YO
Yoman, seemeth to be one word made by contraction of two Danish words (young men) which I gather out of Canutus Charter of the Forest set out out by M. Manwood, parte prim. fol. prim. num. 2. in these words. Sunt sub quolibet horum quatuor ex mediocribus ho∣minibus quos Angli Legespend) ••uncupant, Dani vero (yong men) vecaut, locati, qui cu∣ram et onus tum vi••id••s tum veneris suscipiant. These M. Cambden in his Britan. pag. 105. placeth next in order to Gentlemen, calling them (Iugenuos) whose opinion the Statute af∣firmeth, anno 6 R. 2. cap. 4 Whereunto adde the Statute, anno 20. ejusdem Regis, cap. 2. Sir Thomas Smith, in his Repub. Anglor, lib. prim. cap. 23. calleth him a Yoman, whom our Laws call legalem hominem: which (as he saith) is in English a ••ee man born, that may di∣spend of his own free land, in yearly revenue, to the sum of 40 shillings sterling. Of these he writeth a good large discourse, touching their estate and use in this Common wealth. The former etymologie of the name he liketh not, making question whether it come of the Dutch (Yonger) yea or not, which in the Low-countries signifieth a mean Gentleman, or a gay fellow; but he that hath added the marginal notes to that book, seemeth to draw it from the Saxons (Geman) which signifieth a maried man. M. Verstegan in his restitu∣tion of decayed intelligence, cap. 10. writeth that (Gemen) among the antient Teutonicks, and (Germein) among the modern, signifieth as much, as common, and that the first Letter G. is in this word, as in many others turned into Y. and so writeth Yemen; and that there∣fore Yemen, or Yeomen signifieth so much as Commoner. Yoman signifieth an Officer in the Kings house, which is in the middle place be∣tween the Sergeant and the Groom: as Yoman of the Chaundry; and Yoman of the Scullery, an. 33 Hen. 8. cap. 12. Yoman of the Crown, anno 3 Ed. 4. cap. 5. & anno 22 ejusdem, cap. 1. & anno 4 H. 7. cap. 7. This word (Yong∣men) is used for Yomen in the Statute, anno 33 H. 8. cap. 10.
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