In other words, he was a clerk
For some reason that word has gone out of favour, is considered almost demeaning, & therefore politically incorrect
But it has an honourable & distinguished history – was once considered fit for a king: “In these dayes regned in Inglond Herry the First, whech was named Herry Clerk” [Capgraves Chronicle of England, 1460]
From its original meaning – a member of the clergy or of a religious order – it came to mean scholar, since learning & the ability to read & write did not extend far beyond the walls of the monastery or church.
The word gradually extended to those who performed other functions of writing & secretarial work, & came to mean the officer in charge of the records, correspondence, and accounts of any department, court, corporation, or society – an important & powerful personage
There were many clerks whose role or function was very specific. Henry VIII had a Clarke of the Spicery – an interesting sounding & probably lucrative position. An officer in the Royal dockyards was known as the Clerk of the Cheque – he was a kind of inspector whose job was to go on board the ships to check that they had the number of sailors they claimed to have on board, were not trying to make ‘false musters’. By the time that it became necessary to carry out similar checks on police forces the officer was known as Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary
And with the great growth, especially in the 19th century, of large industrial, municipal or financial organisations the word clerk began to be applied to those in subordinate positions who kept accounts, made fair copies of documents, did the mechanical work of communication & kept the written records
In his book Money, Stanley Jevons was able to remark that "Some banks employ as many as six clerks"
No longer recorders of the word of God or of earthly kings, but of mammon & aldermen
The Pooters & Cratchits of the literary world
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