本文致力于厘清国内英国史研究中未曾说清楚的社会集团——约曼的性质问题。“约曼”(yeoman)一词从13世纪到15世纪是一个具有“服役”含义的词汇。后用以指谓一个具有等级和身份规定的社会集团。约曼在英国是一个特殊的社会群体,在中世纪要承担一定的封建军事义务,到了近代,约曼地位在乡绅之下,是耕种自有土地的小地主。但这个群体的社会界限不甚明确,在社会分层中,富有的约曼与小乡绅之间没有明确的界限。到了19世纪,英国约曼处于衰落中。 This article is devoted to clarifying the nature of Joman, a social group that was not clearly articulated in the study of British history. The term “yeoman” (from the 13th century to the 15th century) is a term meaning “service”. It is used to refer to a social group with a hierarchy and status. Yeoman is a special social group in Britain. In the Middle Ages, Jordan assumed a certain feudal military obligation. In modern times, Yemen was under the gentry and was a small landowner who cultivated his own land. However, the social boundaries of this group are not clear. In the social stratification, there is no clear boundary between the rich Joman and the squire. By the 19th century, Yorkshire, England, was in decline.