History Main / TheSquire

* In Chaosium's ''Pendragon'' boys could become squires to a knight. They would serve the knight and learn how to be knights, and if they were good enough they could earn knighthood.

[[folder: Animated Films ]]

* In ''Disney/TheSwordInTheStone'' Wart spends time as Sir Kay's squire before pulling the sword from the stone. In fact, Squire is the highest rank Wart can attain since as far as anyone knows he is not of knight-class birth.

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[[folder: Film ]]

* Padawans and Sith apprentices in ''Franchise/StarWars'' are essentially squires under a different name, training to become Jedi Knights and Sith Lords
* The Knights of the Round Table in ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'' have squires, whose duties include banging coconuts together to simulate the clopping of horses hooves and taking messages via arrows to the chest.

[[AC:AnimatedFilms]]
* In ''Disney/TheSwordInTheStone'' Wart spends time as Sir Kay's squire before pulling the sword from the stone. In fact, Squire is the highest rank Wart can attain since as far as anyone knows he is not of knight-class birth.

[[AC:ComicBooks]]
* The third Black Knight from the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, Dane Whitman, ends up having two different squires:
** In ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'' it's Sean Dolan, a young Irish orphan he saves from falling off a cliff. He spends time training the young man in swordsmanship, but the entire thing goes south when Sean draws the Ebony Blade to defend Whitman's family castle and is transformed by the sword's curse into the evil supervillain Bloodwraith.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* ''Literature/DonQuixote'' has Sancho Panza, whom he ropes into being his squire via promises of receiving some of Quixote's lands and wealth, and by convincing the simple Panza that his delusions are real.
* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', squires are all over the place, serving both lords and knights. They are often extremely young, with some of the youngest being around 10 years old, although there are some older ones as well (sometimes, in special circumstances, even older than the knight they are squiring for). Some knights have more than one squire as well, due to their high status.
** Podrick Payne, Tyrion Lannister's squire, is one of the more notable ones, having UndyingLoyalty to his lord and being a CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass, saving Tyrion's life from [[spoiler:Ser Mandon Moore of the Kingsguard during the Battle of Blackwater Bay]].
** Lancel and Tyrek Lannister are squires for King Robert Baratheon. Different people take note of their usefulness as spies for this reason -- Lancel [[spoiler:becomes an informant for Cersei]] and it's implied that Tyrek [[spoiler:may have been one for Varys either before or after his disappearance]]. Lancel is a hilariously incompetent ButtMonkey until he helps [[spoiler:kill Robert at the behest of his cousin Queen Cersei]], for which he is knighted.
** Jaime Lannister made a name for himself while still just a squire, winning his first tournament at 13 and being knighted at 15.

* In the ''Literature/{{Deryni}}'' novels by Creator/KatherineKurtz, squires are prevalent, and all nobly-born candidates for knighthood serve in this capacity. Prince Nigel Haldane oversees the training of pages and squires in the royal household, including his own sons and the Torenthi prince Liam-Lajos Furstán. Liam actually asks to maintain his squire's status until he returns to Torenth in ''King Kelson's Bride''.
* Paul Harding's short story, "The Confession of Brother Athelstan" centers on a knight's death at a tournament joust that proves suspicious. Among those under suspicion are the two knights' squires, one who wants to be a priest and the other has a gambling problem.

[[AC:TabletopGames]]
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' 1st Edition supplement ''Unearthed Arcana''. Characters in the Cavalier subclass started off at level 0 and -1500 ExperiencePoints and acted as a retainer (squire) of another Cavalier of 4th level or higher. After the new cavalier earned enough ExperiencePoints to reach 4th level they would become a full fledged cavalier and could acquire retainers of their own.
* In Chaosium's ''Pendragon'' boys could become squires to a knight. They would serve the knight and learn how to be knights, and if they were good enough they could earn knighthood.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Squires are mentioned a few times in ''Franchise/DragonAge'':
** King Calenhad Theirin, the founder of Fereldan, was only a squire when he won his first battle and the lords began swearing to serve him.
** Nathaniel Howe served for eight years as a squire in the Free Marches, and was thus not in Fereldan during the events of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins''.

[[AC:WebComics]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* Cavin and his rival Unwin in ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGummiBears''.

The squire is a knight's [[{{Sidekick}} loyal servant]], carrying out all his needs, including shining his armor, sharpening his sword, taking care of his horse, carrying his banner, and many other duties. The squire is often a the son of a lord or another knight, who has been sent to learn to be a knight himself. This servitude lasts years as the squire learns all he can from the knight and ends with the squire being {{knight|ing}}ed.

* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', squires are all over the place, serving both lords and knights. They are often extremely young, with some of the youngest being around 10 years old, although there are some older ones as well. Some knights have more than one squire as well, due to their high status.

* Cavin and his rival Unwin in ''AdventuresOfTheGummiBears''.

** In the {{Prequel}} series, ''Literature/TalesOfDunkAndEgg'', Ser Duncan the Tall gets the rarest of all squires, [[spoiler:the crown Prince Aegon Targaryen, and future King Aegon IV "The Unlikely."]]

* Elan from ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' is shown working as a squire to a paladin, Sir Francois, in prequel ''On The Origin of [=PCs=].'' Francois, however, ditches Elan when Elan's incompetence leads to them getting robbed while they sleep at an inn.

* In the ''Literature/{{Deryni}}'' novels by KatherineKurtz, squires are prevalent, and all nobly-born candidates for knighthood serve in this capacity. Prince Nigel Haldane oversees the training of pages and squires in the royal household, including his own sons and the Torenthi prince Liam-Lajos Furstán. Liam actually asks to maintain his squire's status until he returns to Torenth in ''King Kelson's Bride''.

* In ''VideoGame/HelpTheHero'' you play as Percy, a beleaguered HypercompetentSidekick squire to the idiot hero, who only wins battles because Percy carefully manages his equipment for him.

The squire is a knight's [[{{Sidekick}} loyal servant]], carrying out all his needs, including shining his armor, sharpening his sword, taking care of his horse, carrying his banner, and many other duties. The squire is often a lord or another knight's son who has been sent to learn to be a knight himself. This servitude lasts years as the squire learns all he can from the knight and ends with the squire being {{knight|ing}}ed.

** Before the start of the novels, Ser Loras Tyrell had served as Lord Renly Baratheon's squire before he was knighted.

** In ''[[ComicBook/{{Excalibur}} Captain Britain & MI13]]'' he ends up meeting Faiza Hussain, a civilian doctor that he saves from a Skrull attack on the UK. She eventually gains healing powers and the right to wield Excalibur and becomes a superhero in her own right, but is still content to call herself his squire (and girlfriend).

** Lancel and Tyrek Lannister are squires for King Robert Baratheon. Lancel is hilariously incompetent until he helps [[spoiler:kill Robert at the behest of his cousin Queen Cersei by giving him extra strong wine repeatedly on a hunting trip so that he mistimes a spear thrust at a boar and ends up gutted]]. Lancel ends up knighted for this service.

** Jamie has two other squires as well due to his position as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard: Lewys Piper becomes his squire after most of the Riverlords submit to the Lannisters. Hoster Blackwood becomes a squire/hostage to Jamie after House Blackwood surrenders to the Lannisters.

* In book 3 of the ''[[Literature/TortallUniverse Protector of the Small]]'' quartet, aptly titled ''Squire,'' Kel is a squire to [[spoiler: Lord Raoul of Goldenlake]]. As squire she serves him, while he teaches her jousting and how to command.
** In addition to Kel, all of the pages must serve as a squire for four years before they can try for knighthood.

* Elan from ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' is shown working as a squire to a paladin, Sir Francois, in prequel ''On The Origin of [=PCs=].'' Francois, however, ditches Elan when Elan's incompetence leads to them getting robbed while they sleep at an inn.

* Padawans in ''Franchise/StarWars'' are essentially squires under a different name, training to become Jedi Knights.

* Elan from ''OrderOfTheStick'' is shown working as a squire to a paladin, Sir Francois, in prequel ''On The Origin of [=PCs=].'' Francois, however, ditches Elan when Elan's incompetence leads to them getting robbed while they sleep at an inn.

* In the ''Literature/{{Deryni}}'' novels by KatherineKurtz, squires are prevalent, and all nobly-born candidates for knighthood serve in this capacity. Prince Nigel Haldane oversees the training of pages and squires in the royal household, including his own sons and the Torenthi prince Liam-Lajos Furstán. Liam actually asks to maintain his squire's status until he returns to Torenth in ''King Kelson's Bride''.

Sometimes the squire will be [[HyperCompetentSidekick far braver or a better fighter than the knight]] he is serving and ends up saving their life. They can also be treacherous, selling out their lord in exchange for wealth or an earlier knighthood from a rival. The squire could also be suffering under an incompetent or evil knight and may be looking for a change, or they might be just as incompetent or evil as their master.

* Padawans in ''Franchise/StarWars'' are essentially squires under a different name, training to become Jedi Knights.