King Edward III — Words of the week

These days a hench(wo)man is a villain’s loyal-to-a-fault sidekick, and the one who does the dirty work. But where does the ‘hench’ bit come from? Well, it actually has a quite noble backstory.

(Just FYI, henchperson sounds weird, which is why I’ve gone for that less sexist bracketed version.)

Hench comes from an Old English word ‘hengest’, which meant a horse – more specifically, a stallion or gelding ridden into battle. In the Middle Ages, a henchman (or henxman – an early spelling) was someone who walked or rode beside a noble or royal, often leading their horse. They were trusted servants, sometimes young noblemen, who acted as attendants in a lord’s household or during travel. The role was both practical and symbolic – yes, they were there to help with the horses, but having a henchman also showed off the lord’s status.

‘Henchman’ first appeared in Middle English in the 14th century. Records from 1360 mention ‘henxmen’ in the service of King Edward III. Over time, as the roles of squires and personal grooms disappeared, ‘henchman’ came to mean any loyal supporter or follower. By the 17th and 18th centuries, it was used more generally for someone who backed up a powerful figure. The more sinister meaning – a thug or blindly loyal enforcer – only became common in the 20th century, helped along by fiction books and films.

Talking of which, the most famous henchmen and women have probably gone up against James Bond. Here are just a few of my favourites along with JB’s perfectly delivered one liner.

Oddjob in Goldfinger (1964), who’s electrocuted when Bond jams his steel-brimmed hat into electrified metal bars: ‘He blew a fuse.’
Xenia Onatopp in GoldenEye (1995) is crushed against a tree when Bond shoots down her helicopter harness: ‘She always did enjoy a good squeeze.’
Necros, The Living Daylights (1987) (my favourite Bond film), who falls to his death after Bond cuts his bootlace during a fight hanging out the back of a plane: ‘He got the boot.’
Vargas, Thunderball (1965), is shot by Bond with a speargun, and impaled against a palm tree: ‘I think he got the point.’

(Oh, and the slang term ‘hench’ for someone who’s big, strong and muscular probably does come from hench(wo)man, although no one’s completely sure.)

I’ve recently been watching Ryan Reynolds’ and the other guy’s programme about Wrexham football club. And in the most recent episode I saw, they talked about the ridiculousness that is football hooliganism – a largely British (and male) phenomenon (although embarrassment would be a better word). It’s actually referred to as the ‘British [or ‘English’] disease’. With that out of the way, they then talked about the etymology of the word ‘hooligan’. Sometimes the WOTW just writes itself.

The word ‘hooligan’ has been around since the late 19th century, and first appeared in print in London police court reports in 1894. These were referring to the name of a gang of rowdy yoofs in Lambeth – the Hooligan Boys. There are a couple of theories as to where the word ‘hooligan’ came from, but arguably the most popular is that it originated from the surname – Houlihan – of a rowdy Irish family who may or may not have existed in real life. Another theory is that it came from one Patrick Hoolihan, an Irish bouncer and thief who lived in London. And finally, there’s an even older theory – apparently General Wade, the English commander-in-chief during the Jacobite rising of 1745, misheard the local Scots-Gaelic word for midge (‘meanbh-chuileag’) and coined the word ‘hooligan’ to describe how angry he was with getting bitten by the little buggers.

Football hooliganism isn’t a new thing – English men have been being stupid about ball games since the Middle Ages. Fights between groups of youths often took place during football matches between neighbouring towns and villages on Shrove Tuesdays and other holy days. Merchants who were worried about the effect of this on trade called for the control of football as early as the 14th century. In fact, King Edward II banned it completely in 1314, as did Edward III in 1349.

The good news is that since the 1980s and 90s, a widescale crackdown on football-related violence has been fairly successful. And although organised football-related punch-ups are still a thing (?), these days British football fans have a better reputation abroad. Long may it continue.