Academic approach to titles in writing
Leo van de Pas
not.
We say: King Henry VIII, but we say 'the king went hunting'. Pope Leo
stayed in Rome----but the pope went hunting (I am sure he did :-). Do we say
Henri, Duke of Savoy/Duc de Savoie, but the duke of Savoie visited Paris? It
is an academic point but I would like to get this correct.
Can anyone give a good guide line?
Many thanks
Leo van de Pas
Canberra, Australia
Ann Sharp
> My problem in writing is when to use a capital
> letter with titles and when not.
Ann:
Proper noun / common noun
> We say: King Henry VIII, but we say 'the king went hunting'.
> Pope Leo stayed in Rome----but the pope went hunting (I am sure
> he did :-). Do we say Henri, Duke of Savoy/Duc de Savoie,
> but the duke of Savoie visited Paris? It is an academic
> point but I would like to get this correct.
>
> Can anyone give a good guide line?
Ann:
If the title is attached to a person's name, or given in full,
capitalize the title. (the President of the United States, the Duke of
Plaza-Toro, Duchess Gloriana; Pope Innocent)
Without a stated identified individual, lower case. (the Grand Fenwick
prime minister, the prime minister said, the president was consulted, they
proposed to the duchess, the king went hunting, the pope pronounced an
interdict, the kaiser, the tsar, the bishop, and so on)
[Dear Leo, thank you for posting this query; I discovered the page
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Senate/3616/misnomer.html with a
reference to "Idiot Legal Arguments: A Casebook for Dealing with Extremist
Legal Arguments" by Bernard J. Sussman, JD, MLS, CP. Even the extract was
entertaining, if not quite on topic for your query.]
L.P.H.,
Ann
R. Battle
<snip>
> Without a stated identified individual, lower case. (the Grand Fenwick
> prime minister, the prime minister said, the president was consulted, they
> proposed to the duchess, the king went hunting, the pope pronounced an
> interdict, the kaiser, the tsar, the bishop, and so on)
<snip>
I seem to recall from my grade school days that one exception to this was
the President (of the U.S.), whose title is always capitalized (even in
the situation above).
-Robert Battle
Frank H. Johansen
> My problem in writing is when to use a capital letter with titles and when
> not.
> We say: King Henry VIII, but we say 'the king went hunting'. Pope Leo
> stayed in Rome----but the pope went hunting (I am sure he did :-). Do we say
> Henri, Duke of Savoy/Duc de Savoie, but the duke of Savoie visited Paris? It
> is an academic point but I would like to get this correct.
>
> Can anyone give a good guide line?
I usually use capital letters when referring to a partiuclar titled
person. The King of Norway, not just any Norwegian king.
--
Vennlig hilsen
Frank H. Johansen
joh...@chello.no
Tim Powys-Lybbe
I think it is a matter period and inclination. In times of our concern,
'king' was very often in lower case. These days it is very often in
upper case. Similarly these days we bung in a few HRHs to make us feel
good but in the days when kings were sovereign they did not bother.
Do what you think your readers will be happy with?
--
Tim Powys-Lybbe t...@powys.org
For a miscellany of bygones: http://powys.org
Dolly Ziegler
Associated Press Stylebook. There's a long entry on nobility and
royalty, and this may be useful:
"Capitalize 'king, queen, prince' and 'princess' when they are used
directly before one or more names; lower-case when they stand alone...."
(The stylebook entry has the titles in italics; I have used single quote
marks instead.)
Cheers, Dolly in Maryland USA
Francois R. Velde
In medio soc.genealogy.medieval aperuit "Leo van de Pas" <leov...@bigpond.com> os suum:
> My problem in writing is when to use a capital letter with titles and when
> not.
> We say: King Henry VIII, but we say 'the king went hunting'. Pope Leo
> stayed in Rome----but the pope went hunting (I am sure he did :-). Do we say
> Henri, Duke of Savoy/Duc de Savoie, but the duke of Savoie visited Paris? It
> is an academic point but I would like to get this correct.
An academic answer, from the University of Chicago Press Manual of Style (14th ed.,
pp. 240-45):
"Civil, military, religious and professional titles and titles of nobility are
capitalized when they immediately precede a personal name, as part of the name:
President Buchanan, General Eisenhower, Cardinal Newman, Prince Charles.
The title is also capitalized if it refers to more than one name: Mayors Cermak
and Walker, Doctors Joseph and Hershall.
