Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Robert de Brus I: Founder of the Family
- 2 Divided Inheritance
- 3 Lords of Skelton
- 4 Lords of Annandale
- 5 The Brus Estates in England and Scotland
- 6 Land Management and Income
- 7 Tenants, Companions and Household
- 8 Status, Kin and Patronage
- Conclusion
- Appendix 1 The Brus Barony in Yorkshire
- Appendix 2 The Brus Inheritance in the Honors of Chester and Huntingdon
- Appendix 3 The Brus Charters
- Bibliography
- Index
8 - Status, Kin and Patronage
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 September 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Robert de Brus I: Founder of the Family
- 2 Divided Inheritance
- 3 Lords of Skelton
- 4 Lords of Annandale
- 5 The Brus Estates in England and Scotland
- 6 Land Management and Income
- 7 Tenants, Companions and Household
- 8 Status, Kin and Patronage
- Conclusion
- Appendix 1 The Brus Barony in Yorkshire
- Appendix 2 The Brus Inheritance in the Honors of Chester and Huntingdon
- Appendix 3 The Brus Charters
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The aristocratic society of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries was hierarchical and ruthlessly competitive. Although it was possible to cross the boundaries which divided each level, and men could be ‘raised from the dust’ by patronage of king, magnates or Church, yet there were very clear marker posts which men ignored at their peril. It was easier to fall than to rise. In such a society it was essential to a baron's survival that he not only knew his own position within the hierarchy but made that position plain to his associates, both superior and inferior, in order that he might take whatever action was appropriate to maintain or advance his standing among his contemporaries. While status could be manifested by such outward signs as the extent of his lands, size of his household, his following and his links with the royal court, a baron still depended on the support of his peers, his own overlords, tenants and indeed his family in order to prosper. Marriage alliances were one very evident measure of a baron's position within the hierarchy, and one which was supremely dependent on the concurrence of his fellows, but other aspects of family life, such as the achievements of younger sons and sphere of religious patronage, also served as indicators of his success. Many of these, as they relate to the Bruses, have already been discussed in the earlier chapters of this study.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Brus Family in England and Scotland, 1100–1295 , pp. 156 - 180Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2005