History Main / LegacyOfService

* ''LightNovel/KazeNoStigma'', where the first Arc is powered by the rebellion of a family of wind-ninjas who have been serving the Kannagi Clan for centuries, and have finally gotten tired of it.

* Subaru Konoe from ''LightNovel/MayoChiki'' comes from such a line of butlers. The position is traditionally reserved for males, but Subaru has no brothers, and so Subaru has to jump through numerous hoops (most notably [[SweetPollyOliver posing as a boy in public]]) to prove herself worthy.

Note that this trope does not describe ''serfdom'' where nobles practically owned their servants and peasants for generations, nor does it include IndenturedServitude where multiple generations of a family have to serve a “lord” to work off debt.

* The Brands of Creator/DavidEddings' ''Literature/TheBelgariad'' are hereditary servants to the Kings of Riva, serving as a sort of chancellor - handling the day-to-day drudge while the king makes the big decisions. So dedicated are they to their duty that upon assuming office, they abandon whatever name they had before, becoming known simply as 'Brand' (which was the name of the first one to hold the office). Similar to the ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' example, they've spend a long time taking care of Riva and its throne while waiting for the return of the true king, but once he DOES show up, they never falter, and continue to serve faithfully. (With one notable, but quickly-corrected exception.)
** The prequels mention Polgara's servants while she was Duchess of Erat (she technically still is, but in practice Erat is no longer a duchy and the house has been deserted).

** The Shiekah of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' has ever been faithful to the Royal Family of Hyrule, and has served them for generations as retainers, with Impa being the latest in a long line.

** [[spoiler:Link himself]] in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'' comes from a line of knights, with his father having been a member of the royal guard.

* ''LightNovel/KazeNoStigma'', where the first Arc is powered by the rebellion of a family of wind-ninjas who have been serving the Kannagi Clan for centuries, and have finally gotten tired of it.
* ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'': Mori is the son of a family that has served Honey-chan's family since the Warring States Era, and despite the relationship being officially dissolved, he continues to serve and protect Honey-chan with supreme loyalty.
* ''Anime/YuGiOh'': The Ishtar family has been serving the Pharaoh for thousands of years, most of that living in an underground labyrinth protecting his tomb. Resentment over this is a huge part of what fuels Marik's StartOfDarkness.

* ''Anime/NegimaSecondSeason'' turned this into (one of) Setsuna's motivations for protecting Konoka.
* Subaru Konoe from ''LightNovel/MayoChiki'' comes from such a line of butlers. The position is traditionally reserved for males, but Subaru has no brothers, and so Subaru has to jump through numerous hoops (most notably [[SweetPollyOliver posing as a boy in public]]) to prove herself worthy.
* ''Manga/FushigiYuugiGenbuKaiden'' has two examples:
** The Wakaosa clan has been serving Uruki's [[spoiler: mother's side of the]] family for generations, which is vital when [[spoiler: a prophecy states that Uruki is destined to [[SelfMadeOrphan kill his father]] ]]; when that's revealed, [[spoiler: Uruki's mom entrusts baby Uruki to the then-leader Tauru Wakaosa, who raised him in her name until his own death; from then on, Tauru's son Soruen became young Uruki's BigBrotherMentor.]]
** One of the Genbu Senshi, Inami, was the daughter of a LadyInWaiting in the Hokkan Royal Palace and worked as a maid girl in the court too. It was not until the event of [[spoiler:TheEvilPrince Tegiru overthrowing the legitimate heir Temudan]] that she needed to flee the palace [[spoiler: due to her husband being labeled as part of Temudan's army.]]
* According to supplementary material in ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'', Hayasaka's family has served the Shinomiyas for generations and have earned their trust. She has served as Kaguya's valet since they were both seven. The two of them are very close to each other as a result (to the point that they consider themselves sisters) and their bond is the only thing that Kaguya considers more important than her crush on Shirogane.
* Manga/FoodWars: The Arato family have been the Nakiri family's personal physicians since time immemorial. Modern medicine has made the Aratos' knowledge of traditional Japanese herbal lore less valuable, but the tradition of service remains, with the 16-year-old Hisako acting as her contemporary Erina Nakiri's executive assistant.

* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', House Vestra has served the Imperial royal family for generations. Hubert is the scion of his family and swears complete and utter loyalty to the Empire's princess, Edelgard.

** Also, PlayedForLaughs with [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070601 the kid]] from a family of hereditary [[GraveRobbing grave robbers]].

* It seems that the Edrok family from ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'' has long served as personal servant of various [[AmazonBrigade Princesses of Zahard]].

[[folder: Comic Books]]

* The NinjaMaid Sayoko Shinozaki from ''Anime/CodeGeass'', she is the 37th sucessor of the Shinozaki school.

** In Alfred's very first Golden-Age-cum-Earth-Two appearance, this ''wasn't'' the case; Alfred was portrayed as having contacted Bruce asking for a job when the latter was already an adult (and already Batman), with no indication their families ever knew each other. [[LostInImitation Nowadays this version is totally unthinkable]].

* Hudson, Rose and Mrs Bridges from ''Series/UpstairsDownstairs'' all came from the Southwold Estate and serve the Bellamy family for more than thirty years without [[DawsonCasting appearing to age at all]]. Other servants come and go - Ruby and Edward being pretty long-standing - but these three are rather immortal and look like they will outlive even Sir Richard...

* The Brands of Creator/DavidEddings' ''Literature/TheBelgariad'' are hereditary servants to the Kings of Riva, serving as a sort of chancellor - handling the day-to-day drudge while the king makes the big decisions. So dedicated are they to their duty that upon assumign office, they abandon whatever name they had before, becoming known simply as 'Brand' (which was the name of the first one to hold the office). Similar to the ''LordOfTheRings'' example, they've spend a long time taking care of Riva and its throne while waiting for the return of the true king, but once he DOES show up, they never falter, and continue to serve faithfully. (With one notable, but quickly-corrected exception.)

** Ling's bodyguards Lan Fan and Fu come from a family that has served the Yao clan for a long time. Both are very loyal to him.
** There is also the flower lady who passes on Olivia's message to Mustang, whose family has [[MemeticMutation SERVED THE ARMSTRONG LINE FOR GENERATIONS]]!

* The author of ''Fanfic/TopDog'' creates one between the Hyuugas and the family of the Fourth Hokage in the Naruto branch; this immediately colors Hiashi Hyuuga's reaction to Naruto once he finds out his parentage.

* The original story for [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne]]'s butler, Alfred Pennyworth, whose father, Jarvis, had been Thomas Wayne's butler. This particular version of Alfred was canon until Creator/FrankMiller's ''ComicBook/BatmanYearOne'', which established that Alfred had himself been Thomas Wayne's butler/valet, and had worked for the Wayne family since before Thomas and Martha Wayne were killed.
** ''ComicBook/NightOfTheOwls'' reveals that Alfred's father had hoped to dissuade him from following in his footsteps. Another comic indicates that Alfred only intended to stay with the Waynes to fill in for his deceased father until they could find someone else. He decided to stay after learning young Bruce was being bullied and bonded with the kid while teaching him self-defense.

* Comicbook/DoctorStrange's manservant Wong is from a family whose ancestor, Kan, pledged that the firstborn males of his family would be dedicated to the service of the Sorcerer Supreme.

* ''[[Literature/KittyNorville Kitty Goes to Washington]]'' features a family that has served a female vampire for centuries. It turns out they are all descended from the two children she had before she became a vampire.

