Squires and Apprentices

A squire is an apprentice to a knight.

History--taken from the wikipedia entry for "squire"

In medieval times a squire was a man-at-arms in the service of a knight, often as his apprentice.

The English squire comes from the Old French escuier, itself derived from the Late Latin scutarius - "shield bearer." The Latin equivalent is armiger.

A squire was originally a person who aspired to the rank of knighthood and who, as part of his development to that end, served an existing knight as his attendant or shield carrier (hence the name). However, during the middle ages the rank of esquire came to be recognized in its own right and, once knighthood ceased to be conferred by any but the monarch, it was no longer to be assumed that any esquire would in due course progress to be a knight. The connection between a squire and any particular knight also ceased to exist, as did any shield carrying duties.

Within Belegarth

A squire is often given specific tasks to complete before being knighted. Here is an example of some squire tasks.