What legal test, if any, distinguished gentlemen from commoners in Tudor England?

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I only have a conjecture, it is derived from one case. But I suppose it is typical.

George Green was a miller in Nottingham in the first half of 19th century. He owned a mill and worked in it. He was not a gentleman and could not join the Gentlemen's club. But he wanted to join, because in his spare time he did mathematics, and the Gentlemen club had the only library in the city where there were mathematical books.

So he rented his mill out. Now he made his living from the rent, that is did not work himself, and qualified as a gentleman, and joined the club. (This was the famous Green, of the Green function and Green's formula).

So I suppose that if your main income is from a wage or a small business, and you do physical labor, you are not a gentleman. If you make your living from a rent or an interest on your capital, you qualify for a gentleman. Physical labor was probably important, since doctors, lawyers and other professionals were considered gentlemen, even if they made their living from wages. And certainly, criteria could change with time, I am speaking of a very different epoch.

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