Gentleman

Lore & Background

In the 14th century, the term gentlemen comprised the hereditary ruling class, as referenced by the rebels of the Peasants' Revolt (1381) with the rhyme: 'When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman?' In the 17th century, jurist John Selden said the title gentleman was convertible with nobilis (nobility by rank or personal quality). In the 19th century, James Henry Lawrence discussed social rank in a monarchy in his book On the Nobility of the British Gentry.

Geoffrey Chaucer, in The Tale of Melibee (composed in the late 1380s to 1400), wrote that a man should not be called a gentleman if he does not keep his good name. In the French allegorical poem The Romance of the Rose (begun around 1230 and completed around 1275), a gentleman is defined by his actions: 'He is gentil bycause he doth as longeth to a gentilman.' Richard Steele in 1710 stated that the appellation of gentleman is never affixed to a man's circumstances, but to his behaviour in them. King James I of England reportedly said, 'I could make him a nobleman, but God Almighty could not make him a gentleman.'

In the 16th century, William Harrison noted that gentlemen were those whom their race and blood, or at least their virtues, made noble and known. A gentleman usually was expected to have a coat of arms, though the coat recognised rather than created the status. William Shakespeare himself was demonstrated, by the grant of his coat of arms, to be no vagabond but a gentleman. The fundamental idea of gentry came to be the essential superiority of the fighting man, and wearing a sword on all occasions was the outward sign of a gentleman.

Reader's Guide

The concept of the gentleman evolved from a strict social rank in medieval England to a broader ideal of conduct. Originally the lowest tier of the landed gentry, the term came to denote a man of chivalry, courtesy, and honour, as emphasised by writers from Chaucer to Steele. The tension between birth and behaviour—whether a gentleman is made by blood or by deeds—remained unresolved, with Selden noting that no charter could make a gentleman. The coat of arms served as definitive proof of gentility but recognised rather than conferred the status. In East Asia, the Confucian Jūnzǐ similarly combined hereditary elitism with ethical obligations of moral cultivation, ritual, filial piety, and humanity. In the Antebellum Southern United States, the Southern gentleman was expected to protect honour and property, with Robert E. Lee defining a true gentleman by the forbearing use of power. The term's ambiguity persists: 'to behave like a gentleman' can imply praise or criticism depending on context.

Did You Know?

• The term gentleman originally ranked below an esquire and above a yeoman in the English landed gentry.
• King James I of England reportedly said he could make a man a nobleman but not a gentleman.
• William Shakespeare was granted a coat of arms to demonstrate he was no vagabond but a gentleman.
• In Confucianism, the Jūnzǐ (gentleman) is the opposite of the Xiǎorén, or petty person.