* In the Literature/LiadenUniverse, the family firm of dea'Gauss have served as attorneys to Clan Korval through many generations. One of the prequels reveals that it was a dea'Gauss who did the paperwork for the founding of the Clan, centuries ago, and Korval has had them on retainer ever since.
* The Stewards of Gondor from ''Literature/LordOfTheRings'', sort of. Being a family tasked over to watch over the throne in absence of a king, they had been waiting for when the RightfulKingReturns and should have recognized Aragorn as the rightful King of Men, but Denethor has other ideas.

* TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms has some long-runnners. Cormyrean {{court mage}}s were direct descendants of the elven magess Alea Dahast and Baerauble Etharr, the first High Wizard of Cormyr from 26 DR, until Vangerdahast Aeiulvana retired in 1372 DR, followed by Caladnei -- the first chief War Wizard supposedly not of this bloodline.

[[folder:Webcomics]]

** ''NightOfTheOwls'' reveals that Alfred's father had hoped to dissuade him from following in his footsteps. Another comic indicates that Alfred only intended to stay with the Waynes to fill in for his deceased father until they could find someone else. He decided to stay after learning young Bruce was being bullied and bonded with the kid while teaching him self-defense.
** In Alfred's very first Golden-Age-cum-Earth-Two appearance, this ''wasn't'' the case; Alfred was portrayed as having contacted Bruce asking for a job when the latter was already an adult (and already Batman), with no indication their families ever knew each other. [[LostInAdaptation Nowadays this version is totally unthinkable]].

-->'''Igor''': ...Of course, the rates will have gone up.

->'''Blackadder''': You're fired.
->'''Baldrick''': But my lord, I've been in your family since 1532!
->'''Blackadder''': So has syphilis, now get out.

[[AC:Anime and Manga]]

* In ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', Ling's bodyguards Lan Fan and Fu come from a family that has served the Royal Family for a long time.

[[AC:Comics]]

[[AC:Fan Works]]
* The author of Fanfic/TopDog creates one between the Hyuugas and the family of the Fourth Hokage in the Naruto branch; this immediately colors Hiashi Hyuuga's reaction to Naruto once he finds out his parentage.

[[AC:Film]]
* ''Film/YoungFrankenstein'': "My grandfather worked for your grandfather." --Igor
** "..Of course, the rates will have gone up."

[[AC:Literature]]

* The [[LordOfTheRings Stewards of Gondor]], sort of. Being a family tasked over to watch over the throne in absence of a king, they had been waiting for when the RightfulKingReturns and should have recognized Aragorn as the rightful King of Men, but Denethor has other ideas.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]

[[AC:TabletopGames]]

[[AC:VideoGames]]

[[AC: Webcomics]]

* According to supplementary material in ''Manga/KaguyaSamaWaKokurasetai'', Hayasaka's family has served the Shinomiyas for generations and have earned their trust. She has served as Kaguya's valet since they were both seven. The two of them are very close to each other as a result (to the point that they consider themselves sisters) and their bond is the only thing that Kaguya considers more important than her crush on Shirogane.

* Hudson, Rose and Mrs Bridges from ''UpstairsDownstairs'' all came from the Southwold Estate and serve the Bellamy family for more than thirty years without [[DawsonCasting appearing to age at all]]. Other servants come and go - Ruby and Edward being pretty long-standing - but these three are rather immortal and look like they will outlive even Sir Richard...

* In ''ForrestGump'', Bubba's family has apparently been in service for at least a century. The montage which shows different generations serving seems to imply that they are serving different generations of the same family. In this case, it's treated as a bad thing, since their service originated during the time of slavery. This would be inverted when Forrest gave Bubba's mother what he felt was Bubba's share of his shrimp venture: she was now rich enough to afford a servant of her own.

** ''NightOfTheOwls'' reveals that Alfred's father had hoped to dissuade him from following in his footsteps. Another comic indicates that Alfred only intended to stay with the Waynes to fill in for Jarvis until they could find someone else. He decided to stay after learning young Bruce was being bullied and bonded with the kid while teaching him self-defense.