Abstract：The cosntable, being the grassroots official responsible for collecting taxes and policing, played an important role in state formation of early modern England. They were mainly composed of a group of village elites who had advantages in terms of property possession, age, male parental status, and being an old tenant. Constrained by their dual roles as royal official and representative of the villagers, on the one hand, the constable identified themselves with the sate authority and actively enforced the state law; on the other hand, however, as a member of the local community, they took into account the opinions of their neighbours; sometimes they disobeyed the orders of their superiors in order to take care of the interests of the villagers. Since late 17th century, the specific composition of the constable changed, with a large number of ordinary villagers taking up the post and many members of the village elites gradually withdrawing, which made the official attributes of the constable gradually overtake the social attributes. In looking at the state formation of early modern England from the perspective of grassroots law enforcement, it is important to note that the specific circumstances under which village elites participated in grassroots law enforcement varied at different historical stages.

Key words: England; grassroots law enforcement; village elites; constable

Published on Collected Papers of History Studies, Issue 6, 2024.