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Andrey Azov
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Интересная статья про иерархию титулованных особ и обращение к ним.
| Цитата: | ENGLISH TITLES IN THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES
by Jo Beverley
This brief run-down of English titles is for use by fiction writers. It is by no means comprehensive, but covers the more common situations arising in novels set in the above periods.
The English peerage basically runs according to primogeniture, ie the eldest son gets everything. If a peer has no eldest son, the title and possessions that belong to it go to the next male heir, probably a brother or nephew.
There are a very few titles that can pass to a female if there is no direct heir, but they will revert to the male line when the lady bears a son. (Such as the monarchy.) Some titles can automatically pass through a female heir (when there is no male heir) and most can be revived by subsequent generations by petitioning to the Crown. (This is an area about which I am not at all confident, so that's all I can say here.)
The eldest son is called the heir apparent, since he is clearly the heir. If there is no such son, the heir is called the heir presumptive since, no matter how unlikely (the duke is actually an ancient Benedictine Monk on his death bed) the possibility of a closer heir being created is still there. Thus an heir presumptive does not hold an heir's title, if any. (See below about heir's titles.)
If a peer dies leaving a wife but no son, time must be allowed to be sure she is not pregnant before the heir presumptive assumes the title, etc.
An heir must be legitimate at birth. A peer may legitimize bastards and/or marry the mother later, but the child cannot be his legal heir.
Peers automatically have seats in the House of Lords. Note, however, that courtesy titles (those held by heirs) do not give seats.
Most peers do not use their surnames as their title. Thus, the usual pattern would be something like Arthur Bingham, Earl of Middleborough. He is Lord Middleborough, never Lord Bingham. (Or, for that matter, Lord Arthur.)
THE RANKS OF THE PEERAGE
A) Leaving aside royalty, the highest rank is DUKE.
His wife is the DUCHESS. They will be duke and duchess of something, eg. Duke and Duchess of Manchester. Address is "your grace", though familiars may address them as Duke and Duchess eg "Fine weather for shooting, eh, Duke?" or may address the duke by title. "Care for more port, Manchester?"
NOTE that the duke will also have a family name, ie. surname (such as Cavendish) but will not use it in the normal course of events. The duchess does not use the surname at all. If Anne Pitt marries the Duke of Stone (whose family name is Cherry), she will be Duchess of Stone and will informally sign herself Anne Stone, not Anne Cherry.
The duke's eldest son is his heir and will have his father's second-best title as his courtesy title. Nearly all peers have a number of titles marking their climb up the ranks. The heir to a duke is often the next lowest ranking peer, a marquess (or marquis -- spelling is optional, but both are pronounced markwess.) The title could, however, be an earldom, or even a viscountcy.
NB, a courtesy title does not give the holder a seat in the House of Lords or other privileges of the peerage.
If the heir has a son before the heir becomes duke, that son will take the next lowest title as a courtesy title. If the heir dies before his father, his eldest son becomes the heir apparent and takes his father's title.
Apart from the heir, a duke's sons are given the courtesy title Lord with their Christian name, eg. Lord Richard Somerset. Lord Peter Wimsey. They are never Lord Somerset or Lord Wimsey.
All a duke's daughters are given the courtesy title Lady, first name, surname eg. Lady Mary Clarendon. (Never Lady Clarendon.) If they marry a commoner, they retain the title. If Lady Mary marries Mr. Sticklethwait, she becomes Lady Mary Sticklethwait. If she marries a peer, she adopts his title. If Lady Mary marries the Earl of Herrick, she becomes Countess of Herrick, ie. Lady Herrick. If she marries the holder of a courtesy title, then she may use his title or her birth title as she wishes.
PLEASE NOTE that in all cases, the titles Lord or Lady "first name" "surname" (eg Lady Anne Middleton) and Lord or Lady "last name" or "title" (Lady Middleton) are exclusive. No one can be both at the same time. Moreover, Lord or Lady "first name" is a title conferred at birth. It cannot be gained later in life except when the father accedes to a title and thus raises his family.
