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Hello, the Greeks gave us the word aristocracy

It takes it through from Aristotle meaning best and cratos meaning rule or power and for more than 500 years

Britain was ruled by a class that was defined or defined itself at the time as the best

They founded their ascendancy on the twin pillars of land and heredity and in terms of privilege,

Prevent power, style and wealth. They dominated British society as the Earl of Chesterfield confidently informed the House of Lords and the mid-18th century

Quote, we my Lords may thank heaven that we've something better than our brains to depend upon

So what made the British aristocracy the most successful power elite in the world and what brought about their decline?

With me to discuss the rise and fall of the British ruling class is David Kanadine director of the University of London's Institute of Historical Research

Rosemissweet lecture in history at the University of Leicester and

Philippe Fernandez-Amester professor professor or research fellow at Queen Mary College London David Kanadine

First of all in broad terms

How did the aristocracy let's take it from say a thousand years ago?

How did it grow from the time of the normal invasion? Well, if we're taking the English and I suppose later

British aristocracy then we need to remember as your opening remarks suggest that it's tied essentially to land

land under pins

Wealth land under pins political power and land under pins high social status and also of course

To take it from the Norman conquest the other element in the early English aristocracy the first half of your millennium

is of course military service

Knightly prowess chivalry war fighting biffing each other and biffing foreigners and all of that

And so I suppose the the feudal origins if we could put it that way of our nation's aristocracy lie in that interconnection

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