英国社会阶层分类

英国社会阶层的演变

（一）

英国的社会阶层随着时代的变化而演变。和其他的国家（比如美国）不同的是， 英国的阶层除了钱以外，

还和口音、所用词汇，礼仪，服饰类型，以及品味有关。

一般用级别符号代表相应的阶层，比如

20

世纪的时候，

ABC1C2DE; 21

世纪

12345678

。

The

social structure

of Britain

has clearly changed with the centuries and it is difficult to adequately

discuss the topic in a single article. However, there are specific class names, castes, and categories that

are helpful to define.

General Social Castes

Some basic categories covering most of the population of Britain around the 17th century and arguably

well before and after are as follows:

British Caste

社会地位

Characteristics

were a step below husbandmen in that they had to work for others for wages.

Cottagers

佃农

and

labourers

劳工

May also include

villein

农奴佃农

Lowest order of the working castes; perhaps

vagabonds

流浪者

, drifters

流浪者

, criminals or other

outcasts

放逐者

would be

lower.

tradesman

手艺人

or farmer who either rented a home or held very little land.

Husbandman

农夫；

百姓

Some sources suggest the landholdings

占有土地

of a husbandman were about

30 acres.

The yeoman class generally included small farmers who held a reasonable

amount of land and were able to protect themselves from neighboring lords

庄

Yeoman

小地主

园主

et cetera. They played a military role as longbowmen

长弓兵（红制服高头

盔）帝国时代游戏

, et cetera.

The gentry class generally held enough assets

资产

to live on rents without

working. If they worked it was in law, as priests

神父；教士

, in politics, or in

Gentry

贵族们

various other pursuits. The term Esquire

绅士

was used for gentry who were not

/

Gentleman

绅士

knighted

骑士，武士；爵士

. Sometimes

Merchant

citizens are placed between

Yeoman and Gentry in early modern social hierarchy

。

The definition of a knight depends upon the century in which the term was

applied. In very early medieval times a knight was a common soldier. By the

Knight

/

/

Lawyer

seventeenth century a knight was a member of the gentry, and the military role

would be one of sheriff

州长

of a county, or organizing a larger body of military

forces.

Baronet

/

Knight

A baronet was not a peer, but the title of knight was hereditary for a baronet.

(hereditary knight, non

peer)

The peers were generally large land holders, surviving solely off assets, sat in

Peer

(

Noble

/

Archbishop

)

the House of Lords and either held court or played a role in court depending

upon the time frame referenced.

Royal

王室；王室成员

A member of the royal family, a prince, a close relative of the queen or king.

A non land-holding farmer was a husbandman. In feudal times, this person likely would have been a serf

农奴；奴隶

, and paid a large portion of his work or produce to the land holding lord. In the early medieval

era the knight was more or less a common soldier. Later as cavalry

骑兵；

装甲兵；

装甲部 队

became more

important the knight's role became more associated with wealth. By the 17th century, the knight was a

large land owner, and likely a lawyer, priest, or official

官员

of some sort.

sociologists define social class as the grouping of people by occupation, and some groups are

given more status in society than others. British society is generally thought to be divided

into three main groups - the upper class, middle class, and lower or working class. in fact the

differences between the various classes are changing all the time, and there is a lot of blurring

of classes.

Upper class man: I look down on him because I am upper class.

Middle class man: I look up to him because he is upper class but I look down on him because

he is lower class. I am middle class.

Working class man: I know my place. I look up to them both but I don’t look up to him as

much as I look up to him because he has got innate breeding.

在英国现代社会，教师、图书馆馆长、足球俱乐部理、饭店老板、警官等已经高居社会的上层，而名门 望

族未必是通向上层社会的通行证。

1911

年，

英国进行全国人口普查时把社会各阶层的人以工资 收入、

社会地位和技能的差异分为

7

级 。

但是，

根据英国经济和社会研究委员会的调查，英国经济和社 会在过去

9 0

年中发生了巨大变化，原来社会阶层