yeomen

Yeomen are a historical social class that arose in medieval England. They were freeholders who owned land of modest size and were not part of the nobility. As a rural middle class, yeomen often managed farms, served in local offices, and supported the local economy and militia.

Origins of the term are debated. It appears in Middle English and is linked to independence and service, denoting someone free to bear arms. In practice, yeomen varied in wealth but typically owned enough land to sustain a household.

In late medieval and early modern England, yeomen formed a substantial rural middle class. They were farmers, tenants, and sometimes local magistrates, and they contributed to military forces as archers and infantry during conflicts such as the Hundred Years' War.

Ceremonial uses survive in the Royal Household. The Yeomen of the Guard, established by Henry VII around 1485, serve as the monarch's senior ceremonial bodyguards; Yeomen Warders guard the Tower of London and are a separate corps.

In the United States, a different sense developed. The term ‘yeoman farmer’ described independent smallholders who owned their land and produced for market, a concept associated with Jeffersonian democracy and rural virtue in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Today, yeoman is often used metaphorically to mean a diligent, reliable worker, or to describe supportive staff. The word remains prominent in historical discussions of rural society and in ceremonial or literary contexts.