The Power Of Sir Thomas Smith's De Republica

De Republica Anglorum is Sir Thomas Smith’s seminal work, a striking social commentary on the order of English society in the 16th Century. It dissects in great detail the “four sorts” of the social order, and provides us with several great insights into Early Modern Englishmen’s opinions on power, social mobility and their places within society.
Sir Thomas Smith was a scholar and diplomat of the 1560s, and a man in possession of “a precocious intellect” . He came from small means, as the son of a sheep farmer, and managed to elevate his status through education, entering Cambridge from the early age of 11 to pursue law and politics. De Republica was written during his time in the French court, where he was appointed ambassador. This period
Throughout the text, Smith offers up three different definitions of power: the power of wealth and status; the power of education and knowledge; and the power over others. Firstly we shall consider the power retained from wealth and status. A huge amount of time is dedicated to describing the particulars of classifying the difference between gentlemen; Knights must have a high enough “yearly revenue…to maintain that estate” whilst gentlemen merely have to have a coat of arms that “doth make noble and known” their strong ancestry. This continues all the way down to the Yeoman (a landed man with “40s. Sterling by the year” ) and disappears completely when we reach the “fourth sort”. The labourers are cobbled together without any differentiation, so farm labourers and stonemasons are seen to occupy the same level, despite the vast differences in their professions and incomes. What this proves is the level of importance the “upper sorts” placed on status and wealth. There were clear, defined rules and qualifiers that determined your place within this confusing realm of gentlemen. Christopher Marsh provides us evidence for this in his ‘View from the Pew’ study, which dissects local disagreements about seating arrangements at church. A huge number of these “quarrels” took place as “the relatively powerful…competed for places” because of the connotations those places held; they were physical
The original book itself saw eleven printed editions but 1640 and was translated and republished several times over in Latin as well. It was an extremely important and valuable document to contemporaries (Robert Beale commented that “It is convenient for a secretarie to seek to understande the state of the whole realme, to have Sir Thomas Smithe's booke, althoughe ther be manie defects which by progresse of time and experience he shalbe able to spie and mend”) and is also invaluable for us now as historians. It is a clear, defined commentary on English society by a contemporary that fits perfectly into the narrative weaved by other documents of a similar nature. It also offers us insights into social mobility in this period. Social mobility is sometimes regarded as a very modern idea, so to see it at play in Smith’s writing allows us to start a discussion and encourage exploration of this idea in Early Modern society. Lastly, this document is an invaluable resource for understanding and dissecting the power dynamics of Tudor England. Power is clearly defined in several ways by Smith and these definitions can be easily applied to other interactions in different documents and sources. The framework set up in De Republica Anglorum is incredibly beneficial and valuable for us as