Talk:Rufus Drumknott

Dark Clerk?

I've always felt Drumknott to be a dark clerk or at least trained by the assasins school.

Though, as far as I'm aware, this status is not explicitly mentioned, his character, style and movement suggest this to me.

Has anyone else thought this about Drumknott?

No, I've always thought of him as a narratively necessary device: a highly efficient and loyal servant. Vetinari wouldn't tolerate anything but the best and Ankh-Morpork has the capacity to deliver high quality as well as the (more usual) dross. Efficiency and talent are not exclusive to those educated by UU or the Guilds. He has never shown by the remotest word or deed an inclination towards anything other than distaste for waste, and I cannot imagine him wielding any weapon more mighty than a pen - which, in the hands of an efficient Secretary, may well be the mightiest of all...--Knmatt 16:16, 6 September 2010 (CEST)

Well, it's a theory, but it's rather difficult to be sure one way or another, since we don't really know much about Drumknott. In most of his appearances, he seemed to exist as the Watson to Vetinari's Holmes, but we don't really know his background, personality, &c extensively. My personal opinion, though... Drumknott walks with a perfectly silent and efficient gait, has an extreme unflappability ('When you said "don't nobody move"...'), and his general air of (vaguely snobbish, in a certain sense of the word) discretion just sounds Dark Clerk-y to me. And after all, the pen is a Secretary's weapon, but imagine what an Assassin Secretary could do with it... --LikeAnEagle

But when Drumknott was surprised and seriously wounded by Pin and Tulip, would a thoroughly trained Assassin have let himself be ambushed like that? AgProv 18:24, 23 June 2012 (CEST)

This in addition to his general depiction as a shy and withdrawn fellow, lacking self-confidence outside his clerical specialties. "It's rather difficult to be sure one way or another" because there isn't the hint of any evidence for the idea that he's an assassin. (Vetinari isn't likely to waste an assassin in a librarian's job or vice-versa, either.) Old Dickens 18:43, 23 June 2012 (CEST)

To be fair, one thoroughly trained assassin was ambushed, surprised, and seriously wounded (knocked unconscious!) by Pin and Tulip, although at least Vetinari made an attempt to defend himself. I still don't think Drumknott's a Dark Clerk, though. Necropants (talk) 12:17, 16 April 2017 (UTC)

It occurs to me. There is a very definite Holmes to Watson vibe in interactions between Vetinari and Drumknott. Admittedly Vetinaro has never said "Elementary, my dear Drumknott" at any point. But the spill words are there, hovering in the air... AgProv (talk) 14:07, 10 June 2017 (UTC)

Hair?

Why would being a redhead "interfere with the discharge of his duties as Lord Vetinari's manservant"? I hate annotations. --Old Dickens (talk) 04:03, 14 November 2022 (UTC)

As a redhead, I applaud this discussion and the outcome. There'd be cause for a note saying that the colour of his hair is never mentioned in the books - and I think I'll add a version of that back in - but the rest was a bit weird. -- Guybrush (talk) 11:20, 19 November 2022 (UTC)