Analogia honorum, or, A treatise of honour and nobility, according to the laws and customes of England collected out of the most authentick authors, both ancient and modern : in two parts : the first containing honour military, and relateth to war, the second, honour civil, and relateth

THE DEFINITION OR DESCRIPTION OF THE GENTRY OR Civil Nobility OF ENGLAND. CHAP. XXVI.

GEntleman, Generosus, seemeth to be made of two words, the one French (Gentil) honestus vel ho∣nesta parente natus; the other Saxon (Man) as if you would say a man well born: And under this name are all comprized, that are above Yeomen and Ar∣tificers; so that Nobles are truly called Gentle∣men. By the Course and Custome of Eng∣land, Nobility is either Major or Minor. Major contains all Titles and Degrees from Knighthood upwards. Minor all from Barons downwards.

Gentlemen have their beginning either of Blood, as that they are born of worshipful Pa∣rents; or that they have done something wor∣thy in Peace or War, whereby they deserve to bear Arms, and to be accounted Gentlemen. But in these days he is a Gentleman, who is commonly so taken. And whosoever studieth the Laws of this Realm, who studieth in the University, who professeth Liberal Sciences, and to be short, who can live without Manual Labour, and will bear the port, charge, and countenance of a Gentleman, he shall be cal∣led

[illustration]

M^r. William Mainstone Alias Mayneston of y^e. Citty of London Merchant, Lineally descended from Thomas Mainston of Vrchinfield in Herefordshire Gent: Temps Edw: y^e. 3^d. now Maried to Penelope Daughte•• To S^r: Thomas Iones of Shrewsbury in y^e•• County of Salop K^t. one of y^e. Iustices of his mat^ys. Court of K-Bench

[illustration]

Iohn Bourne of More feilds in the parish of S^t. Leonards Shoreditch in Middz D^r. in Phisicks•• non maried to Eleanor daughter of George Shyres of Wakefield in Yorkshir Batche•••••• in Divinity.

[illustration]

Iohn Rowe of y^e. Citty of Bristoll Gen^t. Lineally descended from: y^e. antient: family of y^e. Rowes of Windley hill: in Derbyshire: Which Said Iohn is now maried: to Lucy Sister & Coheyre of An••thony Hungerford Son & heyre: of Antho∣ny Hūgerford of y^e. Lea in Wiltshire Esq:

[illustration]

M^r. Peter Vandeput of the Citty of London Merchant:

[illustration]

Iohn Btome of Sevenoke in Kent Gen^t.: Ric••ard Btome of Chobham in the Parish of Westham in Ess•••••• Gen^t.:

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Richard Whitworth of Adbaston in the County of Stafford Gentleman.

[illustration]

M^r. Iohn Vanheck of y^e. Citty of London Merchant descended of a Dutchfamily of that name:

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This C••at•• Armour•• •• borne by the Stanleys of Devonshire: and is Engraven at the Charge of M^r. Edward Stanley of Bamstable in the S^d•• County, agreat Lover of Heral∣dry, and Promoter of Publique Vndertakeings:

[illustration]

Nicholas Eyre of London Gent: Descended from a Antient Family of that name

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Iohn Farrington of y^e. Citty of London Merchant descended of y^e. Farringtons of Verdon near Faringtonheath in Lancashire. a Family of good Account and Antiquity.

[illustration]

Iohn Gregorie of S^t. Margarets Westminster in Middle∣sex Gentleman son of Leiutenant Collonell William Gregorie of East Stockwith in Lincolnshire Esq a great sufferer for his ma^ty. in y^e. Late Vnhappy warrs.

[illustration]

M^r. Thomas Shaw of the Citty of London Merchant now Maried to Deborah daughter of Roger Reeva Late Cittizen of London.

[illustration]

R••lph Marshall Gen̄t. Secretary to th•• R^•. hon^ble William Earle of Craven, des••n∣••ded: from y^e. family: of y^e. Marshalls of yorkshire

[illustration]

Fran••is Lunde of Parsons Green in y^e. Parish of Fūtham in Middlesex Gen̄t. descended fr••m y^e Family of Lunde in y^e. County of Yorke••

[illustration]

••••chard Stratford of Hawling and nether Ge•••• 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Glocestershire Gen^t, descended from the•• Ancient family of y^e. Stra••fords of Farmc•••• ••n the Said County.

[illustration]

Thomas Glover of Raine Hill in Lancashire•• Gen^t. now Maried to Rebecca daughter of Ninian Buther Staplehurst in Kent Gen^t.

