Squire

For other uses, see Squire (disambiguation) and Squires (disambiguation).

Wolfram von Eschenbach and his squire (Codex Manesse, 14th century)

The Squire - Ellesmere Chaucer

In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. He was responsible for taking care of the horse and arms of the knight. Other duties included carving the knight's meat. Despite being a servant, it was a high status job and could serve as training for future knights. Many squires were hired servants with no known pedigree.

Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, a squire could be a knight's servant that fought with his lord. It could also refer to sub-knightly Men-at-Arms and was used interchangeably with valet. Over time it referred to a broad social class of men, just below the rank of knight. Eventually, a lord of the manor might come to be known as a "squire".

Terminology

Squire is a shortened version of the word esquire, from the Old French escuier (modern French écuyer), itself derived from the Late Latin scutarius ("shield bearer"), in medieval or Old English a scutifer. The Classical Latin equivalent was armiger ("arms bearer").

Serving the Knight

The duties of a squire was to take care of the knight’s armor, ensuring it was well-maintained, cleaned, and ready for battle. This also included helping the knight put on his armor. The squire was also responsible for grooming and saddling the knight’s horses. Squire would accompany their knights into battle. Additionally, a squire would serve his lord by making his bed and waiting on him during meals. A lord with multiple squires would give each squire a specific role such as squire of the chamber.

Knights in Training

A squire was typically a young boy, training to become a knight. A boy became a page at the age of 7 then a squire at age 14. Squires were the second step to becoming a knight, after having served as a page. Boys served a knight as an attendant, doing simple but important tasks such as saddling a horse or caring for the knight's weapons and armour. The squire would sometimes carry the knight's flag into battle with his master.

Landed gentry

While many squires were young men who would eventually become knights, others were of too low a rank to become a knight. These squires often still owned a manor. Some squires who were capable of becoming knights remained squires, resulting in two classes of landholding squires. A third class of squire were squires based on employment, their lord providing their military equipment. All three classes were official recognized by the tax law of 1379

If the squire owned the advowson or living (i.e. "was patron") of the parish church — and he often did — he would choose the incumbent, designated as either a rector, or if the parish had a lay rector or impropriator, who was often the squire himself, a vicar. These roles were often filled by a younger son of the squire or of another family of local gentry. Some squires also became parish incumbents themselves and were known as squarsons; a portmanteau of the words squire and parson. The squire would also have performed a number of important local duties, in particular that of Justice of the Peace or Member of Parliament.

Such was the power of the squires at this time that modern historians have created the term 'squirearchy'. Lords of the manor held the rank of esquire by prescription.

In literature

The later form of squire as a gentleman appears in much of English literature, for example in the form of Squire Trelawney in Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. William Makepeace Thackeray depicted a squire in Vanity Fair as a lecherous, ill-educated, badly mannered relic of an earlier age. However, he clearly shows their control of the life of the parish. Others include Squire Hamley in Elizabeth Gaskell's Wives and Daughters and Squire Allworthy (based on Ralph Allen) in the novel Tom Jones by Henry Fielding, who was himself a squire and magistrate. There is also a notable squire in Cormac McCarthy's Outer Dark and Charles Reade's 1856 novel It is Never Too Late to Mend, where the squire uses his authority to abuse the postal and judicial services. In the Aubrey-Maturin series of novels by Patrick O'Brian, Jack Aubrey's father, General Aubrey and later Jack himself, are typical squires.

Mary Ann Evans, alias George Eliot, includes Squire Cass as a character in her novel Silas Marner. One of the main characters of Anthony Trollope's Doctor Thorne, published in 1858, is Squire Francis Newbold Gresham. Sherlock Holmes' ancestors are mentioned to be country squires in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories.

As an informal term

The term squire is sometimes used, particularly in London and its environs, by men when addressing another man. Although historically used to a man perceived as being of higher social class (similar to guvnor), its modern usage is often ironic with friendly humorous intent due to it being something of an anachronism. The original usage in conversations between people of different social classes crops up frequently in comedy sketches by Monty Python, such as: "What can I do for you, squire?".

See also

• Silahdar