Our Portrayal
Portrayal Levels:
We will aim to portray 4 levels of English society in our portrayals. The unit standards are written with these different social stations in mind. Keep in mind that social station will differ not just between families but within them: John II Paston was a titled knight, while his brother was not (as of 1469-1475). Similarly elder sons or well-married daughters of some families may be ‘gentleman’ and ‘gentlewomen’ while their younger and less advantageously wed siblings might be Yeoman. The portrayal levels of different members will be agreed upon by group consensus.
Upper Gentry/Knightly Class
This is the Paston family, including John II (a knight), John III (untitled, thus a gentleman) and their sisters, including Margaret the younger, as well as their mother Margaret.
Lower Gentry/Men At Arms
This represents those members of household who come from landholding, non-laboring families. In a military capacity, men of this class serve as men at arms. Women serve in the immediate household of women of the knightly class.
Yeoman/Upper Peasantry/Skilled Tradesman
This class represents free holding peasants and prosperous tenants. The men of this class includes those peasants wealthy enough to be required to furnish arms, and who provide most archers (with the wealthiest possibly serving as men at arms). Women of this class work as servants and in the production of textile raw materials.
Lower Peasantry
This class represents poorer peasants, almost all tenants, and some of whom have the (at this point somewhat archaic) legal status of villein. This class does not serve as frequently in the military and both genders provide menial servants and unskilled labor to Yeoman and gentlemen.
Classes not portrayed:
The Upper Nobility – the peerage – the titled aristocracy holding titles of baron and above. The very wealthiest of England, their wealth and magnificence is beyond our ability to portray.
Gender Presentation and Interpretation
We understand that modern gender identities don’t match historic ideas of gender. Further, we understand that modern people may wish to portray a 15th century figure whose gender identity and presentation are different from their modern ‘real life’ gender. All that the group requires is that gender presentations be respectful and internally consistent and present with our best scholarly understanding of 15th century ideas of gender and gender roles, regardless of the reenactors 21st century gender identity and presentation. Gender presentation should be consistent within an event.
Racial Identity and Interpretation
Similarly, while the population of Norwich in the 15th century was almost entirely of European descent, we welcome reenactors of all races. Interpretations like this are an opportunity to remind the public of the difference between our interpretation and a complete recreation of the past, and secondarily, and way to talk about different ethnic identities in the 15th century, even if they were not present in Norwich.