Household knight

Neither Greek nor Latin had a word corresponding to modern-day "family". The Latin familia must be translated to "household" rather than "family". The household of ancient Rome was similar to that of medieval Europe, in that it consisted – in addition to the paterfamilias, his wife and children – of a number of clients (clientes), or dependents of the lord who would attend upon him, counsel him and receive rewards. Where it differed from its medieval equivalent was in the use of slaves rather than paid servants for the performance of menial tasks. Another difference was that, due to the relative security and peacefulness within the borders of the Roman Empire, there was little need for fortification. The aristocratic household of medieval Europe, on the other hand, was as much a military as a socio-economic unit, and from the 9th century onwards the ideal residence was the castle.

As a result of the military nature of the medieval noble household, its composition was predominately male. Towards the end of the medieval period the ratio levelled out somewhat, but at an earlier date the feminine element of the household consisted only of the lady and her daughters, their attendants, and perhaps a few domestics to perform particular tasks such as washing. Many of the male servants were purely military personnel; there would be a gatekeeper, as well as various numbers of knights and esquires to garrison the castle as a military unit. Yet many of these would also serve other functions, and there would be servants entirely devoted to domestic tasks. At the lower level, these were simply local men recruited from the localities. The higher level positions – in particular those attending on the lord – were often filled by men of rank: sons of the lord's relatives, or his retainers.

The presence of servants of noble birth imposed a social hierarchy on the household that went parallel to the hierarchy dictated by function. This second hierarchy had at its top the steward (alternatively seneschal or majordomo), who had the overriding responsibility for the domestic affairs of the household. Taking care of the personal wellbeing of the lord and his family were the Chamberlain, who was responsible for the chamber or private living-quarters, and the Master of the Wardrobe, who had the main responsibility for clothing and other domestic items.

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