Page-boy
A page or page boy is a young male servant. A different meaning of "page boy", but based on the same idea of one who serves, is for a young boy who helps the bride at a wedding.
History
In medieval times, a page was a servant to a knight. He had to clean things, help the knight, for example by running messages for him. He also learned how to fight. When he was 14 he usually became a squire. When he was 21 he sometimes became a knight.
The decorative page
During the Renaissance and after it became fashionable for black boys and young men to be decorative pages. They wore fancy costumes and served fashionable ladies and lords. This custom of having an "African page" lasted for several centuries. This type of page is almost unheard of today.
Page-boy Media
Lord Patten, robed as Chancellor of Oxford University, assisted by a page.
Alof de Wignacourt and his page, by Caravaggio, c. 1608.
The Queen and the Page, by Marianne Stokes, 1896.
Painting of a page boy with silver collar, Dutch, 17th century.
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