Master, and shall be taken for a Gentle∣man; for true it is with us, tanti eris aliis, quanti tibi fueris: And if need be, a King at Arms shall grant him a Patent for a new Coat, if that there is none that of right doth apper∣tain unto him from his Ancestors; and if so, confirm that upon him. But some men make a question, whether this manner of making Gentlemen is to be allowed of or no: And it may seem that it is not amiss; For first, the Prince loseth nothing by it, as he should do if it were in France; for the Yeoman or Hus∣bandman is no more subject to Tail or Tax in England than the Gentleman: But on the o∣ther side, in every payment to the King the Gentleman is more charged, which he beareth with content; and in any Shew, Muster, or other particular Charge of the Town or Coun∣ty where he dwelleth, he is at a greater Ex∣pence for the preservation of his Honour: And for the outward shew, in all respects he deports himself like a Gentleman: and if he be called to the Wars, whatsoever it cost him, he must appear well accoutred, have his attendance, and shew a more manly Courage and tokens of a generous Education, by which means he shall purchase a greater Fame. For as touching the Policy and Government of the Common∣wealth, it is not those that have to do with it, which will magnifie themselves, and go above their Estates, but they that are appointed Ma∣gistrates, &c. are persons tried and well known. See Sir Thomas Smith Repub. Angl. Chap. of Esquires and Gentlemen. In the five and twentieth of Queen Elizabeth the Case was, That whereas it is required by this Statute of the first of Henry the Fifth, Chap. 5. That in every Writ, Original Process, &c. in which a∣ny Exigit shall be awarded, that Additions should be given unto the Defendant of their Estate and Degree, &c. And the Case was, That one was a Yeoman by his Birth, and yet commonly called and reputed a Gentleman; and yet it was adjudged, That a Writ might be brought against him with the addition of Gentleman, for so much as the Intention of the Action is to have such a Name given by which he may be known: This is sufficient to satisfie the Law, and the Act of Parliament; for nomen dicitur, quia notitiam facit.

But if a Gentleman be sued by addition of Husbandman, he may say he is a Gentleman, and demand Judgment of the Writ without saying (and not Husbandman;) For a Gentle∣man may be a Husbandman, but he shall be sued by his Addition most worthy: For a Gentle∣man of what Estate soever he be, although he go to plough and common labour for his main∣tenance, yet he is a Gentleman, and shall not be named in legal Proceedings Yeoman, Hus∣bandman, or Labourer.

If a Gentleman be bound an Apprentice to a Merchant, or other Trade, he hath not there∣by lost his Degree of Gentility.

But if a Recovery be had against a Gentle∣man by the name of a Yeoman, in which case no Action is necessary, then it is no Error: So if any Deed or Obligation be made to him by the name of Yeoman.

If a Capias go against A. B. Yeoman, and if the Sheriff take A. B. Gentleman, an Acti∣on of false imprisonment lieth against the She∣riff: But if A. B. Yeoman be Indicted, and A. B. Gentleman be produced, being the same man intended, it is good.

If a man be a Gentleman by Office only, and loseth the same, then doth he also lose his Gentility.

By the Statute 5 Eliz. chap. 4. intituled An Act touching Orders for Artificers, Labour∣ers, Servants of Husbandry, and Apprenti∣ces, amongst other things it is declared, That a Gentleman born, &c. shall not be compelled to serve in Husbandry. If any Falcon be lost, and is found, it shall be brought to the Sheriff, who must make Proclamation, and if the own∣er come not within four Months, then if the ••inder be a simple man, the Sheriff may keep the Hawk, making agreement with him that took him: But if he be a Gentleman, and of Estate to have and keep a Falcon, then the Sheriff ought to deliver to him the said Falcon, taking of him reasonable costs for the time that he had him in Custody.

A Commission is made to take Children into Cathedral Churches, &c. one in anothers pla∣ces, where Children are instructed to sing for the furnishing of the King's Chappel: These general words, by construction of Law, have a reasonable intendment, viz. That such Chil∣dren, who be brought up and taught to sing to get their living by it, those may be taken for the King's Service in his Chappel, and it shall be a good preferment to them; but the Sons of Gentlemen, or any other that are taught to sing for their Ornament or Recreation, and not merely for their livelyhoods, may not be taken against their Wills, or the consent of their Pa∣rents and Friends. And so it was resolved by the two Chief Justices, and all the Court of Star-Chamber, Anno 43 Eliz. in the Case of one Evans, who had by colour of such Let∣ters Patents taken the Son of one Clifton a Gentlemen of quality in Norfolk, who was taught to sing for his Recreation; which E∣vans for the same offence was grievously pu∣nished.

