it when the case admits it, will show the gentleman in a plain light.
The gentleman does not needlessly and unnecessarily remind an offender of a wrong he may have committed against him. He can not only forgive, he can forget; and he strives for that nobleness of self and mildness of character which impart sufficient strength to let the past be but the past. A true man of honor feels humbled himself when he cannot help humbling others.[40]

[edit] Heraldry

Coat of arms

Main article: Coat of arms

A coat of arms is a heraldic device dating to the 12th century in Europe. It was originally a cloth tunic worn over or in place of armour to establish identity in battle.[41] The coat of arms is drawn with heraldic rules for a person, family or organization. Family coats of arms where originally derived from personal ones, which then became extended in time to the whole family. In Scotland, family coats of arms are still personal ones and are mainly used by the head of the family.

[edit] Ecclesiastical heraldry

Main article: Ecclesiastical heraldry

Ecclesiastical heraldry is the tradition of heraldry developed by Christian clergy. Initially used to mark documents, ecclesiastical heraldry evolved as a system for identifying people and dioceses. It is most formalized within the Catholic Church, where most bishops, including the pope, have a personal coat of arms. Clergy in Anglican, Lutheran, Eastern Catholic, and Orthodox churches follow similar customs.

[edit] East Asia

[edit] Four occupations (East Asia)

Main article: Four occupations (East Asia)

The four divisions of society refers to the model of society in ancient China and was a meritocratic social class system in China and other subsequently influenced Confucian societies. The four castes—gentry, farmers, artisans and merchants—are combined to form the term Shìnónggōngshāng (士農工商).

Gentry (士) This means different things in different countries.

In China, Korea, and Vietnam, this meant that the Confucian scholar gentry that would - for the most part - make up most of the bureaucracy. This caste would comprise both the more-or-less hereditary aristocracy as well as the meritocratic scholars that rise through the rank by public service and, later, by imperial exams.

In Japan, this caste essentially equates to the samurai class. In the Edo period, with the creation of the Domains (han) under the rule of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, all land was confiscated and reissued as fiefdoms to the daimyo. The small lords, the samurai (武士 bushi?), were ordered either to give up their swords and rights and remain on their lands as peasants or to move to the castle cities to become paid retainers of the daimyo. Only a few samurai were allowed to remain in the countryside; the landed samurai (郷士 gōshi?). Some 5% of the population were samurai. Only the samurai could have proper surnames, which after the Meiji Restoration, became compulsory to all inhabitants (see Japanese name).

Farmers

(農) In a largely agrarian society, the farmers occupy a high position in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese society, at least in theory. Some sources, such as Xunzi, list them before the gentry, based on the Confucian view that they directly contributed to the welfare of the state. In China, the farmer lifestyle is also closely linked with the ideals of Confucian gentlemen, and aging scholars and bureaucrats often retire to a life of farming—again, at least in theory.

[edit] Hierarchical structure of Feudal Japan

Social stratification in feudal Japan (12th - 19th century)
Main article: Hierarchical structure of Feudal Japan
Matsue daimyo (c. 1850s)
Group of four samurai

There were two leading classes, i.e. the gentry, in the time of Feudal Japan: the Daimyo and the Samurai. The Confucian ideals in the Japanese culture emphasized the importance of productive members of society, so farmers and fishermen were considered of a higher status then merchants.

Daimyo

Main article: Daimyo

Daimyo (大名 Daimyō?, About this sound Pronunciation (help·info)) is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords[42] in premodern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings. In the term, dai (大?) literally means "large", and myō stands for myōden (名田?), meaning private land.[43]

They were the most powerful feudal rulers from the 10th century to the early 19th century in Japan following the Shogun.

From the shugo of the Muromachi period through the Sengoku to the daimyo of the Edo period, the rank had a long and varied history.

The term daimyo is also sometimes used to refer to the leading figures of such clans, also called "lord". It was usually, though not exclusively, from these warlords that a shogun arose or a regent was chosen.

