  == What tenure did they hold?==  Definition 3 in this article, from the 16th and 17th centuries, of 'small prosperous farmer'. I'm wondering does anybody know what tenure they held their land under? I am doing Google searches for 'Yeomen' 'Tenures' 'Maitland' 'Coke' 'Littleton' and so forth but I cannot find any information about their tenure. Free socage? Tenant in Capite? In a nutshell, I am finding in the sixteenth century men referred to as 'yeomen' but I am also finding that the same manor had no tenants serving under specified tenures. Consequently, if I can find out what tenures they were granted land on I can argue strongly that the person who termed these men 'Yeomen' was misrepresenting the reality (in terms which he obviously understood better). I'd be very grateful for any reading or help on this. That misrepresentation (and other factors indicate it is a misrepresentation) does have quite significant consequences of our understanding of that past. Thanks.  