When such titles are used in apposition to a name they are not part of the name
and so are lowercased: the emperor Maximilian (i.e., the emperor who was
Maximilian), French president François Mitterrand (better: President
François Mitterrand of France).
In formal usage, such as acknowledgments, and lists of contributors,
titles following a personal name are usually capitalized. A title used
alone, in place of a personal name, is capitalized in such contexts as
toats or formal introduction: The translators wish to acknowledge their
indebtedness to C. R. Dodwell, Fellow and Librarian of Trinity College,
Cambridge. Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States.
Titles used in place of names in direct addresses are capitalized:
I would have done it, Captain, but the ship was sinking. Only
yesterday, Professor, you said....
In text, titles following a personal name or used alone in place of a name
(other than in direct address) are, with few exceptions, lowercased. The
lists in the sections that follow show various titles and words related to
them as they migth appear in text sentences.
One of the exceptions referred to above is the title Speaker (of the House)
which is customarily capitalized when used alone or after a personal name
to avoid ambiguity.
[...]
the emperor, the kaiser; Emperor William (or Wilhelm) II of Germany;
William II, emperor of Germany; Kaiser Wilhelm
[...]
Military titles and offices:
Two exceptions to the "down" style in this category are General of
the Army and Fleet Admiral, which are capitalized to avoid ambiguity.
[...]
Religious titles and offices:
the pope; the papacy; Pope John Paul II
[...]
Professional titles:
Among professional titles, named academic professorships and fellowships
are usually capitalized wherever they appear, especially if they are
accompanied by a personal name.
[...]
Titles of nobility:
the queen; the queen of England; Queen Elizabeth; Elizabeth II, queen of
England
the emperor; Emperor Charles V; the emperor Charles V; the Holy Roman
Emperor Charles V; the Holy Roman Emperor
the earl; the earl of Shaftesbury; Anthony Ashley Cooper, third earl
of Shaftesbury
the baronet; Sir Humphrey Blimp, Bart.; Sir Humphrey
the duke; Prince Philip, duke of Edinburgh (often capitalized in this
honorary title)
the dowager queen; Dowager Queen Mary
the count; Count (or Graf) Helmuth von Moltke; Count von Moltke
the duc de Guise; François de Lorraine, duc de Guise; the second
duc de Guise; the duke
For sake of clarity, or perhaps unbreakable tradition, some British
titles are capitalized when used without a personal name:
Prince of Wales; Queen Mother; Princess Royal; Dame of Sark (but:
prince consort)
British usage favors a more liberal use of the capitals for titles
than that recommended above.
[...]
Honorific titles:
Honorific titles and forms of address should be capitalized in any context:
Her (His Majesty; His (Her) Royal Highness; Your Grace; Excellency; His
Eminence; Your Honor; but: my lord; sir; madam
[...]
Commonly accepted epithets:
A characterizing word or phrase that has become a commonly accepted
epithet used as port of , or as substitute for, the name of some person
is capitalzied and not enclosed in quotation marks:
the Sun King; the young Pretender; the Great Commoner; the Iron Duke
--
François R. Velde
ve...@nospam.org (replace by "heraldica")
Heraldica Web Site: http://www.heraldica.org/
Pierre Aronax
"Francois R. Velde" <ve...@heraldicaNOTSPAM.invalid> a écrit dans le message
de news:bij8fn$4em$1...@e250.ripco.com...
<...>
> An academic answer, from the University of Chicago Press Manual of Style
(14th ed.,
> pp. 240-45):
> French president François Mitterrand (better: President
> François Mitterrand of France).
Tss... those universitarians! There is nothing like a "president of France",
only a president of the French Republic.
<...>
> William II, emperor of Germany; Kaiser Wilhelm
There was never an emperor of Germany...
> the queen; the queen of England; Queen Elizabeth; Elizabeth II, queen of
> England
And no more queen of England during the last three centuries :(
> the emperor; Emperor Charles V; the emperor Charles V; the Holy Roman
> Emperor Charles V;
No more "Holy Roman Emperor" (the empire was holy, not its emperor).
etc.
Bref, le style, les goûts et les couleurs...
Pierre
Francois R. Velde
<pierre...@hotmail.com> os suum:
>> An academic answer, from the University of Chicago Press Manual of Style
>Tss... those universitarians!
It's a manual of style, not content, and it was not written for academics, not
by academics. One would not cite this book as reference on royal titles, but on
how to capitalize them. The editors I've dealt with are always deferential on
content, but obstinate on style; and that is as it should be.
--
François Velde