After the Meiji Restoration

In 1869, the year after the Meiji Restoration, the daimyo, together with the kuge, formed a new aristocracy, the kazoku. In 1871, the han were abolished, and prefectures were established, thus effectively ending the daimyo era in Japan. In the wake of this change, many daimyo remained in control of their lands, being appointed as prefectural governors; however, they were soon relieved of this duty and called en masse to Tokyo, thereby cutting off any independent base of power from which to potentially rebel. Despite this, members of former daimyo families remained prominent in government and society and, in some cases, continue to remain prominent to the present day. (For example, Morihiro Hosokawa, the former prime minister, is a descendant of the daimyo of Kumamoto, but these cases are very few now.)

Samurai

Main article: Samurai

Samurai (侍?) is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau. In both countries the terms were nominalized to mean 'those who serve in close attendance to the nobility', the pronunciation in Japanese changing to saburai." According to Wilson, an early reference to the word samurai appears in the Kokin Wakashū (905-914), the first imperial anthology of poems, completed in the first part of the 9th century.

By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with bushi (武士), and the word was closely associated with the middle and upper echelons of the warrior class. The samurai followed a set of written rules called the Bushidō. They numbered less than 10% of Japan's population.[44] Samurai teachings can still be found today in modern-day society with the martial art Kendō, meaning "the way of the sword".

As de facto aristocrats for centuries, samurai developed their own cultures that influenced Japanese culture as a whole. The culture associated with the samurai such as the tea ceremony, monochrome ink painting, rock gardens and poetry were adopted by warrior patrons throughout the years 1200-1600. These practices were adapted from the Chinese arts. Zen monks introduced them to Japan, and they were allowed to flourish due to the interest of powerful warrior elites. Muso Soseki (1275–1351) was a Zen monk who was advisor to both Emperor Go-Daigo and General Ashikaga Takauji (1304–58). Muso as well as other monks acted as political and cultural diplomats between Japan and China. Muso was particularly well known for his garden design. Another Ashikaga patron of the arts was Yoshimasa. His cultural advisor, the Zen monk Zeami, introduced tea ceremony to him. Previously, tea had been used primarily for Buddhist monks to stay awake during meditation.[45]

In general, samurai, aristocrats, and priests had a very high literacy rate in Kanji. "The Nobles send their sons to monasteries to be educated as soon as they are 8 years old, and they remain there until they are 19 or 20, learning reading, writing and religion; as soon as they come out, they marry and apply themselves to politics."

Emperor Meiji abolished the samurai's right to be the only armed force in favor of a more modern, Western-style, conscripted army in 1873. Samurai became Shizoku (士族), who retained some of their salaries, but the right to wear a katana in public was eventually abolished along with the right to execute commoners who paid them disrespect.

In defining how a modern Japan should be, members of the Meiji government decided to follow in the footsteps of the United Kingdom and Germany, basing the country on the concept of noblesse oblige. Samurai were not to be a political force under the new order.

The difference between the Japanese and European feudal systems was that European feudalism was grounded in Roman legal structure, while Japan feudalism had Chinese Confucian morality as its basis.[46]

Bushidō (武士道?), meaning "Way of the Warrior", is a name in common usage since the late 19th century which is used to describe a uniquely Japanese code of conduct adhered to by samurai since time immemorial. This code is said to have emphasized virtues such as loyalty, honor, obedience, duty, filial piety, and self-sacrifice.

The Kojiki is Japan's oldest extant book. Written in 712, it contains passages about legendary prince Yamato Takeru and provides an early indication of the values and literary self-image of the Bushidō ideal.

Seven virtues of Bushidō

Main article: Virtue

The Bushidō code is typified by seven virtues:

Associated virtues

Kazoku (Meiji Restoration)

The Kazoku (華族?, lit. "exalted families") was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan that existed between 1869 and 1947.

