<Articles>Establishment of the Baronetcy and Its Influence on Local Communities in Early Modern England

DOI HANDLE Web Site Open Access

Bibliographic Information

Other Title
  • <論説>準男爵位の設置とその意義
  • 準男爵位の設置とその意義
  • ジュンダンシャクイ ノ セッチ ト ソノ イギ

Search this article

Abstract

In 1611, James I created the order of the baronet. However, the gentry shunned this honour from its initiation up to the Restoration. What was the reason for this? By investigating the process by which a baronetcy was established and the social strata of its purchasers, this paper re-examines the significance of titles for political society in early modern England. While some historians such as J. Aylmer and J. Brewer have studied offices sold by monarchs, there have been few studies focusing on the titles of honour. L. Stone's The Crisis of the Aristocracy, 1558-1641 is the only authoritative study on this subject. He argues that the rapid increase in conferring titles by James I and Charles I diminished their prestige and this inflation of honour helped promote social mobility. This book was written to refute the thesis by H. Trever-Roper, who criticized R.H. Tawney's idea of 'the rise of the gentry'. Later, it was shown that there were serious faults in the assumptions of both sides in the 'gentry controversy', and the dispute ended without a clear resolution. However, consideration of social strata during this period has not lost their significance. This paper will critically review Stone's assertion, focusing on the baronetcy. Since his succession to the English throne, James suffered from a lack of funds. Baronetcies were originally introduced and began to be sold to make up the deficit, but the official stated aim of this policy was to contribute to promoting the plantation of Ulster. At first, the King and his councillors intended to set the maximum number of titles at 200 to prevent their deterioration in value. However, in the 1620s, this promise was broken and peerages also began to be sold. Moreover, the original scheme of a direct cash payment of £1095 to the Exchequer was abandoned, and the virtual authority to make baronetcies was granted to courtiers to be resold. As a result, the actual lowest selling price for this title fell to about £200. We first must inquire how this downward trend in prices affected the social strata of the purchasers. The results of a survey using the Complete Baronetage edited by G.E. Cokayne shows that the social estates of families that purchased baronetcies overall began to decline. On establishment of the order, the chief purchasers were holders of knighthoods, but this trend gradually shifted to esquires. While a large proportion of early purchasers were already MPs before acquiring the title, many of those acquiring a title from 1615 to 1624 were elected MPs afterwards, and few of those who obtained one from 1626 to 1630 got parliamentary seats at some point in their lives. How did the depreciation of this title affect local communities? To examine this problem, we take up two counties, Kent and Norfolk, and investigate herald visitations and a preceding topographical survey. The result shows that although in the 1620s the status of families who were granted a title dropped according to the fall in the title's value, there was not a great social gulf between the purchasers in 1610s and those in the 1620s. The acquisition of the baronetcy enhanced mobility to a certain extent within these social strata, but it should not be imagined that acquiring a baronetcy gave esquires, let alone yeomen, a great opportunity to achieve advancement in social rank. Still, it is necessary to consider regional variations in the influence of obtaining a baronetcy. In Kent, where the conflicts among families of the gentry rarely occurred in the later 16th century, the pressure to acquire a baronetcy did not increase. On the other hand, in Norfolk, where prominent families had been struggling for power since the 1570s, more applicants aspired to the honour. This survey seems to show that situations peculiar to each region had an influence on the extent to which the social and political value of baronetcy decreased. Even if these regional differences are considered, it can be confirmed that an inflatio

Journal

  • 史林

    史林 98 (6), 838-870, 2015-11-30

    THE SHIGAKU KENKYUKAI (The Society of Historical Research), Kyoto University

Related Projects

See more

Keywords

Details 詳細情報について

Report a problem

Back to top