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SERJEANT

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Originally appearing in Volume V24, Page 672 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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SERJEANT . or SERGEANT (from See also:

Lat. serviens, servire, to serve, through O. Fr. sergant, serjant, mod. Fr. sergent), the See also:

TITLE (0. Fr. title, mod. titre, from Lat. titulus)

title (i) of a non-commissioned officer in the See also:

army and of a sub-See also:

ORDINATE

ordinate officer of See also:

POLICE (Fr. police, government, civil administration, a police force, Gr. sroXumeia, constitution, condition of a state, roars, city, state)

police; (2) of certain officials of the royal See also:

HOUSEHOLD, ROYAL

household (see Serjeants-at-arms, below). (3) The name was also given formerly to the highest See also:

RANK (O.Fr. rant or rent, mod. rang, generally connected with the O.E. and O.H.G. bring, a ring)

rank of barristers in See also:

England and See also:

Ireland (see SERJEANT-AT-See also:

LAW). In the See also:

MIDDLE

middle ages serviens had a variety of applications all connoting the sense of service, from the serviens de See also:

PANE (Fr. pan, Lat. pannus, a cloth, garment)

pane et See also:

MENSA

mensa, the domestic servant of a monastery, to the servientes de armis, the serjeants-at-arms (Fr. sergeans d'armes) of monarchs, the servientes (sergeans) who were the apparitors of the See also:

French See also:

king, and vassals who held by a See also:

SPECIAL

special service (See also:

SERJEANTY

serjeanty, q.v.). The serjeants (fratres servientes) formed also an important See also:

DIVISION (from Lat. dividere, to break up into parts, separate)

division of the See also:

GREAT

great military orders (see See also:

SAINT (lat. sanctus, " holy ")

SAINT See also:

JOHN OF See also:

JERUSALEM, KNIGHTS OF THE See also:

ORDER OF, and See also:

TEMPLARS

TEMPLARS). Du Cange (Glossarium, s.v. " Serviens ") gives many other instances. 1. Military Title.—In its See also:

early military uses the word implied a subordinate, and it is not clear how it came to be used for a See also:

minor See also:

COMMANDER

commander. The "serjeants " of See also:

ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary See also:

MEDIEVAL

medieval armies were the heavy-armed (generally See also:

MERCENARY (Lat. mercenarius, from merces, reward, gain)

mercenary) See also:

CAVALRY (Fr. cavalerie, Ger. Kavallerie or Reiterei, derived ultimately from late Lat. caballus, horse)

cavalry or men-at-arms. In the 15th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century it became usual to sub-See also:

DIVIDE

divide troops of all sorts into See also:

groups of dissimilar combatants, graded amongst themselves according to military or social importance.

Thus a " See also:

LANCE

lance," or See also:

GROUP

group, might consist of a heavy-armed lancer (See also:

man-at-arms), a mounted and a See also:

FOOT

foot See also:

ARCHER, WILLIAM (1856— )

archer and an armed See also:

VALET (Fr. valet; O. Fr. vaslet)

valet, and the " serjeant " would be its most important member. But the See also:

general See also:

EVOLUTION

evolution of armies led to their being classed by arms and grouped in more homogeneous regiments. Under such an organization the title of the group-See also:

LEADER, BENJAMIN WILLIAMS (1831– )

leader lost its cavalry significance and became specifically Lhe designation of an See also:

INFANTRY

infantry rank. From the cavalry it disappeared altogether, the titles " See also:

CORPORAL

corporal of See also:

HORSE (a word common to Teutonic languages in such forms as hors, hros, ros; cf. the Ger. ross)

horse," " marechal See also:

des logis," &c., taking its See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place. In 16th and 17th century armies the title serjeant is found amongst the highest ranks of an army. With a partial return to the old meaning it signifies, in all its forms, an See also:

EXPERT (Lat. expertus, from experiri, to try)

expert professional soldier, the serjeant of a See also:

COMPANY

company, the serjeant-See also:

major of a See also:

REGIMENT (from Late Latin regimentum, rule, regere, to rule, govern, direct)

regiment and the serjeant-major-general of the army (these last the originals of the See also:

MODERN

modern ranks, major and major-general) being charged with all duties pertaining to the arraying, camping and See also:

DRILL

drill of their See also:

units. In modern armies the word serjeant is used of a non-commissioned officer ranking between corporal and serjeant-major. A " lance-serjeant " is a corporal holding the See also:

APPOINTMENT, POWER OF

appointment and performing the duties, but not having the rank of serjeant. The serjeant-major in the See also:

BRITISH

British service is a " See also:

WARRANT (Med. Lat. warantum; O. Fr. garant, warant, derived from O.H.G. root represented in modern German bygewdhren)

warrant-officer," although in the cavalry and See also:

ARTILLERY (the O. Fr. artiller, to equip with engines of war, probably comes from Late Lat. articulum, dim. of ars, art, cf. " engine " from ingenium, or of artus, joint)

artillery the ranks of " See also:

