Given-Wilson, C., 'The King and the Gentry in Fourteenth-Century England', Transactions of the Royal Historical Society 37 (1987), 87-102

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Quick Summary

Richard II and Henry IV forged closer bonds with the gentry to increase the influence of the crown in local politics

  • Relationship between the king and the gentry changed in the late-fourteenth century
  • The king’s ‘household knights’ were replaced with ‘chamber knights’
  • Richard II’s change of policy in 1397 paved the way to his deposition in 1399
Key Conclusion

Given-Wilson explores the relationship between the king and the gentry during the reigns of Richard II and Henry IV. The gentry were powerful land-holding families below of the rank of the nobility. Given-Wilson concludes that this relationship experienced ‘real change’ in the latter-half of the fourteenth century. Members of the gentry began to be retained by the king – a form of employment and political bond – for their ‘usefulness and influence’ in local politics rather than for the purposes of providing the king with military support. Although they continued to play a military role, this ceased to be the primary reason that the king retained members of the gentry.

Content Overview

Given-Wilson observes how the king’s ‘household knights’ – members of the gentry who primarily served the king in a military capacity – were replaced by ‘chamber knights’ in the late-fourteenth century. These chamber knights were members of the ‘upper’ gentry retained not for their military experience but for their influence in local politics and the support they could give to the king’s government (p. 97). The upper gentry were those families who held the largest estates in their counties and shared between themselves important positions in local politics (e.g. sheriff and member of parliament). The king did not often participate in warfare during the late-fourteenth century, so the ‘system of household knights was allowed to disintegrate’ (p. 93).

Further Findings

Richard II and Henry IV’s policy of cultivating bonds with the upper gentry to exercise a more direct influence in local politics provides a contrast with the policy of Edward II and Edward III who trusted the nobility to act their lieutenants in local politics. Given-Wilson observes an attempt by Richard II in the late-fourteenth century to exercise ‘direct royal influence within the shire’, which is usually seen as one of the principal aims of the early Tudor kings (p. 102). The article also highlights how, in 1397, Richard II abandoned his policy of recruiting gentry widely in the shires, and consequently was unable to resist Henry IV’s invasion in 1399 for lack of gentry support (p. 95).

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