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Gentlemen
''Gentleman'' (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man; abbreviated ''gent.'') is a term for a chivalrous, courteous, or honorable man. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the rank of ''gentleman'' comprised the younger sons of the younger sons of peers, and the younger sons of a baronet, a knight, and an esquire, in perpetual succession. As such, the connotation of the term ''gentleman'' captures the common denominator of gentility (and often a coat of arms); a right shared by the peerage and the gentry, the constituent classes of the British nobility. Thus, the English social category of ''gentleman'' corresponds to the French ''gentilhomme'' (nobleman), which in Great Britain meant a member of the peerage of England. English historian Maurice Keen further clarifies this point, stating that, in this context, the social category of gentleman is "the nearest contemporary ...
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Esquire
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman and below the rank of knight. Some sources cite that the title was bestowed on "candidates for knighthood in England", this title is also reserved for those in a high respected band and even used with respect to other dignitaries, such as justices of the peace, sheriffs, and sergeants. The 1826 edition of William Blackstone's '' Commentaries on the Laws of England'' reiterated that "the title should be limited to those only who bear an office of trust under the Crown and who are styled esquires by the king in their commissions and appointments; and all, I conceive, who are once honoured by the king with the title of esquire have a right to that distinction for life." By the early 20th century, however, ''esquire'' was being used as a g ...
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Yeoman
Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of Serfdom, servants in an Peerage of England, English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in Kingdom of England, mid-14th-century England. The 14th century witnessed the rise of the yeoman English longbow, longbow Archery, archers during the Hundred Years' War, and the yeoman outlaws celebrated in the Robin Hood ballads. Yeomen joined the English Navy during the Hundred Years' War as Sailor, seamen and archers. In the early 15th century, yeoman was the rank of chivalry between Page (servant), page and squire. By the late 17th century, yeoman became a rank in the Royal Navy for the common seamen who were in charge of ship's stores, such as foodstuffs, gunpowder, and sails. References to the emerging social stratum of wealthy land-owning commoners began to appear after 1429. In that year, the Parliament of England re-organized the House of Commons of Englan ...
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British Nobility
The British nobility is made up of the peerage and the gentry of the British Isles. Though the UK is today a constitutional monarchy with strong democratic elements, historically the British Isles were more predisposed towards aristocratic governance in which power was largely inherited and shared amongst a noble class. The nobility of the four constituent home nations and crown dependencies therefore has played a major role in shaping the history of the British Isles, and remnants of this nobility exist throughout the UK's social structure and institutions. Traditionally, the British nobility rank directly below the British royal family. In the modern era, this ranking is more of a formally recognised social dignity, rather than something conveying practical authority; however, through bodies such as the House of Lords, the nature of some offices in the Royal Household, and British property law, the British nobility retain some aspects of political and legal power. The vast ...
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Chivalrous
Chivalry, or the chivalric language, is an informal and varying code of conduct that developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It is associated with the medieval Christian institution of knighthood, with knights being members of various chivalric orders, and with knights' and gentlemen's behaviours which were governed by chivalrous social codes. The ideals of chivalry were popularized in medieval literature, particularly the literary cycles known as the Matter of France, relating to the legendary companions of Charlemagne and his men-at-arms, the paladins, and the Matter of Britain, informed by Geoffrey of Monmouth's , written in the 1130s, which popularized the legend of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table. The code of chivalry that developed in medieval Europe had its roots in earlier centuries. It arose in the Carolingian Empire from the idealisation of the cavalryman—involving military bravery, individual training, and service to others—especially in Francia ...
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Armiger
In heraldry, an armiger is a (natural or juridical) person entitled to use a heraldic achievement (e.g., bear arms, an "armour-bearer") either by hereditary right, grant, matriculation, or assumption of arms. Such a person is said to be armigerous; a family or a clan likewise. Etymology The Latin word literally means "arms-bearer". In high and late medieval England, the word referred to an esquire attendant upon a knight, but bearing his own unique armorial device. was also used as a Latin cognomen, and is now found as a rare surname in English-speaking countries. Modern period Today, the term ''armiger'' is well-defined only within jurisdictions, such as Canada, the Republic of Ireland, Kenya, South Africa, Malta, Spain, and the United Kingdom, where heraldry is regulated by the state or a heraldic body, such as the College of Arms, the Chief Herald of Canada, the Court of the Lord Lyon or the Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland. A person can be so entitled either by ...
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Orders Of Precedence In The United Kingdom
The order of precedence in the United Kingdom is the sequential hierarchy for Peers of the Realm, officers of state, senior members of the clergy, holders of the various Orders of Chivalry, and is mostly determined, but not limited to, birth order, place in the line of succession, or distance from the reigning monarch. The order of precedence can also be applied to other persons in the three legal jurisdictions within the United Kingdom: * England and Wales * Scotland * Northern Ireland Separate orders exist for males and females. Determination of precedence The order of precedence is determined by various methods. The House of Lords Precedence Act 1539 (which technically applies only to determine seating in the House of Lords Chamber) and the Acts of Union with Scotland and Ireland generally set precedence for members of the nobility. The statutes of the various Orders of Chivalry set precedence for their members. In other cases, precedence may be decided by the sovereign's orde ...
