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The English Gentry and Military Service, 1300–1450
Author(s) -
King Andy
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
history compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.121
H-Index - 1
ISSN - 1478-0542
DOI - 10.1111/hic3.12196
Subject(s) - gentry , feudalism , heraldry , history , period (music) , service (business) , military service , class (philosophy) , classics , law , genealogy , psychology , political science , archaeology , economy , art , aesthetics , artificial intelligence , politics , computer science , economics
The period 1300–1450 has been seen by historians as crucial to the formation of the English social class, which would become known as the gentry. This was also a period when England was heavily engaged in warfare, with the Anglo‐Scottish wars and the Hundred Years War against France. The essay will survey the various approaches historians have taken to assess the changing relationship between concepts of gentility, the gentry and military service in late‐medieval England. It will discuss the contribution of research into subjects such as heraldry and the county community; how the question relates to the slowly reviving debate about ‘bastard feudalism’; and the impact of computer databases on research.