# Footman > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Footman > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Footman.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Footman > Source revision: 1350650939 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Male domestic worker}} {{other uses}} [[File:Special Parade of the Ceremonial Horse-Drawn Carriages1.JPG|thumb|Four footmen, two standing on the rear platform of the carriage and two walking alongside the horses. The fifth person riding is a [postilion](/source/postilion). (Japan 2009)]] A '''footman''' is a male [domestic worker](/source/domestic_worker) employed mainly to wait at table or attend a [coach](/source/Coach_(carriage)) or [carriage](/source/carriage), usually dressed in [livery](/source/livery).{{r|mackaysmith}} One of the man-servant domestic positions, the footman ranks above a [hall boy](/source/hall_boy) and [page](/source/Page_(servant)), and below a [valet](/source/valet) and [butler](/source/butler), although a footman might have duties which overlap or replace those other positions.{{r|walsh1874}} Footmen were also employed to accompany carriages and coaches, either riding seated beside the [coachman](/source/coachman) or on a seat or standing board at the rear of the carriage. They also helped passengers in and out of carriages.{{r|berkebile1978}} ==Etymology== Originally in the 14th century a footman denoted a soldier or any pedestrian, later it indicated a foot servant.{{r|mackaysmith}} A running footman delivered messages.{{r|COD}} He might run beside or behind the carriages of aristocrats, running alongside the coach to make sure it was not overturned by such obstacles as ditches or tree roots.{{r|Etymonline}} A footman might also run ahead to the destination to prepare for his lord's arrival.{{r|olmert}} ==Roles== {{multiple image |perrow=1 |total_width=200 |image_style=border:none; |header = |image1 = CJCS 2015 visit to Great Britain 150613-D-VO565-018.jpg |image2 = CJCS 2015 visit to Great Britain 150613-D-VO565-022.jpg |footer = Two footmen seated at the rear of the carriage assist passengers when the carriage is not in motion. (UK 2015) }} The name was applied to a [household](/source/household) [servant](/source/domestic_worker) who waited at table and attended, rode on his employer's coach or carriage in case of untoward incidents. In many cases, a footman was expected to serve as an armed bodyguard. Many were skilled with pistols to defend their employer's coach against [highwaymen](/source/Highwayman). The ''first footman'' was the designation given to the highest-ranking servant of this class in a given household. The first footman would serve as deputy [butler](/source/butler) and act as butler in the latter's absence, although some larger houses also had an under-butler above the first footman.{{r|manorhousetv}} In a larger household, various footmen might be assigned specific duties (for which there might be a traditional sequence), such as the silver specialist. Usually the footmen performed a range of duties which included serving meals, opening and closing doors, carrying heavy items, or moving furniture for the [housemaid](/source/maid) to clean behind. The footmen might also double as [valet](/source/valet)s, especially for visiting guests.{{r|manorhousetv2}} ==Servants== [[File:Footman or groom's livery, by unnamed German makers, 1817 - Kensington Palace - London, England - DSC04020.jpg|thumb|upright|1817 footman or [groom's](/source/Groom_(profession)) [livery](/source/livery), Kensington Palace]] Male servants were paid more than female servants and footmen were something of a luxury and therefore a status symbol even among the servant-employing classes. They performed a less-essential role than the [cook](/source/cook_(domestic_worker)), [maid](/source/maid) or even [butler](/source/butler), and were employed only by the grandest households. Since a footman was for show as much as for work, his good looks were highly prized, including a tall stature and well-turned legs, shown off by the traditional footman's dress of stockings below knee [breeches](/source/breeches). Footmen were expected to be unmarried and tended to be relatively young; they might, however, progress to other posts, notably that of butler. One 19th-century footman, William Tayler, kept a diary which has been published. He was, in fact, married, but he kept it secret from his employers and visited his family only on his days off.