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").

Squire=

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.

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.

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.

See also

• Silahdar