And to the end it may withal appear, what Degrees of Nobility and Gentry were in the Realm before the coming of the Normans, and by what merits men might ascend, and be promoted to the same, I will here set down the Copy of an English or Saxon Antiquity, which you may read in Lambert's Perambu∣lation of Kent, fol. 364. and Englished thus:

It was sometimes in the English Laws, That the People and Laws were in Reputation, and then were the wisest of the People worship-worthy

each in his degree, Earl and Churle, Theyne and Undertheyne. And if a Churle so thrived, that he had fully five Hides of Land of his own, a Church and a Kitchin, a Bell∣house and a Gate, a Seat and a several Of∣fice in the King's Hall, then was he thenceforth the Theynes right-worthy: And if a Theyne so thrived, that he served the King on his Jour∣ney, rode in his Houshold, if he then had a Theyne which him followed, who to the King's Expectation five Hides had, and in the King's Palace his Lord served, and thrice with his Errand had gone to the King, he might afterwards with his fore-oath his Lord's part play at any need; and of a Theyne that he became an Earl, then was thenceforth an Earl rightworthy. And if a Merchant-man so thri∣ved, that he passed over the wide Sea thrice of his own Craft, he was thenceforth the Theynes right-worthy. And if a Scholar so thrived through Learning, that he had degree and ser∣ved Christ, he was thenceforth of Dignity and Peace so much worthy, as thereunto be∣longed, unless he forfeit, so that he the use of his Degree remit.

It is observed, That the Saxons out of all those Trades of life which be conversant in gain, admit to the Estate of Gentry such only, as encreased by honest Husbandry or plentiful Merchandize. Of the first of which Cicero affirmeth, that there is nothing meeter for a freeborn man, nor no man fitter to make bra∣ver Souldier: And of the other, that 'tis prize-worthy also, if at the length, being satisfied with gain, as it hath often come from the Sea to the Haven, so it changeth from the Haven into Lands and Possessions. And therefore whereas Gervasius Tilburiensis in his Obser∣vations of the Exchequer, accounted it an a∣busing of a Gentleman to occupy publicum mercimonium, common buying and selling; it ought to be referred to the other two parts of Merchandize, that is to a Negotiation, which is retailing and keeping of an open shop, and to a Function, which is to exercise Mercery, or as some call it, to play the Chapman, and not to Navigation, which (as you see) is the only laudable part of all buying and selling.

And again, whereas by the Statute of Mag∣na Charta, chap. 6. and Merton, chap. 7. it was a discouragement for a Ward in Chivalry, which in old time was as much as to say a Gen∣tleman, to be married to the Daughter of a Bur∣gess; I think that it ought to be restrained to such only as professed Handycrafts, or those baser Arts of buying and selling to get their li∣ving by. But to shew how much the case is now altered for the honour of Tradesmen, it may be remembred, that Henry the Eighth thought it no disparagement to him, when he quitted his Queen, to take Anne the Daughter of Thomas Bullen, sometime Mayor of London, to his Wife.

The Statute of Westminster 2. chap. 1. which was made in the Thirteenth of King Edward the First, was procured especially at the desire of Gentlemen, for the preservation of their Lands and Hereditaments, together with their Surnames and Families; and therefore one calleth this Statute Gentilitium municipa∣le; and the Lawyers call it Ius Taliatum & Taliabile.

The Children only of Gentlemen were wont to be admitted into the Inns of Court, and thereby it came to pass, that there was scant any man found (in former ages) within the Realm skilful and cunning in the Law, ex∣cept he were a Gentleman born, and came of a good House; for they, more than any other, have a special care of their Nobility, and to the preservation of their Honour and Fame: For in these Inns of Court are (or at leastwise should be) Vertues studied, and Vices exiled; so that for the endowment of Vertue, and a∣bandoning of Vice, Knights and Barons, with other States and Noblemen of the Realm, place their Children in those Inns, though they de∣sire not to have them learned in the Laws, nor to have them live by the practise thereof, but only upon their Parents allowance.

You have heard how cheap Gentility is pur∣chased by the Common Law: but if you look more strictly unto the perfection thereof, you will find it more honourable; for Gentlemen well descended and qualified, have always been of such repute in England, that none of the higher Nobility, no nor the King himself, have thought it any disparagement to make them their Companions. Therefore I shall set down the priviledges due unto them, ac∣cording to the Laws of Honour, as I find them collected out of Sir Iohn Ferne, Sir William Segar, Mr. Carter in his Analysis of Honour, and other good Authors: It is thus found.

