Learn English – Medieval word for “boss”

single-word-requests

I am searching for a fitting word for a story I am writing. The setting is fictional medieval (so not fully historical correct), and there is a group of bandits who have a leader.

I am wondering, how the bandit members would call their leader. Sir? Boss? Or is there a better word?

  • In my opinion, "sir" sounds too honorable for a bandit, doesn't it?
  • And "boss" sounds like a modern word to me and reminds me of modern gangsters.

As stated in the single-word-requests tag rule, here an example sentence:

"We’re ready, sir. Do you want the black horse?"

Best Answer

chief dates from medieval times. The Oxford English Dictionary has several definitions for chief, but the one applicable to your case is:

a. The head of a body of men, of an organization, state, town, party, office, etc.; foremost authority, leader, ruler

and the OED has a citation from 1297:

1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (1724) 212 Þo þe Romeyns were wyþ out chef, dyscomfortd hii were

And the next two citations, of which the second is actually intelligible:

1475 (▸?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 57 Wan any auerous or couetous is canonizid..or maad cheef.

1483 Caxton in tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 399 She was made abbesse and chyef of al the monasterye

From reading the entire entry for chief, one sees that chief was a word widely used in medieval times, in many ways. For example:

†8. The head town or city; the capital n.1 Obs.

1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis III. 164 Whan Rome was the worldes chefe

So I think the bandits could well call their chief, chief, and how they would have spelled it (chef, chefe, cheef, chief, chief) is irrelevant because they were probably illiterate.

Addendum: See also Etymonline, chief

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