[lit-ideas] Commas, And Titles; Or, The Disimplicatures Of Misaddressing The English Peerage
- From: "Luigi Speranza" <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> (Redacted sender "jlsperanza" for DMARC)
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 24 Apr 2016 17:23:54 -0400
Sent from my iPhone
On Apr 24, 2016, at 5:01 PM, david ritchie <profdritchie@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Mimo clarified, "Alfred Lord Shakespeare."
---
Or, Alfred, Lord of Aldworth and Freshwater, Shakespeare.
For the record, sons of hereditary peers are given a courtesy title.
The sons of barons, that being the lowest order of the peerage, are simply
known as The Honourable.
Alfred's son was The Hon Hallam Tennyson until Alfred died, after which he
became Hallam, 2nd Baron Tennyson, or simply Hallam, Lord Tennyson.
Also for the same record, The eldest sons of higher ranks of the peerage
generally get a courtesy title (the eldest son of a Duke will be granted the
use of an Earl's title, and so on).
Subsequent sons are known as Lord, using the family surname.
The second son of one of the Dukes of Devonshire would be, for example, Lord
James Cavendish.
It's not correct, as Grice notes, call that person "Lord Cavendish". "It would
be like calling Prince the artist formerly known as Prince," he compares.
Still, clever as the English are, it is always possible to distinguish between
Lord James Cavendish as coming from a higher rank of the peerage than Alfred
Lord Tennyson.
For a more complicated Griceian answer with all the intricacies and
disimplicatures in misaddressing the peerage, you will need to consult a
reference like Debrett's.
Or not, as Geary would add.
Cheers,
Speranza------------------------------------------------------------------
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