knights of the shire

E78888

Knights of the shire were elected county representatives in the English medieval and early modern Parliament, typically drawn from the local gentry.

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Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
Knights of the shire 0

Statements (42)

Predicate Object
instanceOf member of Parliament
parliamentary constituency representative
associatedInstitution county gentry community
associatedWith county court elections
chamber lower house
contrastedWith burgesses
citizens of boroughs
country Kingdom of England
differFrom peers of the realm
spiritual lords
documentedIn parliamentary rolls
parliamentary writs
earliestFormation 13th century
electorate county freeholders
governingMonarchs House of Plantagenet
surface form: Plantagenet dynasty

House of Stuart
surface form: Stuart dynasty

Tudor dynasty
hasPart county representatives
historicalFunction participate in lawmaking
participate in taxation decisions
represent rural interests
jurisdiction English counties
languageOfTerm English
legalStatus statutory officeholders
legislativeBody House of Commons of England
numberPerCounty usually two
originatesFrom English feudal system
partOf Parliament of England
politicalRole local interests mediation at national level
politicalSphere English constitutional history
representedAreaType county
shire
role represent counties in Parliament
selectionMethod election
socialClass gentry
status commoners
supersededBy modern Members of Parliament for county constituencies
timePeriod Middle Ages
early modern period
titleIndicates knightly or gentle status
typicalBackground local landowning gentry
votingQualification 40-shilling freehold

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

House of Commons of England composition knights of the shire
Parliament of England hasMember knights of the shire
Model Parliament of 1295 significantParticipant knights of the shire