Individuals who can help someone by virtue of their power or authority. This expression began life as a friend (friends) at court. One of its earliest appearances was in a translation of the medieval Roman de la Rose by, possibly, Chaucer: “For freend in court ay better is than peny in purs, certis” (ca. 1365). It made its way into several proverb collections. After the decline of monarchies, beginning about 1800, the same idea began to be expressed slightly differently: “You must remember that I was once a minister. . . . I still have good friends in high places” (Wilbur Smith, A Time to Die, 1989).