Earls ruled over an area smaller than a county and were responsible for administering affairs within their appointed area. Their wives were addressed as Countesses.
Still lower in the peerage hierarchy were the Viscounts and Lords. The Viscounts authority was more limited than the Earls but their area of domain has no recognized identity. Lords, meanwhile, were the lowest rank in the peerage. Lords in England possessed minimal administrative authority. The value of being a Lord was in being a member of the peerage and being able to pass such honor on to one's children.
The landed gentry in England consisted of three groups: Baronet, Knights and Esquires. Baronets were unique to England. It was largely an honorary title created by the King to collect monies from landed gentry hoping to increase their prestige. The title could be passed on to one's children.
The next level of peerage, Knights, comprised the fighting unit of most medieval armies. Knights may or may not own land but owed allegiance to their local Lord. The power of the knights varied considerably...
Knights could not confer their title upon their children but they did possess the power to award knighthood upon any other man.
The final levels of the landed gentry were known as esquires or simply gentlemen. These individuals provided services to the local knights in the form of being personal servants, apprentices, and attendants.
The bottom of the social scale in 16th century England was the commoners. By far the largest group this group included peasants and serfs, merchants and most artists and craftsman of the time. This group was forbidden to bear arms and essentially had no rights of any kind.
Works Cited
Adonis, Andrew. Marking Aristocracy Work: The peerage and the political system. Oxford: Clarendon, 1993.
Cokayne, George E. The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant. St. Catherine Press, 1959.
Debrett, John. The Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 8th edit. F.C. Rivington, et al., 1812.
