Walter Alison Phillips

“ At the outset, “valet” had meant no more than “youth” or “boy.” Thus Wace in the Roman de Rou (III. v. 2903) , speaking of William the Conqueror, says: Guillaume fu vadlet petiz (“William was a little boy”) . The various developments of the word are closely parallel with those of some of its synonyms. Youth suggested both strength and service, the qualifications for nobility in a primitive society, where service in arms was the title to rank. ”

“ Ger. degen, “warrior,” A.S. thegn, “thane”; “child” itself was applied in the 13th and 14th centuries to young men of gentle birth awaiting knighthood, as a title of dignity, and was perhaps a translation of valet (see Child) , with which may be compared the Spanish infanzon and German junker. So, too, cniht (a “lad” or “servant”) , becomes first a warrior and then develops into a title of dignity as “knight,” while in Germany the parallel word knecht remains as “servant.” But valet has also shared with other synonyms a downward development. ”

“ Puer (boy) was early used, as a synonym for vassus, of the soldiers of the Frankish bodyguard (pueri ad ministerium) ; the Greek τέκνον (“child”) is etymologically related to O.H. Ger. degan, M.H. and Mod. ”