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Gentry (origin Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past.〔.〕〔.〕 ''Gentry'', in its widest connotation, refers to people of good social position connected to landed estates (see manorialism), upper levels of the clergy, and "gentle" families of long descent who never obtained the official right to bear a coat of arms. In the United Kingdom, the term often refers to the social class of the landed aristocracy or to the minor aristocracy (see landed gentry) whose income derives from their large landholdings.〔.〕 The idea of ''gentry'' in the continental sense of "noblesse" is extinct in common parlance in England, despite the efforts of enthusiasts to revive it.〔.〕〔.〕 Though the untitled nobility in England are normally termed ''gentry'', the older sense of "nobility" is that of a quality identical to gentry. The fundamental social division in most parts of Europe in the Middle Ages was between the "nobiles", i.e., the tenants in chivalry (whether counts, barons, knights, esquires or franklins), and the "ignobles", i.e., the villeins, citizens and burgesses. The division into nobles and ignobles in smaller regions of Europe in the Middle Ages was less exact due to a more rudimentary feudal order. After the Reformation, intermingling between the noble class and the often hereditary clerical upper class became a distinctive feature in several Nordic countries. Besides the gentry there have been other analogous traditional elites. The adjective ''patrician'' ("of or like a person of high social rank")〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url= http://dictionary.cambridge.org/search/british/?q=patrician )〕 for example describes most closely members of the governing elites found within metropolitan areas like the mediaeval free cities of Italy (Venice, Genoa), the free imperial cities of Germany and Switzerland, and the areas of the Hanseatic League, which, by virtue of their urban milieu, differed from the gentry (though many also had rural residences). == The historical background of social stratification in the Western world == The Indo-Europeans who settled Europe, Western Asia and the Indian subcontinent conceived their societies to be ordered (not divided) in a tripartite fashion, the three parts being castes.〔Mallory, J.P. ''In search of the Indo-Europeans'' Thames & Hudson (1991) p131〕 Castes came to be further divided, perhaps as a result of greater specialisation. The "classic" formulation of the caste system as largely described by Georges Dumézil was that of a priestly or religiously occupied caste, a warrior caste, and a worker caste. Dumézil divided the Proto-Indo-Europeans into three categories: sovereignty, military, and productivity (see Trifunctional hypothesis). He further subdivided sovereignty into two distinct and complementary sub-parts. One part was formal, juridical, and priestly, but rooted in this world. The other was powerful, unpredictable, and also priestly, but rooted in the "other", the supernatural and spiritual world. The second main division was connected with the use of force, the military, and war. Finally, there was a third group, ruled by the other two, whose role was productivity: herding, farming, and crafts. This system of caste roles can be seen in the castes which flourished on the Indian subcontinent and amongst the Italic peoples. Examples of the Indo-European castes: * Indo-Iranian – Brahmin/Athravan, Kshatriyas/Rathaestar, Vaishyas * Roman – Flamines, Milites, Quirites * Celtic – Druids, Equites, Plebes (according to Julius Caesar) * Anglo-Saxon – Gebedmen (prayer-men), Fyrdmen (army-men), Weorcmen (workmen) (according to Alfred the Great) * Slavic – Volkhvs, Voin, Krestyanin/Smerd * Nordic – Earl, Churl, Thrall (according to the Lay of Rig) * Greece (Attica) – Eupatridae, Geomori, Demiurgi * Greece (Sparta) – Homoioi, Perioeci, Helots Kings were born out of the warrior or noble class. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「gentry」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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