"Robin Shoots with Sir Guy" by Louis Rhead. Robin Hood is an archetypal figure in English folklore, whose story originates from medieval times but who remains significant in popular culture where Sir Guy of Gisbourne (also spelled Gisburne, Gisborne, Gysborne, or Gisborn) is a fictional character in the Robin Hood legends Illustration to Bold Robin Hood and His Outlaw Band: Their Famous Exploits in Sherwood Forest: Guy of Gisbourne acts as the Sheriff of Nottingham's henchman

The word henchman (Germanic irregular plural: henchmen) referred originally to one who attended on a horse, that is, a horse groom. For other uses see Groom A groom is an employee who is responsible for some or all aspects of the welfare of a stable owner's Horses and/or Hence, like constable and marshal, also originally stable staff, henchman became the title of a (subordinate) official in a royal court or noble household. A constable is a person holding a particular office most commonly in law enforcement. Marshal (also sometimes spelled marshall in American English, but not in British English) is a word used in several official titles of various branches It is now used primarily to describe a stock character in many adventure stories: the villain's lackey.

Etymology

The first part of the word, which is recorded in English since 1360, comes from the Old English hengest, meaning "horse", notably stallion, cognates of which also occur in many Teutonic languages, such as Old Frisian, German and Dutch hengst. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname

The word appears in the name of Hengest, the Saxon chieftain, and still survives in English in placenames and other names beginning with Hingst- or Hinx-. It was often rendered as Henxman in medieval English.

Young henchmen, in act pages of honour or squires, rode or walked at the side of their master in processions and the like, and appear in the English royal household from the 14th century until Tudor Queen Elizabeth I abolished the royal henchmen, known also as the children of honour. While a page is a comparatively low-ranking servant a Page of Honour is a Ceremonial position in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the In Feudal or Medieval times a squire was a Man-at-arms in the service of a Knight, often as his Apprentice.

The word became obsolete for grooms in English from the middle of the 17th century, but was retained in Scots as "personal attendant of a Highland chief". As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar

It seems to have been revived in English through the novelist Sir Walter Scott, who took the word and its derivation, according to the New English Dictionary, from Edward Burt's Letters from a Gentleman in the North of Scotland, together with its erroneous derivation from haunch. Sir Walter Scott 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 &ndash 21 September 1832 was a prolific Scottish Historical novelist and Poet popular throughout The word is, in this sense, synonymous with gillie, the faithful personal follower of a Highland chieftain, the man who stands at his master's haunch, ready for any emergency. Ghillie or gillie is a Scottish dialect term that refers to a man or a boy who acts as an attendant on a Fishing, Fly fishing

The modern sense of "obedient or unscrupulous follower" is first recorded 1839, probably based on a misunderstanding of the word as used by Scott, and is often used to describe an out-and-out adherent or partisan, ready to do anything.

In popular culture

Henchmen (occasionally henchlings) are common in mystery, fantasy, adventure comic books, and adventure novels and movies. Fantasy is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting A comic book (often shortened to simply comic and sometimes called a comic paper or comic magazine) is a Magazine or Book of narrative An adventure is an activity that comprises Risky dangerous and uncertain experiences They are the expendable adherents of the main villain, always ready to do the master's bidding, to kill or be killed, kidnap, or threaten, as needed. Often, they are killed by the hero before the master villain is reached, by the hero's sidekick in a dramatic battle, or even by the master villain as punishment for failure to comply with orders. A hero (from Greek grc ἥρως hērōs) in Greek mythology and Folklore, was originally a Demigod, the offspring of a mortal and SideKick was an early Personal Information Manager (PIM Software application by Borland launched in 1983 under Philippe Kahn

Henchmen are often abused and insulted by the villain for their incompetence, or for his pleasure; indeed, some abused henchmen take revenge after the villain's final defeat at the hero's hands, so that the henchman rather than the hero actually kills the villain. . Henchmen in this sense are also sometimes called lackeys or mooks. A lackey or lacquey is a term for a uniformed Manservant, in its original meaning (attested 1529 according to the OED)

A henchman might also be the non-player character follower of a player character in role-playing games. A non-player character, often shortened to NPC, is a character that is controlled by the Gamemaster in Role-playing games or one that is not A player character or playable character (PC is a Fictional character in a Video game or Role playing game who is controlled or controllable A role-playing game ( RPG; often roleplaying game) is a Game in which the participants assume the roles of Fictional characters. This henchman will follow the player around and assist in various manners.