Under the Peerage Act of 7 July 1884, pushed through by Itō Hirobumi after visiting Europe, the Meiji government expanded the hereditary peerage with the award of kazoku status to persons regarded as having performed outstanding services to the nation. The government also divided the kazoku into five ranks explicitly based on the British peerage, but with titles deriving from the ancient Chinese nobility:

  1. Prince or Duke (公爵 kōshaku?)
  2. Marquess (侯爵 kōshaku?)
  3. Earl or Count (伯爵 hakushaku?)
  4. Viscount (子爵 shishaku?)
  5. Baron (男爵 danshaku?)

[edit] Korea

Main articles: Korean nobility, Yangban, and korean ruling class

Korean monarchy and native nobility existed in Korea until the end of the Japanese occupation. (In Imperial Japan, Korean nobles continued to hold noble titles.) The system is roughly the same as that of the Chinese nobility. It included che, wang and kun.

As the Jesuits and other monastical orders did during Europe's Dark Ages, the Buddhist monks became the purveyors and guardians of Korea's literary traditions while documenting Korea's written history and legacies from the Silla period to the end of the Goryeo dynasty. Korean Buddhist monks also developed and used the first movable metal type printing presses in history—some 500 years before Gutenberg—to print ancient Buddhist texts. Buddhist monks also engaged in record keeping, food storage and distribution, as well as the ability to exercise power by influencing the Goryeo royal court.

[edit] Gentry noun

"Posing as a member of the gentry upper classes, privileged classes, elite, high society, haut monde, smart set; establishment, aristocracy; informal upper crust, top drawer." (The New Oxford American Dictionary (NOAD), Second Edition)

