The Fear of Downward Social Mobility in Late Medieval England

Brown, A.T.

Abstract

Studies of medieval social mobility have tended to focus upon the success of socially ambitious, generally male, careerists. Alongside this tendency to use social mobility as a synonym for upward mobility has been a tradition of assigning the most agency in creating economic change to ambitious entrepreneurs. This article redresses these imbalances by exploring status anxiety and the fear of downward mobility in late medieval England. Using the surviving letter collections of the fifteenth century together with medieval literature, this article explores not only the importance of gender and the life cycle in shaping these fears but also the subtle distinctions between status anxiety, which often accompanied positions of authority, and a fear of imminent social decline, generally precipitated by financial difficulties. Through a reconsideration of demesne lessees and fraternities and guilds, it also shows how such anxieties and fears could affect both rural and urban economic developments.

Citation

Brown, A. (2019). The Fear of Downward Social Mobility in Late Medieval England. Journal of Medieval History, 45(5), 597-617. https://doi.org/10.1080/03044181.2019.1660206

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 15, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Aug 31, 2019
• Publication Date: 2019
• Deposit Date: Oct 15, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 3, 2021
• Journal: Journal of Medieval History
• Print ISSN: 1304-4184
• Electronic ISSN: 1873-1279
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 45
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 597-617
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03044181.2019.1660206
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1345580