In the early seventeenth century four categories were distinguished concerned with the political nation: the nobility; the gentry; the citizens, burgesses, and yeomen; and ’the fourth sort of men who do not rule’. The latter formed no part of the political nation. Rank and status remained powerful through out the centuries. The vital dividing line was that which separated the gentlemen from the common people. In practice the dividing line was drawn as much by reference to such informal criteria as behaviour, education, or way of life. (Introduction)