TROOP (an adaptation of Fr. troupe, O. Fr. trope; cf. Ital. troppa, troppa; Med. Lat. truppus; the origin is doubtful; suggestions have been made that it represents a German conception of Latin turba, crowd, or is an adaptation of Norw. tarp, flock)

troop," " See also:

SQUADRON

squadron " or " See also:

BATTERY (Fr. batterie, from battles, to beat)

battery serjeant-major " are non-commissioned and correspond to the " See also:

COLOUR (Lat. color, connected with celare, to hide, the root meaning, therefore, being that of a covering)

colour-serjeant " of infantry. This last officer is the See also:

SENIOR, NASSAU WILLIAM (1790-1864)

senior non-commissioned officer of a company, and has, besides his duties in the colour-party, the pay and accounting See also:

WORK

work of his unit. The former " corporal of horse " and " corporal-major " still survive in the British Household Cavalry. In See also:

Germany, See also:

Austria and See also:

Russia the regimental serjeant-majors of infantry and cavalry are styled Feldwebel and Wachtmeister respectively, while in See also:

France the titles are adjuaant and marechal des logis or marechal des logis chef.

2. Serjeants-at-Arms.—In the British royal household there are eight serjeants-at-arms, whose duties are ceremonial; they have to be in attendance only at See also:

DRAWING

drawing-rooms, levees, See also:

state balls and state concerts. There are also two other serjeants-atarms to whom special duties are assigned, the one attending the See also:

SPEAKER

Speaker of the See also:

House of See also:

COMMONS

Commons and the other the See also:

lord See also:

CHANCELLOR (M. Eng. and Anglo-Fr. canceler, chanceler, Fr. chancelier, Lat. cancellarius)

chancellor in the House of Lords, carrying their maces and executing their orders. The Speaker's serjeant-at-arms is the disciplinary officer of the House of Commons, whose See also:

DUTY (from " due," that which is owing, O. Fr. deu, dil, past participle of devoir; Lat. debere, debitum; cf. " debt ")

duty it is to expel members at the order of the Speaker and to See also:

ARREST (Fr. arrester, arreeter, to stop or stay)

arrest and keep in custody those persons condemned to this See also:

PUNISHMENT (from Lat. punire, to punish, from poena, punishment, Gr. 7rocvil)

punishment by the authority of the House. The serjeants-at-arms have no special See also:

UNIFORM

uniform. At See also:

court they See also:

WEAR

wear any See also:

NAVAL

naval, military or See also:

CIVIL

civil uniform to which they may be entitled, or the court See also:

DRESS (from the Fr. dresser, to set out, arrange, formed from Lat. directus, arranged, dirigere, to direct, arrange)

dress of those holding legal appointments, but ndt entitled to wearrobes, i.e. a suit of See also:

black See also:

CLOTH

cloth, with See also:

KNEE (O. E. cneow, a word common to Indo-European languages, cf. Ger. Knie, Fr. genou, Span. hinojo, Lat. genu, Gr. ybvv, Sansk. janu)

knee-breeches, See also:

LACE (corresponding to Ital. merletto, trina; Genoese Pizzo; Ger. spitzen; Fr. dentelle; Dutch kanten; Span. encaje; the English word owes something to the Fr. lassis or laces, but both are connected with the earlier Lat. laqueus; early French laces were

lace bands and ruffles, a black See also:

SILK

silk cocked See also:

hat with rosette and See also:

STEEL, FLORA ANNIE (1847– )

steel See also:

LOOP

loop and a See also:

SWORD (0. Eng. sweord; ultimately from an Indo-European root meaning to wound)

sword. A See also:

SILVER

silver See also:

COLLAR

collar of See also:

OFFICE (from Lat. officium, " duty," " service," a shortened form of opifacium, from facere, " to do," and either the stem of opes, " wealth," " aid," or opus, " work ")

office is worn on special occasions. This See also:

costume, with the See also:

CHAIN (through the O. Fr. citable, chcene, &c., from Lat. catena)

chain, is that worn by the serjeants-atarms in the House of Lords and the House of Commons always. SERJEANT-AT-LAW, the name (see above) given to what was formerly an order of the highest rank of barristers at the See also:

ENGLISH

English or Irish See also:

bar. The word is a corruption of serviens ad legem, as distinguished from apprenticius ad legem, or utter See also:

BARRISTER

barrister, who probably originally obtained his knowledge of law by serving a See also:

KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind of See also:

APPRENTICESHIP (from Fr. apprendre, to learn)

apprenticeship to a serjeant. When the order of serjeants was instituted is unknown, but it certainly See also:

DATES

dates from a very remote See also:

period. The authority of serjeant counters or countors (i.e. pleaders, those who See also:

FRAME

frame See also:

COUNTS

counts in See also:

PLEADING (Fr. plaider, plaidoyer)

pleading) is treated in the See also:

MIRROR (through O. Fr. mirour, mod. miroir, from a sup-posed Late Lat. miratorium, from mirari, to admire)

Mirror of Justices, and they are named in 3 Edw.

