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For other uses see Butler (disambiguation)

The butler is a senior servant in a large household. Usually the butler is the most senior staff member, although in the great houses of the past, the household was sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room (including the wine cellar) and pantry, and sometimes the entire parlour floor, and a housekeeper who was in charge of the whole house and its appearance. Housekeepers are occasionally portrayed in literature as being the most senior staff member and as even making recommendations for the hiring of the butler.

In modern houses where the butler is the most senior worker, titles such as Majordomo, Butler Administrator, Staff Manager, Estate Manager and Head of Household Staff are sometimes given.

The word "butler" derives from the Old French "bouteillier", (meaning "cup bearer"), from "bouteille", ("bottle"). The role of the butler, for centuries, has been that of the chief steward of a household, the attendant entrusted with the care and serving of wine and other bottled beverages (which in ancient times represented a considerable portion of the household's assets.)

In Britain the butler was originally a middle ranking member of the staff of a grand household. In the 17th and 18th centuries the butler gradually became the usually senior male member of a household's staff (in the very grandest households there was sometimes a house steward senior to the butler into the 19th century). Butlers used to always be attired in a special uniform, distinct from the livery of junior servants, but today a butler is more likely to wear a business suit or business casual clothing and appear in uniform only on special occasions.

The earliest literary mention of a butler is probably that of the man whose release from prison was predicted by Joseph in the biblical account of Joseph's interpretation of the dreams of the Pharaoh's servants.

In London there remains only one hotel which offers a private butler service, The Lanesborough Hotel.

Butlers in fiction

The real-life butler is discreet and unobtrusive. The butler of fiction, by contrast, is larger-than-life and has become a plot device in literature and a traditional role in the performing arts. Butlers provide comic relief with often wry comments, clues as to the perpetrators of various crimes and are represented as at least as intelligent, or even more so, than their “betters”. They are often portrayed as being serious and expressionless. The fictional butler is always given a typical anglo-celtic surname.

"The butler" is integral to the plot of countless potboilers and melodramas, whether or not the character has been given a name. Butlers figure so prominently in period pieces and whodunits that they can be considered stock characters in film and theatre where a catch phrase is "the butler did it!"

Notable fictional butlers

Hudson, Alfred and Crichton are among the world's most well-known fictional butlers. See List of famous fictional butlers for a list of characters who are butlers.

Notable fictional non-butlers

See valet for a list of characters who are often mistaken for butlers, but (strictly speaking) are valets, rather than butlers.

Notable non-fictional butlers

• Paul Burrell, butler to the late Diana, Princess of Wales
• Hugh Edgar, butler, The Edwardian Country House, 2002 British historical recreation TV series
• Paul Hogan, former Australian diplomat who portrays "the butler" in the US TV series Joe Millionaire
• Arthur Richard Inch, longtime real-life butler, Butler Technical Consultant for the film Gosford Park
• Ivor Spencer, Toastmaster and etiquette specialist, head of the Ivor Spencer International School for Butler Administrators/Personal Assistants and Estate Managers

See also

• Domestic worker
• maid

• Personal care and service occupations