In fiction, such heroic supporting characters are normally portrayed in a more positive light, tied to the hero by bonds of friendship and loyalty and are usually called sidekicks; the villain's supporters are called henchmen due to their evil nature, which makes such personal bonds difficult to establish. SideKick was an early Personal Information Manager (PIM Software application by Borland launched in 1983 under Philippe Kahn However, some darkly comedic heroes have sidekicks of a more subservient nature; though these relationships are often a form of "tough love" or even just a condescending affection, the henchman is in this case usually known as a minion. Black comedy, also known as black humor or dark comedy, is a sub-genre of Comedy and Satire where topics and events that are usually regarded Tough love is an expression used when someone treats another person harshly or sternly with the intent to help them in the long run

Modern examples

The phrase henchman is also used as a pejorative for any sort of political underling or to present others as such. Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog is an American animated series that was first broadcast in September 1993, and has been running in Cartoon Sonic the Hedgehog is an American animated series created by DiC Entertainment with the partnership of Sega of America, and was loosely based Sonic Underground ( Sonic le rebelle in French) is an animated series that follows the adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and his siblings pink Luca Brasi is a character in Mario Puzo 's novel The Godfather, as well as its 1972 film adaptation (portrayed by Lenny Montana) Vito Andolini "The Godfather" Corleone (December 7 1891 - August 14 1955 is a Fictional character in Mario Puzo 's novel The Godfather The Godfather is a 1972 Crime drama film based on the 1969 novel of the same name by Mario Puzo and directed Lost Via Domus (Incorrectly translated "The Way Home" in Latin; also known as Lost The Video Game in Europe) is a Copacabana is a musical written by Barry Manilow, based around the song of the same name Thus it was is used for associates of President George W. Bush^[1][2], e. The President of the United States is the Head of state and Head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by George Walker Bush ( born July 6 1946 is the forty-third and current President of the United States. g. by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. Venezuela (ˌvɛnəˈzweɪlə) officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish República Bolivariana de Venezuela) is a country on the Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (ˈuɰo rafaˈel ˈtʃaβ̞es ˈfɾias (born July 28 1954 is the current President of Venezuela. ^[3] Likewise, it was also used against associates of the former U. S. President Bill Clinton. William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III, August 19 1946 served as the forty-second President of the United States ^[4]

Members of the SS, or any of Adolf Hitler's staff, are often called "Hitler's Henchmen"^[5], a phrase used as the title of a book by Guido Knopp and a television documentary. The ( German for "Protective Squadron" abbreviated SS - or ( Runic)- was a major Nazi organization under Adolf Hitler and the Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently vandalized and vandalism is reverted immediately Guido Knopp (born January 29, 1948, in Treysa, Hesse) is a German journalist author and Historian.

See also

• Igor (fictional character)
• Sidekick
• Nodwick

References

1. ^ ZNet |Labor | Bush's "Job-friendly" Economy isn't Worker Friendly
2. ^ Quit blaming your henchmen, Mr. President. - By Fred Kaplan - Slate Magazine
3. ^ http://www.politicalgateway.com/news/read/39515
4. ^ In denial - Clinton evades public blame for sex scandal - Capital Scene - Brief Article | National Review | Find Articles at BNET.com
5. ^ Hitler's Henchmen

Sources

(incomplete)

• EtymologyOnLine
• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. Igor Manic or Ygor is the traditional Stock character or cliché hunch-backed assistant or butler to many types of villain such as SideKick was an early Personal Information Manager (PIM Software application by Borland launched in 1983 under Philippe Kahn Nodwick is a Comic strip created by Aaron Williams, based around the conventions of Fantasy Role-playing games in particular The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone