"Philip, too, looked into the future, and he saw Clutton in twenty years, bitter, lonely, savage, and unknown; still in Paris, for the life there had got into his bones, ruling a small cenacle with a savage tongue, at war with himself and the world, producing little in his increasing passion for a perfection he could not reach; and perhaps sinking at last into drunkenness."

cenacle, coenacle ['sɛnəkəl]
noun
1 a supper room, esp. one on an upper floor
"Philip, too, looked into the future, and he saw Clutton in twenty years, bitter, lonely, savage, and unknown; still in Paris, for the life there had got into his bones, ruling a small cenacle with a savage tongue, at war with himself and the world, producing little in his increasing passion for a perfection he could not reach; and perhaps sinking at last into drunkenness.

2 [cap] the room in which the Last Supper took place
[ETYMOLOGY: 14th Century: from Old French, from Late Latin cenaculum, from cena supper]

Fantastically rare word, wwh, and fantastic, too. This Clutton character sounds fascinating.

made me think of "seneschal"...

Seneschal meant old and hence senior servant. Skalk also
gives us "skulk" meaning to avoid close contact, as menials
were obliged to escape reprimand.
And "marshal" originally mean the chief caretaker of the horses.

Marshal, seriously? What's the etymology here? I ask because my Uncle John's name is 'John Marshall'--and that's what I call him all the time. And he has kept horses on occasion among other farming beasts.

marshal - 1218, from O.Fr. mareschal, originally "stable officer, horse tender, groom," from L.L. mariscaluis, from Frank. (cf. O.H.G. marahscalc "groom"), from P.Gmc. *markhaz "horse" + *skalkaz "servant." The verb "to arrange for fighting" is from 1587.

Oh, how very, very interesting, wwh. Thank you very much for looking this up. I shall pass on the information to my beloved uncle who should relish the knowledge.