Beginning in the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. At times, squires acted as a knight’s errand runner or servant. Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, squires were a knight’s trainees/apprentices. Later, a village leader or a lord of the manor might be called a squire, and still later, the term applied to key public figures, such as justices of the peace or members of parliament. In contemporary American usage, squire is the title given to justices of the peace or similar local dignitaries.
Squire is a shortened version of the word 'esquire', from the Old French escuier (modern French écuyer), itself derived from the Late Latin scutarius (“shield bearer”), in medieval or Old English a scutifer. The Classical Latin equivalent was armiger, “arms bearer”.
The most common definition of “squire” refers to the Middle Ages. A squire was typically a teenaged boy, training to become a knight. A boy became a squire at the age of 14 or 15. Squires were the second step to becoming a knight, after first having served as a page. Boys served a knight as an attendant or shield carrier, doing simple but important tasks such as saddling a horse or caring for the knight’s weapons and armour. The squire would sometimes carry the knight’s flag into battle with his master.
Squire is the name of three fictional characters, they are comic book superheroes published by DC Comics. Percival Sheldrake debuted as the Squire in Young All-Stars #21 (January 1988), and was created by Roy Thomas and Michael Bair. Cyril Sheldrake debuted as the Squire in Batman #62 (December 1950), and was created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang. Beryl Hutchinson debuted as the Squire in JLA #26 (February 1999), and was created by Grant Morrison and Howard Porter.
Originally created in the 1950s as a counterpart to Robin for the Knight, a subsequent retcon made the Knight himself Squire to the Golden Age hero, the Shining Knight.
At age 20, young Percy came into leadership of his family (thus becoming Earl of Wordenshire) when his father was captured in France during the Dunkirk Evacuation and his mother was killed in a bombing raid over London in the fall of 1941. About this time, a knight from the Middle Ages named Sir Justin (the Shining Knight) had recently thawed out from centuries of suspended animation and was assisting the war effort in his native land. Unable to save either of Percy's parents, Shining Knight vowed to bring the Nazis to justice and end their regime once and for all. He took Percy under his wing and trained him just as a knight would train a squire in his original 6th century Camelot. He bestowed upon him the name Squire, and with the help of the All-Star Squadron, they fought against Nazi Germany until the end of World War II.
Squire is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include:
Surname: