In David Drake's RCN series, the character Peter Hogg (in his fifties at the time of the novels) was protagonist Lieutenant Daniel Leary's "watcher" as a child, becoming his "manservant" as Daniel became older and following him into the naval service (without a formal rank or title).

NOTE: Sergeant Bothari from my post above performed an identical role for Miles Naismith Vorkosigan, Cordelia and Aral Vorkosigan's physically-challenged son. Bothari however had the additional role of protecting the infant Miles from his own grandfather; on the world of Barrayar, deformed infants were routinely killed by abandonment/exposure, as the population had a psychotic aversion to genetic mutations. Miles was to suffer from such prejudice for his entire life, even though his deformities were the result of a not-quite-successful nerve gas attack on Cordelia while she was pregnant with Miles, rather than from damaged DNA.

On Mon, Mar 18, 2019 at 10:08 PM Richard Aiken <xxxxxx@gmail.com> wrote:

Lois McMaster Bujold's nobles had low-born "armsmen" as companions. These were generally bodyguards and assigned on a rotating basis, but particular armsmen could became close companions of a noble. I remember in particular Sergeant Bothari, a senior armsman who was essentially a berserker. Bothari could only keep control of his urge to violence if focused upon protecting someone in his charge. I remember one scene in particular where said charge was Cordelia Vorkosigan ne Naismith, the new wife of his employer. A confirmed pacifist by upbringing and inclination, Cordelia finds herself facing down a rebel of royal blood.

Said rebel sneers at Cordelia (paraphrased from memory): "It doesn't matter that you caught me. I haven't broken any laws, so you can't keep me. And you can't kill me either, since you just don't do that."

Cordelia stares at the man for a long moment, then sighs: "You are correct."

Turning to Bothari, Cordelia says calmly: "Sergeant Bothari, please kill me this man."

Without hesitation or change of expression, Bothari steps forward and removes the man's head with a single swing of the light sword blade he carries. Berserker strength, don't you know! :)

On Mon, Mar 18, 2019 at 7:50 AM David Jaques-Watson <xxxxxx@pcug.org.au> wrote:
Dear Folks –

Jeff wrote:
> Several terms were proposed, none of which were _quite_ what I was looking for

From your “lengthy” discussion, I suggest the very difficulty you have encountered is precisely the reason why it is a made-up term.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
David "Hyphen" Jaques-Watson ..at.. Beowulf Down (Tavonni/Vilis/SM 1520)
http://www.tip.net.au/~davidjw xxxxxx@pcug.org.au
"I file things in historical order, with a hashing algorithm of gravity"

-----
The Traveller Mailing List
Archives at http://archives.simplelists.com/tml
Report problems to xxxxxx@simplelists.com
To unsubscribe from this list please go to
http://www.simplelists.com/confirm.php?u=CKGWeUlXNVzOv9Ey6KwqX8aXjeTXlVSV

--
Richard Aiken

"Never insult anyone by accident." Robert A. Heinlein
"I studied the Koran a great deal. I came away from that study with the conviction there have been few religions in the world as deadly to men as Muhammed." Alexis de Tocqueville
"We know a little about a lot of things; just enough to make us dangerous." Dean Winchester (fictional monster hunter portrayed by Jensen Ackles)
"It has been my experience that a gun doesn't care who pulls its trigger." Newton Knight (as portrayed by Matthew McConaughey), to a scoffing Confederate tax collector facing the weapons held by Knight's young children and wife.