{{r|Burnett}} Once a common position in [great house](/source/great_house)s, the footman became much rarer after World War I as fewer households could afford large [retinues](/source/retinues). The role is now virtually a historic one, although servants with this designation are still employed in the [British Royal Household](/source/British_Royal_Household), wearing a distinctive scarlet [livery](/source/livery) on state occasions.{{r|mackaysmith|pitkin|smith}} ==Famous fictional footmen== {{See also|List of fictional butlers}} [[File:A Footman Sleeping MET ep81.1.656.R.jpg|thumb|upright|''A Footman Sleeping'', 1871 by French painter [Charles Bargue](/source/Charles_Bargue)]] * In [Lewis Carroll](/source/Lewis_Carroll)'s novel ''[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland](/source/Alice's_Adventures_in_Wonderland)'', the Queen of Hearts' Fish Footman delivers an invitation to the Duchess's Frog Footman. * George ([Richard E. Grant](/source/Richard_E._Grant)), first footman in service to Sir William McCordle ([Michael Gambon](/source/Michael_Gambon)), in the 2001 film ''[Gosford Park](/source/Gosford_Park)'', directed by [Robert Altman](/source/Robert_Altman). * [Thomas Barrow](/source/List_of_Downton_Abbey_characters) ([Rob James-Collier](/source/Rob_James-Collier)) and [William Mason](/source/List_of_Downton_Abbey_characters) ([Thomas Howes](/source/Thomas_Howes_(actor))) serve as first and second footman, respectively, to [Robert Crawley](/source/List_of_Downton_Abbey_characters), Earl of Grantham ([Hugh Bonneville](/source/Hugh_Bonneville)) in the [Julian Fellowes](/source/Julian_Fellowes) period drama ''[Downton Abbey](/source/Downton_Abbey)''. ==See also== * {{Annotated link|The Only Running Footman}} * [List of obsolete occupations](/source/List_of_obsolete_occupations) ==References== {{Cite book |last=Berkebile |first=Donald H. |title=Carriage Terminology: An Historical Dictionary |year=1978 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press |isbn=9781935623434 |ol=4534466M |pages=344-345}} {{cite book|last=Burnett|first=John|title=Useful Toil: Autobiographies of working people from the 1820s to the 1920s|year=1994|edition=second|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-10399-2|pages=172 to 181}} The Concise Oxford Dictionary, {{ISBN|0-19-861132-3}} {{Cite web |title=footman(n.) |url=https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=footman |website=[Etymonline](/source/Etymonline)}} {{Cite book |last1=Mackay-Smith |first1=Alexander |last2=Druesedow |first2=Jean R. |last3=Ryder |first3=Thomas |title = Man and the Horse: An Illustrated History of Equestrian Apparel |year=1984 |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |isbn=0870994115 |ol=2859979M |pages=94, 105, 121}} {{Cite web |title=The First Footman: Daily Duties |website=PBS |series=[Manor House (TV series)](/source/Manor_House_(TV_series)) |url=https://www.pbs.org/manorhouse/thepeople/charlie_duties.html}} {{Cite web |title=Edwardian Life: A Typical Day in the House |website=PBS |series=[Manor House (TV series)](/source/Manor_House_(TV_series)) |url=https://www.pbs.org/manorhouse/edwardianlife/typical_day.html}} {{Cite book |last=Olmert |first=Michael |date=1996 |title=Milton's Teeth and Ovid's Umbrella: Curiouser & Curiouser Adventures in History |pages=87ff |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |isbn=0-684-80164-7 |ol=965427M}} {{Cite book |title=The Royal Mews: Buckingham Palace |publisher=Pitkin Pictorials |location=London |date=1972 |isbn=0853720673 |ol=24943303M |pages=9, 18}} {{cite book |title=A Dictionary of Horse Drawn Vehicles |first=D.J.M. |last=Smith |year=1988 |publisher=J. A. Allen & Co. Ltd. |isbn=0851314686 |ol=11597864M |pages=51, 154}} {{Cite book |title=A Manual of Domestic Economy: Suited to Families Spending from £150 to £1500 |first=John Henry |last=Walsh |date=1874 |publisher=George Routledge and Sons |location=New York |ol=20522365M |pages=221-223}} Category:Domestic work Category:Obsolete occupations Category:Gendered occupations --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Footman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Footman) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Footman?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.