Client

In ancient Rome, a plebeian under the patronage of a wealthy patrician. The patron was bound, in return for certain services, to protect his client's life and interests. Some aristocrats had scores of clients who gathered outside their domicile every morning for bread and further sustenance. This was one solution to entrenched poverty and unemployment in an era of gross disparity between the haves and the never-will-have.

"The King was miserably compelled kneeling on his knees to give over both his crown and scepter to the Pope of Rome and as his client, vassal, feodory, and tenant, to receive it of him again."

Richard Grafton, Chronicle of John II (1568).