Teaching & Learning Guide for: The English ‘Proto‐Gentry’ in the Reigns of Edward I and Edward II
Authors: Simpkin David 
Published: December 2012

This guide accompanies the following article: The English ‘Proto‐Gentry’ in the Reigns of Edward I and Edward II’, History Compass 10/12 (2012): pp. 918‐929, [DOI]: 10.1111/hic3.12016

Author’s Introduction

The English aristocracy played a fundamental role, in partnership with the Crown, in governing later medieval England and defending the realm’s interests in war. While the wealthiest members of the aristocracy, the nobility (earls and barons), sat with the king in council and led the largest retinues on the battlefield, by the late 13th century the lesser aristocracy, the knights and squires, carried considerable political and military weight in their own right. As the Crown’s wars in Wales, France and Scotland placed pressure on the manpower and financial resources of the realm, so these knights and squires rose to the challenge as leaders in local government, knights of the shire in parliament and military recruiters. In recent years this stratum of local, county and regional landholders has received considerable attention from historians, and the suggestion has been made that in the late 13th and early 14th centuries a ‘proto‐gentry’ began to emerge. This article considers who the ‘proto‐gentry’ were as well as some of the key approaches adopted and debates pursued by historians specialising in this field of research. Were the reigns of Edward I and Edward II (1272–1327) central to the formation of the English gentry, and if so why?

Author Recommends

Arguably the most significant study on the evolution of the English gentry during the Middle Ages is P. Coss, The Origins of the English Gentry (Cambridge, 2003), which includes seminal essays drawn from across the author’s career as well as new research. The book looks at the development of the ‘gentry’ over the long‐term, adopts a largely conceptual approach, and considers in detail what the term ‘gentry’ actually means. The same author’s The Foundations of Gentry Life: The Multons of Frampton and their World, 1270–1370 (Oxford, 2010) is a valuable addition to the field as it focuses on a small number of gentry families at a microcosmic level, looking into their personal archives and recovering their everyday affairs and concerns. For a broader study of such terms as ‘aristocracy’, ‘gentry’ and ‘nobility’ within a wider, British context, see D. Crouch, The Image of Aristocracy in Britain, 1000–1300 (London, 1992).

While Peter Coss’s is perhaps the most authoritative voice on the formation of the English gentry, especially during the 13th and 14th centuries, his books can be hard‐going for students approaching gentry studies for the first time. Two more accessible and light, yet still thoroughly researched books are C. Given‐Wilson, The English Nobility in the Late Middle Ages: The Fourteenth‐Century Political Community (London and New York, 1987), and M. Keen, Origins of the English Gentleman: Heraldry, Chivalry and Gentility in Medieval England, c.1300–c.1500 (Stroud, 2002), the latter of which is especially good on the ‘chivalric’ aspects of gentry life in later medieval England and the significance of military service to gentry formation, arguably a theme that Coss underplays somewhat. Also especially valuable for the early Edwardian gentry and their military service are: P. Morgan, War and Society in Medieval Cheshire 1277–1403 (Manchester, 1987); A. Ayton, Knights and Warhorses: Military Service and the English Aristocracy under Edward III (Woodbridge, 1994; reprinted in paperback, 1999); A. King, ‘ “Pur Salvation du Roiaume”: Military Service and Obligation in Fourteenth‐Century Northumberland’, in C. Given‐Wilson (ed.), Fourteenth Century England II, (Woodbridge, 2002), 13–31; and D. Simpkin, The English Aristocracy at War: From the Welsh Wars of Edward I to the Battle of Bannockburn (Woodbridge, 2008). Again, some of these books are very detailed and perhaps a little hard‐going for first timers, so they should be read following initial consultation of M. Prestwich, Armies and Warfare in the Middle Ages: The English Experience (New Haven and London, 1996), ch. 2, ‘The Military Elite’, which also includes a number of splendid illustrations.

For those interested primarily in the ‘gentry’s’ administrative, governmental and regional activities, as well as their social connections at a local level, there are a large number of valuable books and articles. However, arguably the most valuable starting‐point for the whole range of gentry activities at county level is still N. Saul, Knights and Esquires. The Gloucestershire Gentry in the Fourteenth Century (Oxford, 1981). Once this had been read and understood readers might also find considerable value in R. Gorski, The Fourteenth‐Century Sheriff: English Local Administration in the Late Middle Ages (Woodbridge, 2003).

Online Materials

E.g. 1. Henry III Fine Rolls Project

http://www.finerollshenry3.org.uk/home.html.

This is a valuable resource for students interested in the lesser aristocracy of England in the decades before the accession of Edward I in 1272, as the fine rolls record fines made to the Crown by a wide range of knights and ‘squires’ in relation to their personal, familial, commercial and legal business.

E.g. 2. The History of Parliament

http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/.

From the late 13th century we know the names of many knights and (especially from the early 14th century) squires or ‘esquires’ who attended parliament. This website provides biographical information on gentry who attended parliament. Although the biographies currently begin in 1386, this is nevertheless a valuable resource for showing the types of men who attended the House of Commons in the late 14th century, many of whom were descended from knights of the shire of the reigns of Edward I and Edward II.

E.g. 3: The Soldier in Later Medieval England, 1369–1453

http://www.medievalsoldier.org/.

This website contains databases naming tens of thousands of English soldiers active during the middle and later stages of the Hundred Years War, many drawn from the ranks of the gentry. Although this resource only begins in the later 14th century, like ‘The History of Parliament’ website it is valuable for highlighting the range of the gentry’s activities in the later Middle Ages as well as the family names. The website also includes a number of ‘Soldier’ profiles relating to members of the gentry. Students consulting this website alongside ‘The History of Parliament’ website will gain a good idea of what gentry life was like in the late 14th century, and thereby they can gain some idea of what it might also have been like a few decades earlier when similar military and governmental obligations obtained.

E.g. 4: Heraldry

http://www.briantimms.net/.

In the England of Edward I and Edward II knights formed the upper stratum of the ‘gentry’, and the key indication of their gentle status and military prowess was the coat of arms, which was unique to each individual and family. This website displays the coats of arms of a number of gentry active in England during the late 13th and early 14th centuries, including those who were present at battles and sieges such as Falkirk (1298) and Caerlaverock (1300). This is an excellent resource for visual images.

E.g. 5: Monumental Brass Society

http://www.mbs‐brasses.co.uk/

Another medium of gentry self‐representation was the commemorative brass, produced and installed in parish churches throughout England during the later Middle Ages. Many of these brasses portray members of the English gentry (knights and esquires) in military garb while others present them in civilian dress. Many women as well as men were also represented by commemorative brasses. Many examples are given here, with some of the earliest dating from the reigns of Edwards I and II.

Sample Syllabus

Module on: The English Aristocracy in the Middle Ages

A 10‐week course might be structured as follows:

Week 1: Terms and Concepts

Key themes: The meaning of aristocracy; the image of aristocracy

Weeks 2–5: The Early Middle Ages, c. 500–1066

Key themes: (i) Kings and nobles in Anglo‐Saxon England; (ii) Warriors and warbands; (iii) The nobility in literature, from Beowulf and Bede to Asser and the Battle of Maldon; (iv) Noble culture and display.

Weeks 6–10: The Later Middle Ages, 1066–1500

Key themes: (i) Domesday Book and the post‐conquest aristocracy; (ii) Stratification: the emergence of the gentry; (iii) Chivalry and the culture of aristocracy; (iv) Partners of the Crown? Roles in government and administration; (v) The Hundred Years War.

NB: Within this module structure, my ‘History Compass’ article on ‘The English ‘Proto‐Gentry’ could be used during the lectures and seminars on ‘Stratification: The Emergence of the Gentry’. The debate could centre on such themes as: who were the gentry; when did the ‘gentry’ emerge as a distinct stratum of society, separate from the nobility; can the roots of the gentry be traced back to Anglo‐Saxon England in any of the social groups in existence at that time, or did the gentry emerge due to the new conditions within post‐conquest England; and how important, if at all, were the wars of the ‘three Edwards’ (1272–1377) to the process of gentry formation?

Optional

Focus Questions

E.g. 1. Who were the gentry?

E.g. 2. When did the gentry emerge and why?

E.g. 3. How important was warfare and its demands to the process of gentry formation?

E.g. 4. To what extent were the gentry dependent on the nobility and how did the relationship of gentry to nobility evolve over time?

E.g. 5. How significant was the House of Commons to the emergence of the gentry as a political force in later medieval England?

Seminar/Project Idea

Must we Return to War? Debates in the House of Commons on the Eve of the Agincourt Campaign, 1415

In the later Middle Ages it was a king’s prerogative to decide if and when to go to war. However, due to the great costs of such expeditions, the gentry present in the House of Commons had an influence on the terms by which war subsidies were granted, and they might strive for the king to seek other, diplomatic avenues before committing to war. The battlefield victory of Henry V at Agincourt in 1415 is regarded as one of the great triumphs of the English monarchy in the later Middle Ages, yet there are signs that not all members of the political community were keen to reactivate the war with France.

The purpose of this exercise is to consider some of the views that might have prevailed among the English gentry, or the political community, as they sat down to parliament in the months before the launch of the expedition. Each member of the class will represent a knight of the shire present at the parliament and be asked to consider some of the pros and cons of the campaign as the gentry of the time might have seen them. To ensure that the debate is keenly contested, the class will be divided into pro‐war and anti‐war groups.

In preparing for this debate, students are asked to bear in mind the knowledge they have gained of the history of warfare involving England in the decades before 1415. They are also asked to bear in mind the various pressures on gentry life in this period, including financial pressures, familial commitments, responsibilities in local government, and the dangers posed by war itself. They are also asked to bear in mind the gentry’s (and aristocracy’s) traditional role as defenders of the realm, as the king’s partners in government, and as the chivalric class. How might these pressures, expectations and cultural considerations have weighed on the Members’ minds? In answering such questions and in having this debate, students will be able to bring to the fore many of the key themes and ideas about gentry life discussed during the module.