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yeoman |
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yeoman (yō`mən), class in English society. The term has always been ill-defined, but generally it means a freeholder of a lower status than gentleman who cultivates his own land. With the breakdown of medieval systems of tenure the numbers of this class increased and formed the basis for a rural middle class. Certain retainers of a fairly high rank in noble households were also called yeomen, and thus the name was given to specific branches of the royal household, e.g., Yeomen of the Horse or Yeomen of the Guard Yeomen of the Guard, bodyguard, now ceremonial in function, of the sovereign of England. When the guard was originated by Henry VII in 1485, its members had numerous duties as defenders of the king's person and household functionaries. ..... Click the link for more information. . The yeoman foot soldiers of the Hundred Years War were the troops most personally in the service of the king. The more modern military use of the term dates from the 18th cent., when voluntary cavalry units called the yeomanry were used to suppress riots. From 1794 they were organized into regiments. Their service in the South African War (1899–1902) earned them the name Imperial Yeomanry, and in 1907 they became a part of the Territorial Army. yeoman 1. History a. a member of a class of small freeholders of common birth who cultivated their own land b. an assistant or other subordinate to an official, such as a sheriff, or to a craftsman or trader c. an attendant or lesser official in a royal or noble household 2. (in Britain) another name for yeoman of the guard How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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One noontide I was by Franklin Swinton's gate, when up he rides with a yeoman pricker at his heels. Some there are, however, of this rank upon whom passion exercises its tyranny, and hurries them far beyond the bounds which decorum prescribes; of these the ladies are as much distinguished by their noble intrepidity, and a certain superior contempt of reputation, from the frail ones of meaner degree, as a virtuous woman of quality is by the elegance and delicacy of her sentiments from the honest wife of a yeoman and shopkeeper. It breeds as quickly as the yeoman, and as soundly; strong is the temptation to acclaim it as a super-yeoman, who carries his country's virtue overseas. |
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