For other uses see Butler (disambiguation)

The butler is a senior servant in a large household. Usually the butler is the most senior staff member, although in the great houses of the past, the household was sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room (including the wine cellar) and pantry, and sometimes the entire parlour floor, and a housekeeper who was in charge of the whole house and its appearance. In this case the butler may have been either subordinate or equal to the housekeeper. In modern houses where the butler is the most senior worker the title Head of Household Staff is sometimes given.

The butler engaged the footmen and assigned their duties. Footmen reported directly to the butler; in a smaller household female servants and kitchen staff were under his management as well.

Tradionally, butlers earned their position by working their way up the service ladder. Today, however, there are butler schools; the top graduates may earn USD 50,000 to start.

For many years butlers were always male and this remains the usual case. There are however female butlers and they are sometimes preferred; an example would be in some Islamic cultures where it is unacceptable to have males working intimately with females in these circumstances.

The butler is also a traditional role in the performing arts and has taken on iconic status; it can perhaps be considered a stock character in film and theater where a catch phrase is ‘the butler did it!’

See Also

• Domestic worker
• maid