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
  2. ^ Oxford English Dictionary
  3. ^ Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, 1996, p.798.
  4. ^ "Patrician". dictionary.cambridge.org. http://dictionary.cambridge.org/search/british/?q=patrician. 
  5. ^ Leiren, Terje I. (1999). From Pagan to Christian: The Story in the 12th-Century Tapestry of the Skog Church. Published online: http://faculty.washington.edu/leiren/vikings2.html
  6. ^ Mallory, J.P. In search of the Indo-Europeans Thames & Hudson (1991) p131
  7. ^ "French Absolutism". SUNY Suffolk history department. http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/westn/absolutism.html. Retrieved 2007-09-29. 
  8. ^ See reidh- from American Heritage Dictionary's Index of Indo-European Roots.
  9. ^ Frederic Austin Ogg, The governments of Europe (1920), Macmillan, p. 681
  10. ^ "The Court of the Lord Lyon web site". http://www.lyon-court.com/lordlyon/536.html. Retrieved 2010-06-22. 
  11. ^ "Debrett's Forms of Address (Lairds)". http://www.debretts.com/forms-of-address/titles/scottish--and-irish-titles/chief,-chieftain,-laird.aspx. Retrieved 2010-07-18. 
  12. ^ Michael Hicks, review of The Origins of the English Gentry, (review no. 402)
  13. ^ Cambridge University Press 0521021006 - The Origins of the English Gentry Peter Coss
  14. ^ Burn, Richard; Chitty, J; Black, Philip (1975, reprint of the 1831 edition) The Justice of the Peace and Parish Officer, pages 884–885; see also books.google.com, pages 540–541
  15. ^ Boutell, Charles (1899) English Heraldry, page 120; see also books.google.com, page 120
  16. ^ "Knight". Online Etymology Dictionary. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=k&p=3. Retrieved 2009-04-07. 
  17. ^ "Knecht". LEO German-English dictionary. http://dict.leo.org/ende?lp=ende&p=KO6ek.&search=Knecht. Retrieved 2009-04-07. 
  18. ^ Opinion of the House of Lords in the Buckhurst Peerage Case
  19. ^ a b c d e CFtech.ncom
  20. ^ Haggren & Jansson, 2005. New light on the colonization of Nyland, ennenjanyt.net "Nyland has always been characterized as an area of medieval colonization conducted by the Swedes. Previously this colonization has been seen as an immigration of independent peasants. As a new result a significant noble impact has been verified both in the colonization activity itself and the establishing of parish churches as well".
  21. ^ Kari Tarkiainen, Sveriges Österland, från forntiden till Gustav Vasa, 2008, "Frälseståndets ursprung var till två tredjedel svenskt, till en tredjedel tyskt. Någon social rörelse som skulle ha fört kristnade finnar uppåt till dessa poster fanns inte, då jordegendomen inte var ett vilkor för en ledande ställning inom förvaltning, rättskipning och skatteadministration".
  22. ^ Corominas, Joan and José A Pascual (1981). "Hijo" in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, Vol. G-Ma (3). Madrid: Editorial Gredos, 359-360. ISBN 84-249-1362-0
  23. ^ Rey Hazas, Antonio, "El Quijote y la picaresca: la figura del hidalgo en el nacimiento de la novela moderna" (in Spanish), Edad de Oro 15: 141–160, http://cvc.cervantes.es/obref/quijote_antologia/hazas.htm, retrieved 2009-06-02 
  24. ^ "Terra Mariana". The Encyclopedia Americana. Americana Corp. 1967. http://books.google.com/books?id=jsJWAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Livonia.+Under+its+official+name,+Terra+Mariana%22&dq=%22Livonia.+Under+its+official+name,+Terra+Mariana%22&ei=HV4aSbrgEYOUMojX-acE&pgis=1. 
  25. ^ Medieval Livonia @ google books
  26. ^ referred to by historians as Medieval Livonia or Old Livonia Old Livonia @ google books to distinguish it from the rump-Livonia (Duchy of Livonia) and the Livonian Governorate that was formed from part of its territories after its breakup.
  27. ^ Carl Arvid von Klingspor’s Baltisches Wappenbuch. Wappen sämmtlicher, den Ritterschaften von Livland, Estland, Kurland und Oesel zugehöriger Adelsgeschlechter (Stockholm 1882)
  28. ^ Language Statistics of 1897 (Russian)
  29. ^ Orest Subtelny. (1988). Ukraine: A History. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp.214-219.
  30. ^ Himka, John Paul. (1999). Religion and Nationality in Western Ukraine. McGill-Queen's University Press: Montreal and Kingston. Pg. 10
  31. ^ History of Europe
  32. ^ MNSU.edu
  33. ^ CSIS.pace.edu
  34. ^ Riché, Pierre (1978): "Education and Culture in the Barbarian West: From the Sixth through the Eighth Century", Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, ISBN 0-87249-376-8, pp. 126-7, 282-98
  35. ^ "All schools are public", Jason Bofetti FRinstitute.org
  36. ^ "Coronation". Encyclopædia Britannica. 1911. http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Coronation. Retrieved 2008-09-25. 
  37. ^  Thurston, Herbert (1913). "Coronation". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 
  38. ^ Etymology: English from 1292, loans from French chevalerie "knighthood", from chevalier "knight" from Medieval Latin caballarius "horseman"; cavalry is from the Middle French form of the same word.
  39. ^ a b c d James Ross Sweeney (1983). "Chivalry", in The Dictionary of the Middle Ages, Volume III.
  40. ^ "Definition of a Gentleman", a memorandum found in Lee's papers after his death, as quoted in Lee the American (1912) by Gamaliel Bradford, p. 233
  41. ^ Britannica Online Encyclopedia
  42. ^ Katsuro, Hara (2009). An Introduction to the History of Japan. BiblioBazaar, LLC. p. 291. ISBN 1110787855. http://books.google.com/books?id=FiHJX2FRg6sC&pg=PA291&dq=%22territorial+lord%22#v=onepage&q=%22territorial%20lord%22&f=false. 
  43. ^ Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan, entry for "daimyō"
  44. ^ "Samurai (Japanese warrior)". Encyclopædia Britannica.
  45. ^ Mason, RHP and JG Caiger "A History of Japan" 1997
  46. ^ Snyder, M.R. (October 1994) Japanese vs. European Feudalism. Guest lecturer at Alberta Vocational College

[edit] References

  • John Burke family et al., Burke's Landed Gentry (genealogy book). United Kingdom (1826, 1898).
  • Peter Coss, The Origins of the English Gentry. Past and Present Publications. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press (2003). ISBN 0-521-82673-X
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