Yeoman

A yeoman, a word of Saxon origin, is a freeholder having lands of his own to live upon. A carn of land or a plough-land which, in ancient times, was of the yearly value of five nobles, was the living of a yeoman or stokeman in legal proceedings called legales homines, common in writs of inquest. By divers statutes it had been enacted that none could qualify in any inquest, unless they had forty shillings freehold in yearly revenue but, by the statute of  Elizabeth I, every juror had to have forty pounds of lands.

These yeomen were famous for archery and manhood, and their skill and courage were eminently conspicuous in the famous battles of Poitiers and Cressy.

There are still official employments of great respectability with the title of yeoman annexed to them, notably the Yeomen of the King’s Guard, besides other positions in the Royal household, such as the Yeoman of the Stirrup, the Yeoman of the Pantry, the Yeoman of the Scullery and others.

Source:

W. Berry: Encyclopaedia of Heraldry