The Priviledges of the Gentry.

• 1. PRo honore sustinendo; If a Churle or Peasant do detract from the honour of Gentleman, he hath a remedy in Law, actione injuriarum; but if by one Gentleman to ano∣ther, the Combat was anciently allowed.
• 2. In equal Crimes a Gentleman shall be pu∣nishable with more favour than the Churle, provided the Crime be not Heresie, Treason, or excessive Contumacy.
• 3. The many Observances and Ceremonial Respects, that a Gentleman is and ought to be honoured with by the Churle or Ungentle.
• 4. In giving Evidence, the Testimony of a Gentleman is more authentick than a Clowns.
• 5. In Election of Magistrates and Officers by Vote, the Suffrage of a Gentleman should take place of an Ignoble Person.
• 6. A Gentleman should be excused from base Services, Impositions and Duties both Real and Personal.
• ...

• 7. A ••••ntleman condemned to death ought not to be ••anged, but beheaded, and his Exa∣mination taken without Torture.
• 8. To take down the Coat-Armour of any Gentleman, to deface his Monument, or offer Violence to any Ensign of the de••eased Noble, is as to lay buffets on the face of him if alive, and punishment is due accordingly.
• 9. A Clown may not Challenge a Gentle∣man to Combat, quia conditiones ••mpares.

Many other are the Priviledges due to Gen∣tlemen, which I forbear to repeat, referring the Reader to the Books before cited.

For the protection and defence of this Civil Dignity they have three Laws: The first, Ius agnitionis, the right or law of descent for the kindred of the Father's side: The second, Ius Stirpis, for the Family in general: The third, Ius Gentilitatis, a law for the descent in Noble Families, which Tully esteemed most excellent; by which Law a Gentleman of Blood and Coat-Armour perfectly possessing Vertue was only priviledged.

To make that perfection in Blood, a Lineal Descent from Atavus, Proavus, Avus, and Pa∣ter on the Fathers side was required; and as much on his Mothers line; than he is not only a Gentleman of perfect Blood, but of his An∣cestors too. The neglect of which Laws hath introduced other sorts of Gentleman, viz. men that assume that Dignity, but are neither so by Blood nor Coat-Armour: which style only hur∣ries them to an unruly pride, which indeed is but rude and false honour, termed by Sir Iohn Ferne Apocriphate, and debarred of all privi∣ledge of Gentility. These Gentlemen nomine non re, saith he, are the Students of Law, Grooms of his Majesties Palace, Sons of Churls made Priests or Canons, &c. or such as have re∣ceived Degrees in Schools, or born Office in the City, by which they are styled Gentlemen, yet have they no right to Coat-Armour by reason thereof.

As to the Student of the Law, Sir I. Ferne allows him the best a••••urance of his title of Gen∣tleman of all these irregular Gentlemen, as he terms them, because he is named in some Acts of Parliament; yet (he saith) he is also debar∣red of all honour and priviledge by the Law of Arms.

And anciently none were admitted into the Inns o•• Court (as before noted) but such as were Gentlem•••• 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Blood, be their merits ne∣ver so great: ••or were the Church Dignities and Preferments bestowed indifferently a∣mongst the Vulgar. The Jews confined their Prie••••hood to a Family; but Ieroboam debased it in his Kingdom, by preferring the basest of his people to the best of duties. The Russians and some other Nations admit none to the study of the Law but Gentlemens younger Sons. The decayed Families in France are supported and receive new life from the Court, Camp, Law and Ecclesiastical Preferments; take the most solemn and serious, who contemn the World; if such are wanting, to fill up their Vacancies the Ingeniouser sort of the Plebeans are admitted: by which means their Church and State is in e••••eem and reverence, being fil∣led most commonly with the best Blood and Noblest by Birth amongst them; whereas with us every Clown, that can spare but mony to bring up his Son ••or any of those Studies, be∣reaves the Gentry of those Benefices, and robs them of their support; which grand abuse is the cause of the general Corruption in the State Civil and Ecclesiastick; whereas were this preferment made peculiar to the Gentry, they would stand more upon their Honour, and live without being a Burthen to their Relati∣ons.

The Atchievement of a Gentleman hath no difference with that of an Esquire, both their Helmets being close and sideways.