The Squirearchy of Fifteenth-Century England
Abstract
Through this investigation I have attempted to trace the
consolidation of the squirearchy in the fifteenth-century. My
study has focused on the composition of the rank and its contribution to society. Long before the Tudors, these men formed
the largest element of the conservative governing class. The
squires became a recognized status group in the fourteenth-century.
In the next one hundred years they defined and improved
their position within the community.