So, Lady Mary Smith is not Lady Smith and vice versa.
Lord John Brown in not Lord Brown and vice versa.
If Mary Smith marries Lord Brown she is Lady Brown, not Lady Mary.
(If she marries Lord John Brown, she becomes Lady John Brown.)
B) Next in rank is a MARQUESS (See above about spelling and pronunciation.)
He will be Marquess of something, eg Marquess of Queensbury. His wife is the MARCHIONESS. (Pronounced "marshuness".) He is the Marquess of Queensbury, or Lord Queensbury, or Queensbury to his familiars, and his wife is the Marchioness of Queensbury or Lady Queensbury. She will sign herself "firstname" "title" eg. Marylou Queensbury.
His heir apparent takes his next highest title as a courtesy title. All other sons have the title Lord "firstname" "surname". All daughters have the title Lady "firstname" "surname". Details are as for duke.
C) Below marquess is EARL.
He will nearly always be earl of something. His wife is the COUNTESS. He is referred to as "the Earl of Cranthorpe" or "Lord Cranthorpe", or "Cranthorpe" to his familiars. Some earls do not use "of" as with Earl Spencer, but this is sufficiently unusual that I think it should be avoided unless it's a crucial plot point.
His wife is the Countess of Cranthorpe or Lady Cranthorpe, and she will sign herself Desdemona Cranthorpe.
As with a duke, the earl's heir will take the next lowest title as a courtesy title, and the heir's son, the next again.
All daughters of an earl are given the courtesy title Lady "firstname"; -- see dukes. All details are the same. Younger sons of an earl, however, are merely "the honorable" which is not used in casual speech.
D) Next is a VISCOUNT (pronounced vycount.)
His wife is a VISCOUNTESS. He is not "of". He will be, for example, Viscount Brummidge, usually known as Lord Brummidge, or just Brummidge. His wife will be known as Lady Brummidge and will sign herself Anne Brummidge.
His heir has no special title. All children are known as the honorable.
E) The lowest rank in the peerage is BARON.
His wife is a BARONESS. NOTE that the terms baron and baroness are only used in England in the most formal documents. General usage is simply to call them Lord and Lady. She will sign herself "firstname" "title". Children as for viscount.
F) Next in rank -- and not of the peerage -- is BARONET.
A baronet is called Sir, first name, surname. eg. Sir Richard Wellesley. His wife is called Lady "surname"; eg. Lady Wellesley. NOT Lady Mary Wellesley unless she is the daughter of a duke, marquess, or earl. She will sign herself "firstname" "surname" such as Mary Wellesley.
His children have no special distinction. The title, however, is inheritable which distinguishes it from....
G) A KNIGHT,
who is the same as a baronet in usage, but is a title for life only. His wife will be Lady "surname"
OTHER MATTERS
DOWAGERS
When a titled lady is widowed she becomes a dowager, but the practice has generally been not to use that title until the heir takes a wife and there could be confusion as to who is the real Lady Middlethorpe.
Even if she has a daughter-in-law, in general usage she would still be referred to by the simple title unless there was likely to be confusion. So, if the Dowager Duchess of Teale was at a house party while her daughter-in-law was in London, people would not be constantly referring to her as the dowager duchess.
PEERESSES IN THEIR OWN RIGHT
There are a few, very few, titles that can pass to a daughter if there is no son -- the Royal Family, for example. In this case, the usage is the same as if they were the wife of a peer of that rank, but their husband gains no title from the marriage, just as the Duke of Edinburgh is not king.
A Peeress in her Own Right retains her title after marriage, and if her husband's rank is the superior one, she is designated by the two titles jointly, the inferior one last. Her hereditary claim to her title holds good in spite of any marriage, and will be passed on.
Since the husband gains no title from such a marriage, it's possible to have the Countess of Arbuthnot married to Mr. Smith.