I. c. 29. They may possibly have been the representatives of the conteurs mentioned in the great customary of See also:

NORMANDY

Normandy. The position of the serjeant had become assured when See also:

CHAUCER, GEOFFREY (? 1340-1400)

Chaucer wrote. One of the characters in the See also:

Canterbury Tales is " A serjeant of the law, wary and See also:

wise, That often had y-been at the See also:

PARVIS, PARVISE

parvis." 1 Serjeants (except king's serjeants) were created by See also:

WRIT (O. Eng. gewrit, writ, from writan, to write)

writ of See also:

SUMMONS (Fr. semonce, from semonner or semondre, Lat. summonere, summonitio)

summons under the great See also:

seal, and wore a special and distinctive dress, the See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief feature of which was the See also:

COIF (from Fr. coiffe, Ital. cuffia, a cap)

coif, a See also:

white See also:

LAWN

lawn or silk See also:

SKULL

skull-cap, afterwards represented by a See also:

ROUND (O. Fr. rond, Lat. rotundus, the Fr. is the source also of Du. rond; Ger., Swed., Dan. and Nor. rond)

round piece of black silk at the See also:

TOP (cf. Dan. top, Ger. Topf, also meaning pot)

top of the See also:

WIG (short for " periwig," an alternative form of " peruke," Fr. perruque; cf. Span. peluca; conjecturally derived from Lat. pilus)

wig. They enjoyed a social See also:

PRECEDENCE (from Lat. praecedere, to go before, precede)

precedence after knights bachelors and before companions of the See also:

Bath and other orders. In this they differed from king's counsel, who had simply professional as distinguished from social rank. Socially the serjeant had precedence, professionally the king's counsel, unless indeed, as was often the See also:

case, a patent of precedence was granted to the former. The serjeants at the Irish bar had precedence next after the law See also:

OFFICERS

officers of the See also:

CROWN

crown. Till past the middle of the loth century a limited number of the serjeants were called " king's (See also:

queen's) serjeants." They were appointed by patent and summoned to See also:

PARLIAMENT (Anglo-Lat. parliamentum, Fr. parlement, from parler, to speak)

parliament. Until 1814 the two senior king's serjeants had precedence of even the See also:

ATTORNEY (from O. Fr. atorne, a person appointed to act for another, from atourner, legal Lat. attornare, attorn, literally to turn over to another or commit business to another)

attorney-general and See also:

SOLICITOR

solicitor-general. It was the See also:

CUSTOM (from O. Fr. costume, costume or coustume; Low Lat. costuma, a shortened form of consuetudo)

custom for serjeants on their appointment to give See also:

gold rings with mottoes to their colleagues.

Down to 1845 the order enjoyed a very valuable See also:

MONOPOLY (Gr. govomeXla or govoircaXwv, exclusive sale, from govds, alone, and irwXeiv, to sell)

monopoly of practice. The serjeants had the right of exclusive See also:

AUDIENCE (from Lat. audire, to hear)

audience as leading counsel in the Court of See also:

COMMON

Common Pleas. In 1834 a royal See also:

MANDATE (Mandatum)

mandate of See also:

William IV. attempted to abolish this See also:

PRIVILEGE

privilege, but in 184o the judicial See also:

COMMITTEE (from commute, an Anglo-Fr. past participle of commettre, Lat. committere, to entrust; the modern Fr. equivalent comite is derived from the Eng.)

committee of the privy See also:

COUNCIL (Lat. concilium, from cum, together, and the root cal, to call)

council declared the mandate informal and invalid. The monopoly was finally abolished in 1845 by See also:

ACT (Lat. actus, actum)

Act of Parliament. For at least 600 years the See also:

JUDGES, THE BOOK OF

judges of the See also:

SUPERIOR

superior courts of common law were always serjeants, but by the Judicature Act 1873 no See also:

PERSON, OFFENCES AGAINST THE

person appointed a See also:

JUDGE (Lat. judex, Fr. juge)

judge of the High Court of. See also:

JUSTICE (Lat. justitia)

Justice or the Court of See also:

APPEAL

Appeal was required to take or have taken the degree of serjeant-at-law. The serjeants had their own See also:

inn of court known as Serjeants' Inn, which was formerly in two divisions, one in See also:

FLEET

Fleet See also:

Street and one in See also:

CHANCERY

Chancery See also:

Lane. In 1758 the members of the former joined the latter. In 1877 the society was dissolved, the inn sold to one of the members and the proceeds divided among the existing serjeants. The order is now See also:

EXTINCT

extinct. See Serviens ad Legem, by Mr Serjeant See also:

MANNING, HENRY EDWARD (1808-1892)

Manning; and The Order of the Coif, by Mr Serjeant Pulling.

End of Article: SERJEANT

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