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Landed Gentry
The landed gentry, or the gentry (sometimes collectively known as the squirearchy), is a largely historical Irish and British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a country estate. It is the British element of the wider European class of gentry. While part of the British aristocracy, and usually armigers, the gentry ranked below the British peerage (or "titled nobility") in social status. Nevertheless, their economic base in land was often similar, and some of the landed gentry were wealthier than some peers. Many gentry were close relatives of peers, and it was not uncommon for gentry to marry into peerage. With or without noble title, owning rural land estates often brought with it the legal rights of the feudal lordship of the manor, and the less formal name or title of ''squire'', in Scotland laird. Generally lands passed by primogeniture, while the inheritances of daughters and younger sons were in cash or stocks ...
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Baronet
A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th century; however, in its current usage it was created by James VI and I, James I of England in 1611 as a means of raising funds for the crown. Baronets rank below barons, but seemingly above all grand cross, knights grand cross, knight commander, knights commander and knight bachelor, knights bachelor of the British order of chivalry, chivalric orders, that are in turn below in chivalric United Kingdom order of precedence, precedence than the most senior British chivalric orders of the order of the Garter, Garter and the order of the Thistle, Thistle. Like all British knights, baronets are addressed as "Sir" and baronetesses as "Dame". They are conventionally seen to belong to the lesser nobility, although William Thoms in 1844 wrote tha ...
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James II Of England
James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1685, until he was deposed in the 1688 Glorious Revolution. The last Catholic monarch of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, his reign is now remembered primarily for conflicts over religion. However, it also involved struggles over the principles of Absolute monarchy, absolutism and divine right of kings, with his deposition ending a century of political and civil strife by confirming the primacy of the English Parliament over the Crown. James was the second surviving son of Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France, and was created Duke of York at birth. He succeeded to the throne aged 51 with widespread support. The general public were reluctant to undermine the principle ...
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Jean De Meun
Jean de Meun (or de Meung, ) () was a French author best known for his continuation of the '' Roman de la Rose''. Life He was born Jean Clopinel or Jean Chopinel at Meung-sur-Loire. Tradition asserts that he studied at the University of Paris. He was, like his contemporary, Rutebeuf, a defender of Guillaume de Saint-Amour and a bitter critic of the mendicant orders. Jean de Meung says that in his youth he composed songs that were sung in every public place and school in France. Most of his life seems to have been spent in Paris, where he possessed, in the Rue Saint-Jacques, a house with a tower, court and garden, which was described in 1305 as the house of the late Jean de Meun, and was then bestowed by a certain Adam d'Andely on the Dominicans. He was buried in the now-demolished church of Paris's Dominican monastery, which was also on Rue Saint-Jacques. ''Roman de la Rose'' In the enumeration of his own works he places first his continuation of the ''Roman de la Rose'' o ...
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Tatler (1709)
''The Tatler'' was a British literary and society journal begun by Richard Steele in 1709 and published for two years. It represented a new approach to journalism, featuring cultivated essays on contemporary manners, and established the pattern that would be copied in such British classics as Addison and Steele's ''The Spectator'', Samuel Johnson's '' The Rambler'' and '' The Idler'', and Goldsmith's ''Citizen of the World''. ''The Tatler'' would also influence essayists as late as Charles Lamb and William Hazlitt. Addison and Steele liquidated ''The Tatler'' in order to make a fresh start with the similar ''Spectator'', and the collected issues of ''Tatler'' are usually published in the same volume as the collected ''Spectator''. 1709 journal ''The Tatler'' was founded in 1709 by Richard Steele, who used the pen name " Isaac Bickerstaff, Esquire". This is the first known such consistently adopted journalistic ''persona'', which adapted to the first person, as it were, th ...
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Richard Steele
Sir Richard Steele ( – 1 September 1729) was an Anglo-Irish writer, playwright and politician best known as the co-founder of the magazine ''The Spectator (1711), The Spectator'' alongside his close friend Joseph Addison. Early life Steele was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1671 to Richard Steele, a wealthy attorney, and Elinor Symes (''née'' Sheyles); his sister Katherine was born the previous year. He was the grandson of William Steele (Lord Chancellor of Ireland), Sir William Steele, Lord Chancellor of Ireland and his first wife Elizabeth Godfrey. His father lived at Mountown House, Monkstown, County Dublin. His mother, of whose family background little is known, was described as "a very beautiful woman, of a noble spirit". His father died when he was four, and his mother a year later. Steele was largely raised by his uncle and aunt, Henry Gascoigne (secretary to James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde), and Lady Katherine Mildmay. A member of the Protestant gentry, he was edu ...
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