Gentry (Themiclesia)
The Themiclesian gentry (百姓, prêk-sjêngh; lit. "the many tribes") are a class of families closely associated with public office and political power, typically possessing large amounts of land and tenancies. Though initially associated with specific settlements, their political influence expanded together with the centralization of politics and was instrumental in shaping early national identity in Themiclesia. In the Hexarchy, their support often determined cities' loyalties to competing monarchs, and later they formed royal administrations centrally and locally, holding sufficient power to depose monarchs or ruling houses. After the 16th century, the gentry grew to encompass notables in commerce who desired political access, and the Great Settlement of 1801 has been called a gentry revolution that resulted in constitutional democracy in 1845.
Name
The Shinasthana term sjêngh (姓) has a broad range of derived meanings, concentrating on common heritage. In Themiclesian usage, the term implies social organization based on common descent, but more nebulously compared to words like tsok (族), which means a descent group, usually patrilineal, that acts as a tangible political or even military unit. In this sense, the word sjêngh is comparable to the Sylvan word tribus "tribe" or Kyrian word phratry (φρατρία) "kinfold", which are communal identities reckoned upon common descent that may not be clearly traceable or adhere to a common nucleus of authority. The word prêk, lit. "hundred", is used figuratively to mean a multitude of tribes.
The Anglian name "gentry" has two etymologies. On the one hand, certain Casaterran authors writing about Themiclesia during the medieval period thought the powerful families that dominated the royal court bore a certain resemblance to contemporary Casaterran nobility and translated sjêngh or "clan" into Sylvan gens, whence the Sylvanate term "gentry". On the other hand, more recent authors have also compared the distinct class of economically well-off, politically active network of families that hold both national and local influences to an upper or middle class in Casaterra, and thus applied the contemporary term "gentry" to them as well.
Antiquity
Medieval period
Modern period
In 1604, the royal court commanded that the gentry registry be re-invigorated in each prefecture, removing those who perennially lived in other places. This is the usually considered the final reform that gave rise to the modern gentry system, which Casaterran ethnographies described as the "noble, high-ranking men in each prefecture" (homines in praefecturis nobiles et superi). Starting from the reign of Emperor Gwidh-mjen in 1680, there was a greater emphasis on participation in administration as a characteristic of the gentry, though it was not a requisite factor as in the medieval period. In 1703, Gwidh-mjen ordered the sons of the gentry either join his army or the administration and imposed a fine on those who refused to do both.