Valet

This article is about the term for male servants. For the village in Iran, seeValet, Iran.For valets in professional wrestling, seeValet (wrestling).

"Varlet" redirects here. For other uses, seeVarlet (disambiguation).

A 17th-centuryvalet de chambre

Avaletorvarletis a maleservantwho serves as personal attendant to his employer. In theMiddle AgesandAncien Régime,valet de chambrewas a role for juniorcourtiersand specialists such as artists in aroyal court,but the term "valet" by itself most often refers to a normal servant responsible for the clothes and personal belongings of an employer, and making minor arrangements. In the United States, the term most often refers to aparking valet,and the role is often confused with abutler.

Word origins

In English,valetas "personal man-servant" is recorded since 1567, though use of the term in the French-speaking English medieval court is older, and the variant formvarletis cited from 1456 (OED). Both are French importations ofvaletorvarlet(the "t" being silent in modern French), Old French variants ofvaslet"man's servant", originally "squire, young man", assumed to be from Gallo-RomanceVulgar Latin*vassellittus"young nobleman, squire, page", diminutive ofMedieval Latinvassallus,fromvassus"servant", possibly cognate to anOld Celticrootwasso-"young man, squire" (source of Welshgwas"youth, servant", Bretongoaz"servant, vassal, man", Irishfoss"servant" ). Seeyeoman,possibly derived fromyonge man,a related term.

The modern use is usually short for thevalet de chambre(French for "room valet", in modern terms the bedroom, though not originally so), described in the following section.

Since the 16th century, the word has traditionally been pronounced as rhyming withpallet,though an alternative pronunciation, rhyming witharrayandallay,as in French, is now common, particularly in the United States.TheOxford English Dictionarylists both pronunciations.

Domestic valet

A valet or "gentleman's gentleman" is a gentleman's maleservant;the closest female equivalent is alady's maid.The valet performs personal services such as maintaining his employer's clothes, running his bath and perhaps (especially in the past) shaving his employer.

In agreat house,themasterof the house had his own valet, and in the very grandest great houses, other adult members of the employing family (e.g. master's sons) would also have their own valets.

At a court, even minor princes and high officials may be assigned one, but in a smaller household thebutler– themajordomoin charge of the household staff – might have to double as his employer's valet. In a bachelor's household the valet might perform lighthousekeepingduties as well.

Valets learned the skills for their role in various ways. Some began asfootmen,learning some relevant skills as part of that job, and picking up others when deputising for their master's valet, or by performing valeting tasks for his sons before they had a valet of their own, or for male guests who did not travel with a valet. Others started out as soldier-servants to army officers (batmen) orstewardsto naval officers.

Traditionally, a valet did much more than merely lay out clothes and take care of personal items. He was also responsible for making travel arrangements, dealing with any bills and handling all money matters concerning his master or his master's household.

Alexandre Bontemps,the most senior of the thirty-six valets toLouis XIV of France,was a powerful figure, who ran theChâteau de Versailles.Incourts,valet de chambrewas a position of some status, often given to artists, musicians, poets and others, who generally spent most of their time on their specialized work. The role was also, at least during the lateMiddle Agesand theRenaissance,a common first step or training period in a nobleman's career at court.

Valets, like butlers and most specialized domestic staff, have become relatively rare. A more common, though still infrequent, arrangement is the general servant performing combined roles.

A notable 20th century domestic valet wasSydney Johnsonwho served as personal valet to theDuke of Windsorand later to the businessmanMohamed Al-Fayed.

Another notable person isWalt Nauta,a former military valet, who worked at theWhite Houseand later atMar-a-LagoasDonald Trump's personal valet. On July 6, 2023, he pleaded not guilty for allegedly moving boxes of classified materials at Mar-a-Lago.

Famous fictional valets

Carving of "Bazin", the valet toAramis,ofThe Three Musketeers,was a studious person who later became a lay brother. (Thomas Nichollscarves him brushing his master's clothes whilst studyingtheology.)

