Gentry and the classical heritage. The case of William Worcester

Abstract

We know that the gentry appreciated frst of all practical knowledge and education; they had no particular interest in ancient history and culture. In this article, the author tries to analyze what ffteenth century gentry thought about those, – who belonged to their social group, but who dared to read Greek and Roman philosophers, to buy books and to do other impractical things. The main sources are the Paston letters. The ‘main character' is William Worcester — a member of the gentry, a famous antiquary, a bibliophile, and author of Itinerarium, Annales Rerum Anglicarum and other works. The results of the analysis are as follows. William of Worcester's example shows that for ffteenth century gentry reading ancient authors and French books could be quite a “worshipful” hobby, however, an exact measure of interest did not exist. The boundaries of the permitted varied depending on the fnancial viability of the “scholar” and on his social rank. The confdant of a magnate could represent himself as a refned intellectual who treasured books above all earthly blessings; a person deprived of such support had to demonstrate pragmatism.