{{Short description|Female personal servant}}
{{About|the historic type of domestic servant|other uses}}
{{Too few opinions|date=July 2021}}
[[File:Bartolomé Esteban Perez Murillo 023.jpg|thumb|''The Annunciation'' by [[Bartolomé Esteban Perez Murillo|Murillo]], 1655–1660, [[Hermitage Museum]], [[Saint Petersburg]]]]

A '''handmaiden''' (nowadays less commonly '''handmaid''' or '''maidservant''') is a personal [[maid]] or female [[Domestic worker|servant]].<ref name=mw/> The term is also used metaphorically for something whose primary role is to serve or assist.<ref name=mw>{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/handmaiden |title=Handmaiden - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary |publisher=Merriam-webster.com |date=2012-08-31 |access-date=2013-09-17}}</ref> Depending on culture or historical period, a handmaiden may be of enslaved status or may be simply an employee. The terms ''handmaiden'' and ''handmaid'' are synonyms.<ref name=mw/> <!-- this source didn't say what was claimed but can perhaps be used elsewhere: https://www.biblicalcyclopedia.com/H/handmaid-or-handmaiden.html -->

==Depictions in Abrahamic texts==
[[File:John Collier - Pharaohs Handmaidens.jpg|thumb|''[[The Pharaoh's Handmaidens]]'' by [[John Collier (painter)|John Collier]], 1883]]
In the [[King James Version|King James]] translation of the [[Hebrew Bible]], the term handmaid is applied to a female servant who serves her mistress, as in the case of [[Hagar]] being described as [[Sarah]]'s handmaid,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0116.htm#3|title=Genesis 16 / Hebrew - English Bible / Mechon-Mamre|website=www.mechon-mamre.org|access-date=2020-04-16}}</ref> [[Zilpah]] being [[Leah]]'s handmaid<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0130.htm#9|title=Genesis 30 / Hebrew - English Bible / Mechon-Mamre|website=www.mechon-mamre.org|access-date=2020-04-16}}</ref> and [[Bilhah]] as [[Rachel]]'s handmaid.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0130.htm#3|title=Genesis 30 / Hebrew - English Bible / Mechon-Mamre|website=www.mechon-mamre.org|access-date=2020-04-16}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.refinery29.com/2017/04/151796/handmaids-tale-meaning-rachel-bilhah-bible-story |title=This Biblical Story Is At The Heart Of ''The Handmaid's Tale'' |access-date=2018-08-30 }}</ref> In each of these cases, the mistress "gave" their handmaid to their husbands "to wife", to bear his "seed" (children). The use in the Torah of the prefix "to", as in "gave ''to'' wife", may indicate that the wife is a [[concubine]] or inferior wife.<ref>[http://vadimcherny.org/judaism/women_similar_wives.htm Women, similar to wives] from vadimcherny.org</ref> The text repeats that these people remain handmaids of their mistress though they are also the concubine of the mistress's husband. They are referred to interchangeably by the Hebrew terms {{lang|he|{{Script/Hebrew|אָמָה}}}} ({{lang|he-Latn|’āmāh}}) and {{lang|he|{{Script/Hebrew|שִׁפְחָה}}}} ({{lang|he-Latn|šip̄ḥāh}}). Other modern English bible translations use the word slave, slave-girl or servant.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Genesis 16:1 KJV;ESV;NIV;NRSV - Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no - Bible Gateway|url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2016%3A1&version=KJV;ESV;NIV;NRSV|access-date=2022-02-11|website=www.biblegateway.com|language=en}}</ref>

==Mary==
In [[Christianity]], [[Mary, the mother of Jesus]] is referred to as the "handmaid of the Lord" or "servant of the Lord",<ref name="Closs2016">{{cite book|last=Closs|first=Michael P.|title=The Book of Mary: A Commentary on the Protevangelium of James|date=29 June 2016|publisher=FriesenPress|language=en |isbn=9781460284872|page=27}}</ref> both of which are titles of honour for the mother of [[Jesus]].<ref name="Press2012">{{cite book|last=Press|first=Liturgical|title=Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary|year=2012|publisher=Liturgical Press|language=en|isbn=9780814634868|page=192}}</ref> The [[Gospel of Luke]] describes Mary as the "handmaid of the Lord" ([[Ancient Greek|Greek]] {{lang|grc|δούλη}}, {{lang|grc-Latn|doulē}}) when she gives her consent to the message of the Angel (see {{Bibleverse|Luke|1:38|KJV}}), and when she proclaims the greatness of the Lord because of "the great things" he has worked in her (see {{Bibleverse|Luke|1:49|KJV}})."<ref name="Press2012"/>

== In popular culture ==
* ''[[The Handmaid's Tale]]'', а [[Dystopian novel#Dystopian fiction|dystopian novel]] by Canadian author [[Margaret Atwood]].
** [[The Handmaid's Tale (film)|''The Handmaid's Tale'' (1990 film adaptation of the novel)]]
** [[The Handmaid's Tale (opera)|''The Handmaid's Tale'' (2000 operatic adaptation of the novel)]]
** [[The Handmaid's Tale (TV series)|''The Handmaid's Tale'' (2017 TV adaptation of the novel)]]
* ''[[The Handmaiden]]'', a 2016 South Korean film directed by [[Park Chan-wook]].
* In the book series  ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' by [[George R.R. Martin]], which falls into the genres of both epic fantasy and dark fantasy, the female servants of a queen or a lady are referred to as "handmaidens" and the term is used to refer to many characters, most notably Queen [[Margaery Tyrell]]'s cousins, Elinor Tyrell and Megga Tyrell, who serve as Margaery's handmaidens upon her arrival in King's Landing.
* In the sci-fi ''[[Star Wars]]'' franchise, the term refers to the female assistants of a reigning queen, most notably the Royal Naboo Handmaidens on the planet Naboo.
*In ''[[Tangled The Series|Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure]]'', the penultimate episode is "Once a Handmaiden..."

==See also==
* [[Domestic worker]]
* [[Henchman]]
* [[Lady's maid]]
* [[Lady-in-waiting]]
* [[Nurse stereotypes]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Concubinage| ]]
[[Category:Domestic work]]
[[Category:Female stock characters]]
[[Category:Gendered occupations]]
[[Category:Slavery by type]]
[[Category:Women by occupation]]