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Gentleman Usher
Gentleman Usher and Lady Usher are titles for some officers of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. Historically the Gentlemen Ushers were among the most senior officials of the king's Chamber, next in rank only to the Chamberlain and the Vice-Chamberlain; their role was first documented in the fifteenth century (for a list of office-holders from the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 up to the present day, see List of Lady and Gentleman Ushers).
Gentleman Ushers were originally a class of servants found not only in the Royal Household, but in lesser establishments as well. They were regularly found in the households of Tudor noblemen, and were prescribed by Richard Brathwait, in his Household of an Earle, as one of the "officers and Servants the state of an Earle requireth to have".
In a noble household, the Gentleman Usher occupied an intermediate level between the steward (the usual head) and the ordinary servants; they were responsible for overseeing the work of the servants "above stairs", particularly those who cooked and waited upon the nobleman at meals, and saw to it the great chamber was kept clean by the lesser servants. He was also responsible for overseeing other miscellaneous service, such as the care of the nobleman's chapel and bed-chambers. It was traditionally the Gentleman Usher who swore in new members of the nobleman's service.
The duties of a Gentleman Usher, not unlike those of a contemporary butler, made him quite important in Tudor and 17th-century households. George Chapman's play The Gentleman Usher has as its title character the pompous but easily fooled Bassiolo, Gentleman Usher to Lord Lasso. Henry VIII gave an usher's position and fee to the Italian merchant Leonardo Frescobaldi.
The service of Gentleman Ushers at Court is attested since the fifteenth century. The Black Book of the Household of King Edward IV lists four Gentlemen Ushers of the Chamber, "whereof one or two continually sitteth at meats and suppers in the King's chamber, to see every thing done in due order, and to keep silence". Among other duties, the ushers were required to keep a tally of all food, drink and other items consumed in the Chamber and to provide a record of the same to the counting house daily.
Under Henry VII the duties of the Gentlemen Ushers were set out in more detail: for example, at least one usher was required to be in attendance every day, wherever the King was, to 'keep the door' between the hours of 8am and nightfall, during which time they were to "suffer no stranger to come in without the commandment of the Lord Chamberlain, or his deputy, or one of the King's council". The Gentlemen Ushers were high-ranking courtiers at this time, it being enjoined that "in the absence of the chamberlain, the usher shall have the same power to command in like manner". Prior to the Interregnum, Gentlemen Ushers carried a short white staff, half the length of that of the Lord Chamberlain, as a symbol of their authority.
Under Henry VIII the Gentleman Ushers were separated into three classes: Gentleman Ushers of the Privy Chamber, Gentleman Ushers Daily Waiters and Gentleman Ushers Quarter Waiters:
Yeomen Ushers were also employed, who were junior to the Gentlemen Ushers and performed more menial tasks; these were later integrated into the establishment of the Yeomen of the Guard.
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Gentleman Usher AI simulator
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Gentleman Usher
Gentleman Usher and Lady Usher are titles for some officers of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. Historically the Gentlemen Ushers were among the most senior officials of the king's Chamber, next in rank only to the Chamberlain and the Vice-Chamberlain; their role was first documented in the fifteenth century (for a list of office-holders from the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 up to the present day, see List of Lady and Gentleman Ushers).
Gentleman Ushers were originally a class of servants found not only in the Royal Household, but in lesser establishments as well. They were regularly found in the households of Tudor noblemen, and were prescribed by Richard Brathwait, in his Household of an Earle, as one of the "officers and Servants the state of an Earle requireth to have".
In a noble household, the Gentleman Usher occupied an intermediate level between the steward (the usual head) and the ordinary servants; they were responsible for overseeing the work of the servants "above stairs", particularly those who cooked and waited upon the nobleman at meals, and saw to it the great chamber was kept clean by the lesser servants. He was also responsible for overseeing other miscellaneous service, such as the care of the nobleman's chapel and bed-chambers. It was traditionally the Gentleman Usher who swore in new members of the nobleman's service.
The duties of a Gentleman Usher, not unlike those of a contemporary butler, made him quite important in Tudor and 17th-century households. George Chapman's play The Gentleman Usher has as its title character the pompous but easily fooled Bassiolo, Gentleman Usher to Lord Lasso. Henry VIII gave an usher's position and fee to the Italian merchant Leonardo Frescobaldi.
The service of Gentleman Ushers at Court is attested since the fifteenth century. The Black Book of the Household of King Edward IV lists four Gentlemen Ushers of the Chamber, "whereof one or two continually sitteth at meats and suppers in the King's chamber, to see every thing done in due order, and to keep silence". Among other duties, the ushers were required to keep a tally of all food, drink and other items consumed in the Chamber and to provide a record of the same to the counting house daily.
Under Henry VII the duties of the Gentlemen Ushers were set out in more detail: for example, at least one usher was required to be in attendance every day, wherever the King was, to 'keep the door' between the hours of 8am and nightfall, during which time they were to "suffer no stranger to come in without the commandment of the Lord Chamberlain, or his deputy, or one of the King's council". The Gentlemen Ushers were high-ranking courtiers at this time, it being enjoined that "in the absence of the chamberlain, the usher shall have the same power to command in like manner". Prior to the Interregnum, Gentlemen Ushers carried a short white staff, half the length of that of the Lord Chamberlain, as a symbol of their authority.
Under Henry VIII the Gentleman Ushers were separated into three classes: Gentleman Ushers of the Privy Chamber, Gentleman Ushers Daily Waiters and Gentleman Ushers Quarter Waiters:
Yeomen Ushers were also employed, who were junior to the Gentlemen Ushers and performed more menial tasks; these were later integrated into the establishment of the Yeomen of the Guard.