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Valet de chambre (), or varlet de chambre, was a court appointment introduced in the late Middle Ages, common from the 14th century onwards. Royal Households had many persons appointed at any time. While some valets simply waited on the patron, or looked after his clothes and other personal needs, itself potentially a powerful and lucrative position, others had more specialized functions. At the most prestigious level it could be akin to a monarch or ruler's personal secretary, as was the case of Anne de Montmorency at the court of Francis I of France.〔Reginald Blomfield and L. C., "Valet de Chambre," ''The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs'', vol. 21, no. 109 (Apr., 1912), p. 55.〕 For noblemen pursuing a career as courtiers, like Étienne de Vesc, it was a common early step on the ladder to higher offices. For some this brought entry into the lucrative court business of asking for favours on behalf of clients, and passing messages to the monarch or lord heading the court. Valets might supply specialized services of various kinds to the patron, as artists, musicians, poets, scholars, librarians, doctors or apothecaries and curators of collections. Valets comprised a mixture of nobles hoping to rise in their career, and those—often of humble origin—whose specialized abilities the monarch wanted to use or reward. ==National terms== In the English Royal Household the French term was used, whilst French was the language of the court, for example for Geoffrey Chaucer in the 1370s; but subsequently titles such as Groom of the Chamber, Groom of the Stool, and Groom of the Robes were used for people with different responsibilities.〔Groom, a word originally meaning "boy", is first used for a court office in 1464 - OED〕 The "Grooms of the Privy Chamber" and of the "Stool" were more important posts, because involving closer access, and usually held by the well-born, often knights. The "Groom-Porter"'s job was to "regulate all matters to do with gaming" at court, providing the cards, and settling disputes.〔OED "Groom-Porter", first use 1502〕 Other countries used other terms: in Italian usually ''cameriere'', in German-speaking courts ''Kammerjunker'' or ''Hofjunker'' were the usual titles, though it was ''Kammerer'' in the Austrian Habsburg court, and ''Kammerherr'' in Bavaria. In Russia Stolnik was broadly equivalent, until Peter the Great introduced new titles in 1722, after which the Камер-юнкер or ''kammerjunker'' came 11th out of 14 in the Table of Ranks. "Valet de chambre" also became used outside courts to refer to normal manservants. The title of valet enabled access to the monarch or other employer; the "chambre" originally referred to rooms such as the throne room, or the Privy chamber where the ruler conducted his more private meetings, but services extended to the bedroom as well. Sometimes, as in Spain and England, different bodies of valets were responsible for the bedroom and the daytime rooms. Often, the moment the ruler went outdoors a whole new division of staff took over. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Valet de chambre」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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