The English 'Proto-Gentry' in the Reigns of Edward I and Edward II

Recent research suggests that the 13th and 14th centuries were key to the development and formation of gentry identity in later medieval England. Notions of gentility certainly existed in this period; yet the term ‘gentry’ as used by modern historians is a construct and the divergent historiographical traditions within gentry studies make it difficult to ascertain with any certitude who the gentry were, how they perceived themselves and the world around them, and their influence on and interaction with their surroundings. In short, there is little agreement on the essence of gentry identity and the stages by which that identity became more precisely defined. In this paper an attempt is made to survey the main schools of thought in gentry studies over the last two to three decades, the extent to which these schools of thought diverge or intersect, and where this leaves gentry studies going forward. The focus is primarily on the reigns of Edward I and Edward II, a time when according to the researches of Professor Peter Coss, a ‘proto‐gentry’ began to materialise in England.