See also:List of fictional butlers

• Figaro, the Count of Almaviva's valet fromBeaumarchais' playThe Marriage of Figaro(1786), as well as theMozartandRossinioperas based on it
• Leporello, valet ofDon Giovanniin the 1787 opera by Mozart
• Sam Weller,valet toSamuel PickwickinThe Pickwick Papers(1836) byCharles Dickens
• Planchet,valet toD'ArtagnanofThe Three Musketeers(1844)
• Baptistin, inThe Count of Monte Cristo(1844) byAlexandre Dumas
• Passepartout,in the 1873 novelAround the World in Eighty DaysbyJules Verne
• Smerdyakov,the valet to Fyodor Pavlovitch inThe Brothers Karamazov(1879) byFyodor Dostoyevsky
• Jeeves,created in 1915 byP. G. Wodehouse,starred in a series of stories until Wodehouse's death in 1975
• Mervyn Bunter,created in 1923 byDorothy L. Sayersin theLord Peter Wimseyseries
• George (or Georges), created byAgatha Christiein 1926, in theHercule Poirotnovels
• Edward Henry Masterman, the victim's valet and a suspect in Agatha Christie'sMurder on the Orient Express(1934)
• Kato,fictional sidekick/valet ofThe Green Hornet,created in 1936
• Pork, Gerald O'Hara's valet in the 1936 novelGone With the Wind
• Rochester van Jones (Eddie Anderson), the valet ofJack Bennyon Benny's radio and television shows, introduced in 1937
• Sisk, created inHarry Segall's 1938 play,Heaven Can Wait,which was adapted into a 1941 film,Here Comes Mr. Jordan,and other films
• Alfred Pennyworth,valet to Bruce Wayne (Batman), created byDon CameronandBob Kanein 1943
• The character "Valet" fromNo Exit(1944) byJean-Paul Sartre
• Hugo Barrett, in the 1948Robin Maughamnovella, 1958 play and 1963Joseph LoseyfilmThe Servant
• Kato,Inspector Clouseau's valet andmartial artspartner in thePink Panthermovies, introduced inA Shot in the Dark(1964)
• Giles French (Sebastian Cabot) in thesitcomFamily Affair(1966–1971)
• Hobson (SirJohn Gielgud), from the 1981 comedy filmArthur
• "Spicer" Lovejoy (David Warner), millionaire Caledon Hockley's (Billy Zane) English valet in the 1997 filmTitanic
• Probert (Derek Jacobi), in the 2001 filmGosford Park,directed byRobert Altman
• John Bates (Brendan Coyle), in the Julian Fellowes period dramaDownton Abbey(2010–2015)

Other valets

Valetis also used for people performing specific services:

• hotelvalet: an employee who performs personal services for guests.
• parking valet:a service employee who parks cars for guests, only from 1960.
• car valet: an employee who is paid to clean people's cars professionally.
• valet:aprofessional wrestlingterm for a person who accompanies a wrestler to the ring.
• jockey's valet: an employee who maintains a jockey's wardrobe and ensures the proper uniform is worn for each horse the jockey races.

Other forms of valet-like personnel include:

• Batman
• Bedder
• Dresser

Clothes valet

Main article:Clothes valet

Clothes valets are a piece of furniture also referred to as a men's valet. A majority are free standing and made out of wood.

Varlet

While in French this word remained restricted to the feudal use for a (knight's)squire,in modern English it came to be used for the various other male servants originally called va(r)let other than the gentleman's gentleman, when inliveryusually calledlackey,such as thevalet de pied('foot varlet', comparefootman). InarchaicEnglish,varletalso could mean an unprincipled man; arogue.

See also

• Chauffeur
• Footman
• Housekeeper
• Jack
• Maid
• Majordomo
• Personal assistant
• Valet boy

References

Notes

Sources

• EtymologyOnLine
• Nouveau Petit Larousse Illustré(in French, 1952)

External links

• The dictionary definition ofvaletat Wiktionary