History Main / LegacyOfService

* The noble families in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' often marry into each other thus strengthening the bonds between great houses and banner houses.

* The noble families in ''Literature/ASongfOfIceAndFire'' often marry into each other thus strengthening the bonds between great houses and banner houses.

** The prequels mention Polgara's servants while she was Duchess of Erat. Which she technically still is, but in practice Erat is no longer a duchy and the house has been deserted - though she does still have the nominal rents as a legacy.

* Manga/FoodWars: The Arato family have been the Nakiri family's personal physicians since time immemorial. Modern medicine has made the Aratos' knowledge of traditional Japanese herbal lore less valuable, but the tradition of service remains, with the 16-year-old Hisako acting as her contemporary Erina Nakiri's executive assistant.

* ''Literature/KazeNoStigma'', where the first Arc is powered by the rebellion of a family of wind-ninjas who have been serving the Kannagi Clan for centuries, and have finally gotten tired of it.

* ''Anime/NegimaSecondSeason'' turned this into (one of) Setsuna's motivations for protecting Konoka.
* The NinjaMaid Sayoko Shinozaki from ''Anime/CodeGeass'' is the 37th successor of the Shinozaki school.

* In ''Fanfic/{{Progress}}'', Princess Luna's maid Sundance is apparently descended from one of these. According to the side-story "Celestia vs. Time", Sundance's great-grandmother was a servant at the palace as well.
* ''Fanfic/AMothToAFlame'': Marcy learns that her ancestors, the Wu Clan, served the Leviathan dynasty on Amphibia for centuries, much like Olivia's family. The Wu Clan also served various lines of [[TheEmperor emperors]] across Eurasia, though in that case the monarchs were all {{Puppet King}}s to the Clan.

* In ''Film/ForrestGump'', Bubba's family has apparently been in service for at least a century. The montage which shows different generations serving seems to imply that they are serving different generations of the same family. In this case, it's treated as a bad thing, since their service originated during the time of slavery. This would be inverted when Forrest gave Bubba's mother what he felt was Bubba's share of his shrimp venture: she was now rich enough to afford a servant of her own.
* ''Film/TheWonderfulStoryOfHenrySugar'': The narration mentions that John Winston's father had been the accountant for Henry's grandfather, just as John worked for Henry's father and Henry himself.

* ''Literture/TheInfernalDevices'':

* From ''Literature/TheHoundOfTheBaskervilles'', John Barrymore, whose family has served the Baskervilles for generations.

* The Brands of Creator/DavidEddings' ''Literature/TheBelgariad'' were initially the servants to the Kings of Riva, serving as a sort of chancellor - handling the day-to-day drudge while the king makes the big decisions - and are named after the original Brand, Baron Kamion Brand, who served Riva Irongrip and his son. Later, they rule in the King's stead during the period when the line of the Rivan King is presumed extinct. However, they don't necessarily run in the same family, with each Brand choosing their successor. So dedicated are they to their duty that upon assuming office, they abandon whatever name they had before, becoming known simply as 'Brand' (which was the name of the first one to hold the office).
** Similar to the ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' example, they've spend a long time taking care of Riva and its throne while waiting for the return of the true king, but once he DOES show up, they never falter, and continue to serve faithfully. (With one notable, but quickly-corrected exception and not by a reigning Brand but [[spoiler: his youngest son]].) Belgarion is initially a bit nervous about this, but Brand explains that not only was he soon going to be picking his successor anyway, waiting for the King to return and protecting the Orb of Aldur has been the entire purpose of their culture for millennia - they're utterly dedicated to the Rivan Line (which has a symbiotic relationship with said Orb), and in the case of this Brand, it's actually a relief to hand over.
** The prequels mention Polgara's servants while she was Duchess of Erat. Which she technically still is, but in practice Erat is no longer a duchy and the house has been deserted - though she does still have the nominal rents as a legacy.
* Subverted in the Sharon Shinn short story "Bargain with the Wind" by way of another trope: [[spoiler: MyGrandsonMyself]]. Nettie the OldRetainer housekeeper [[spoiler: is actually an earth spirit who watches over the family. At the end of the story she recommends her "niece", Norah, as a replacement housekeeper, and then changes her form from an old woman into a young girl.]]
* ''Literature/HonorHarrington'': Although it's only in the first/second generation it seems likely that the Clinkscales and [=LaFollet=]'s will become this for the Harrington clan. In the case of the Clinkscales two generations have served her as Regent and Honor has actually formally adopted the clan as an extended part of the Harrington clan. In the case of the [=LaFollets=] at least four members of the clan have served her in various positions (two male members as bodyguards and two female members as maids/advisors).
* In David Eddings' ''Literature/TheElenium'' there are two parallel service legacies going on -- the Sparhawk line has been hereditary champions of the monarchs of Elenia for several generations (it gets broken by Sparhawk marrying Queen Ehlana -- he is still her champion as well as her prince-consort, but their daughter obviously can't serve as her own hereditary champion, and Ehlana will only have one child), while Kurik's family have been squires for the Sparhawks for several generations (this does ''not'' get broken -- [[spoiler: Kurik's son Khalad is squire for Sparhawk in ''The Tamuli'', after Kurik's death in the last book of the ''Elenium'', and as Sparhawk is insisting that Khalad will become a knight it's implied he will end up serving in the Sparhawks' old role to the royal family]]).

* In ''Literature/AmaranthineSaga'', the Reavers attached to Stately House has formed into a generational pattern, with Michael being the fourth Ward from his family to serve Argent. This seems to be a fairly common practice with Reavers attached to various Amaranthine enclaves and clan houses, probably because it makes it slightly easier for the long-lived Amaranthine to form bonds within the fleeting existences of their Reaver companions.
* In ''Literature/HarryPotter'', house-elves seem to serve one family or household from generation to generation, unless they're freed (we never see any living related house-elves, but presumably all of Kreacher's ancestors served the Blacks as well).
* Parodied in ''Literature/GuardsGuards''. Sybil Ramkin and Nobby Nobbs bond over the fact that Sybil's grandfather had Nobby's grandfather flogged for petty theft.

* The House of Amicitia in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' has served as bodyguards to the royal family of Lucis for generations.
* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', House Vestra has served the Imperial royal family for generations. Hubert is the scion of his family and swears complete and utter loyalty to the Empire's princess, Edelgard, though he makes a point that his loyalty to her is personal and not simply due to said legacy. [[spoiler:His father's betrayal of said legacy when he sided with the Imperial nobles against Edelgard's father Ionius (and in turn set off a chain of events that lead to Edelgard suffering horrific experimentation and trauma) is why Hubert utterly loathes him [[{{Patricide}} and sees to the Marquis Vestra's death personally]] when Edelgard takes power]].

* Corrick of ''Webcomic/{{Plume}}'' is enchanted to serve [[spoiler:whoever holds the amulet he was bound to.]]

*** This isn't the first time, either - the Link of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' is explicitly a descendant (possibly a grandson/great-grandson) of the Link of ''Ocarina of Time'', and like his ancestor, protects Zelda. It's sometimes implied that at least a few of the other Links are related, through the IdenticalGrandson thing, though almost all of them (save a least for the Link of ''The Wind Waker'') are reincarnations of the same hero, going back to ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'', making this a different kind of service legacy. It's also occasionally complicated by the romantic implications between Links and Zeldas, especially with the first Link and Zelda in ''Skyward Sword'', who explicitly founded Hyrule together meaning that if there is a direct line family relationship between the Links, they might also be distant cousins of the Royal Family.

* ''Fanfic/AMothToAFlame'': Marcy learns that her ancestors, the Wu Clan, served the Leviathan dynasty on Amphibia for centuries, much like Olivia's family. The Wu Clan also served various lines of [[TheEmperors emperors]] across Eurasia, though in that case the monarchs were all {{Puppet King}}s to the Clan.