Literary notes about squire (AI summary)
In literature, the word “squire” takes on a multifaceted role that reflects both social rank and functional duty. In some works, the squire appears as a robust country gentleman—a figure of local authority and gentry—as seen in passages where his decisions and character influence the community’s fate [1, 2, 3]. In other texts, particularly in medieval narratives and chivalric romances, the term denotes the servant or attendant of a knight, charged with martial or administrative duties, as is exemplified in Homer’s epics and Arthurian legends [4, 5, 6, 7]. Furthermore, the word is used by several authors with a comic or satirical bent, portraying the squire as a lively or even petulant character who injects humor and irony into social interactions [8, 9, 10, 11]. This range of portrayals—from the honorable aide in battle to the humorous local dignitary—demonstrates the term’s versatility and enduring appeal across diverse literary genres [12, 13, 14].
- when I am at the mercy of every scribbler in the Palais Royal who covers waste paper with nonsense, or of every country squire in the kingdom.”
— from Twenty years after by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - they said he'd got no more grip o' the hoss than if his legs had been cross-sticks: my grandfather heared old Squire Cass say so many and many a time.
— from Silas Marner by George Eliot - Squire, the establisher of this coffee-house, died in 1717.
— from The Spectator, Volume 1 by Joseph Addison and Sir Richard Steele - I am his squire, and came with him in the same ship.
— from The Iliad by Homer - Then King Agamemnon sent men and mules from all parts of the camp, to bring wood, and Meriones, squire to Idomeneus, was in charge over them.
— from The Iliad by Homer - For he whose squire has been now killed is the foremost man at the ships of the Achaeans—he and his close-fighting followers.
— from The Iliad by Homer - Then King Mark armed him, and took his horse and his spear, with a squire with him.
— from Le Morte d'Arthur: Volume 1 by Sir Thomas Malory - “Nay,” added the squire, “sha't ha the sorrel mare that Sophy rode.
— from History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding - “My daughter's muff!” cries the squire in a rage.
— from History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding - just now I swear thou hast the most limited understanding that any squire in the world has or ever had.
— from The History of Don Quixote, Volume 1, Complete by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra - ‘And yet I spoke in plain English’ answered the ‘squire, with a peremptory look.
— from The Expedition of Humphry Clinker by T. Smollett - “And now,” added the doctor, “Jim may come on board with us, may he not?” “To be sure he may,” says squire.
— from Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson - "And that Don Quixote-" said our one, "had he with him a squire called Sancho Panza?"
— from Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra - some such squire he was That turn'd your wit the seamy side without, And made you to suspect me with the Moor.
— from Othello, the Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare
