Noblemen would still be knighted as a matter of course—for knighthood was still linked to the martial spirit of the baronial caste and its tropes of masculinity. But it also extended down to the families who were wealthy but not rich, who controlled estates but not regions, who fought in wars but did not command divisions, and whose jobs in peacetime included serving as members of Parliament, judges, sheriffs, coroners, and tax collectors. By and by, these tasks overtook military duties, to the point where gentlemen became somewhat loath to seek knighthood at all.