Her eldest son will be her heir and take her next lowest title. If she has no son, her eldest daughter will be her heir, but until she becomes the peer she will hold only the title that comes from her birth -- eg. Lady Anne -- if any, because an eldest daughter is always an heir presumptive. There might still be a boy.
COMMON PROBLEMS SEEN IN NOVELS
1. Interchanging courtesy titles like Lady Mary Smith and Lady Smith.
2. Interchanging peerage titles, as when Michael Downs, Earl of Rosebury is variously known as Lord Rosebury, Lord Downs, and Lord Michael Downs.
3. Applying titles that don't belong, as when Jane Potts marries Viscount Twistleton and erroneously becomes Lady Jane.
4. Having the widow of just about anyone, but especially a peer, remarry before time has elapsed to be sure she is not bearing a child. Or rather, whose child it is that she bears!
5. Having the heir presumptive assume the complete power over the title and property before it has been made clear that the widow in not going to produce an heir. (I'm sure this was a legal matter taken care of in probate etc. but I don't know the details.)
6. Having an adopted son inherit a title. Legal adoption was not possible in England until the twentieth century, and even now an adopted son cannot inherit a title. Even if the son is the father's offspring, if he wasn't born after a legal marriage, he cannot inherit the father's title. However, since they didn't have DNA testing, a child was assumed to be legitimate unless the father denied it from the first. Even if the son turns out to look suspiciously like the vicar, the father cannot deny him later. This, I assume was to avoid the chaos of peers coming up with all sorts of excuses to switch around their heirs on a whim.
7. Having a title left in a will, which follows from the above. A title cannot be willed to whomever the peer in question chooses. It goes according to the original letters patent, which almost always say that it will go to the oldest legitimate male in direct descent. The property can be left elsewhere unless it is entailed, but the title goes by legitimate blood.
8. Having an heiress (ie a daughter without brothers) inherit a title and convey it to her husband. It could be done -- anything could -- by special decree of the Crown, but it was not normal.
I hope this helps, and though I'm pretty sure it's right it is open to debate and amendment.
(Copyright Jo Beverley, 1994) |
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Ирма
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Ирма
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Makyne
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| Ирма, Вы всегда неутомимы в поисках все новых полезных ссылок, и я уже неоднократно порывалась сказать Вам спасибо. *розочка* Ну не парадокс ли, что говорю наконец, предостерегая переводчиков от советов указанного ресурса. (Уже одно то, что обращения вроде "лорд" или "ваша светлость" пишутся с заглавной буквы! И много всего другого.) |
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Ирма
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| Добавлено: Пт Окт 16, 2009 3:22 pm Заголовок сообщения: |
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Makyne, спасибо за "спасибо"! Я не то чтобы неутомима в поисках - ищут-то, поди, все, - просто я временами преодолеваю лень и выкладываю найденное ещё и сюда  .
За предостережения по поводу последнего сайта - тоже отдельное спасибо. Я там вскользь пробежала глазами страницу-две, на радикальные ляпы (ну кроме заглавных букв, но на них наплевала) не наткнулась и сохранила ссылку под девизом "всё равно полезно, потому что много и подробно". Добавила предупреждение в предыдущий пост, спасибо! |
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Ирма
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Debrett's Forms of Address:
- Titles (Clear advice on correct forms of address for titled people)
- Professions (Correct styles of address for a range of professionals)
- Joint Forms of Address (The complex permutations of involved in inviting couples to social occasions)
- The Royal Family (Styles of address for the British Royal Family)
- Hierarchies (Letters after the name, honours and the order of precedence)
- Surname Pronunciation (Correct pronunciation of surnames, place names and titles)
Последний пункт - отдельная ценная вещь.
И ещё там есть эксперт, которому можно задавать вопросы, и выложено сколько-то вопросов-ответов. |
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Ирма
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A genealogical survey of the peerage of Britain as well as the royal families of Europe |
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