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In medieval times, a page was an attendant to a nobleman, a knight, a governor or a castellan. [1] Until the age of about seven, sons of noble families would receive training in manners and basic literacy from their mothers or other female relatives.
The Duke is seen sitting at the high table surrounded by numerous servants, guests and dependants. Illustration from Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, ca 1410. The medieval household was, like modern households, the center of family life for all classes of European society.
The servants were organized into a hierarchy which was arranged in ranks according to the level of responsibility. [1] The highest rank, which reported directly to the Chief Officer and oversaw an individual Household Office, was the Sergeant. [3] The word was introduced to England by the Normans, and meant an attendant or servant. [10]
Yeoman, as a household servant, is one of the earliest documented uses of the word. During the 14th century, it referred to a servant or attendant in a royal or noble household, usually one who was of higher rank in the household hierarchy. This hierarchy reflected the feudal society in which they lived. Everyone who served a royal or noble ...
Along with the junior kitchen-maid, the scullery maid did not eat at the communal servants' dining hall table, but in the kitchen in order to keep an eye on the food that was still cooking. [ 3 ] Duties of the scullery maid included the most physical and demanding tasks in the kitchen [ 1 ] such as cleaning and scouring the floor, stoves, sinks ...
A proven seducer of a maidservant worth 15 or 25 solidi, and who is himself worth 25 solidi, would be fined 72 solidi plus the value of the maidservant. The proven abductor of a boy or girl domestic servant will be fined the value of the servant (25 or 35 solidi) plus an additional amount for lost time of use. [75]
These dogs were cared for by lowly child servants called "dog boys," who, in addition to handling all the kennel chores, had to sleep with them in the kennels all night to keep the dogs from fighting!
While life upstairs away from the servants became more relaxed with less ceremony, life downstairs became a parody of the former world upstairs. Butlers, housekeepers and cooks now became monarchs in their own small kingdoms. A strict hierarchy among the servants developed which persisted in the grander households until the 20th century.