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Writing Advice/Writing Lesson/Val Rants #WhoCares: Titles and Terms of Address

If fic writers could stop using ‘Heir’ like it’s a legitimate title, that would be great. ‘Heir’ is not a title; it’s not the junior form of ‘Lord’. It’s not a title in any form. Stop having your “aristocratic” characters address each other as ‘Heir This’ or ‘Heiress That’ or whatever else.

It’s not a title.

You want actual, real-world forms of address for your kiddie upper-class?

→ ‘Master’ is the actual title you would use for a young boy and/or unmarried young man of a family of the upper-class (It would become ‘Mister” when he comes of age).

→ ‘Miss’ is the girl equivalent.

→ They would be called Master/Miss [Family-name] if they are the eldest child of their gender, and Master/Miss [First-name+Family-name] if they are the younger siblings of their gender.  

→ If two or more children of a family are involved in a conversation with people not in their family, the eldest would be Master/Miss [Family-name] and the younger siblings would be addressed as Master/Miss [First-name] to distinguish between them.

For example: If a family — the Weasleys from Harry Potter — were upper-class, the oldest, Bill, would be called Master Weasley up until he turned 17 when he would become Mr Weasley. All his younger brothers would be called Master [First-name] Weasley, and their sister, Ginny, would be called Miss Weasley.

(As they are in canon though, father is called Mr Weasley, and all the Weasley boys would be Mr [First-name] Weasley until they move out to live on their own.)

However, at school, teachers WOULD NOT call students by formal titles — students would be addressed by their surnames and nothing else. Unless there were multiple students with the same surname (like the Weasleys), there would be no first names, no ‘Master/Mister’ nor ‘Miss.’

Even amongst themselves, upper-class/noble children would not use formal terms of address and instead call each other by their surnames or nicknames based on surnames or titles. If the Weasleys were ennobled, Bill might be called by his school friends (for example) Wesleton or something like Wes.

→ So how would your kiddie upper-class actually address each other? Unadorned surname.

But I see your disgruntled face now. You want that thrill of fancy titles! You want your upper-class to have the fancy conventions of the nobility!

Have you considered though that you haven’t actually made your characters nobility but instead gentry?

“But what’s gentry?” you might be wondering now.

→ Gentry* is a level of upper-class adjacent or a step below the nobility. Clergymen; estate owners; wealthy merchants; well-off political figures; ‘gentlefolk’. In general, if a person or family isn’t obligated to work to sustain themselves comfortably, they are gentry.

[*If this status has been achieved only in the latest generation, the person and/or family might be derided as parvenu, arriviste, or nouveau riche, especially if their rise in wealth, influence or celebrity is sketchy or they themselves are simply tacky and tasteless. (Lockhart AND Voldemort would fit into this bracket, though for different reasons, obviously.)]

So often in HP fics I see monikers like “Lord Black, Head of House Black and Lestrange,” and while that sounds grand, those are not noble titles. (If you are writing the general era of Merlin, go ahead and ignore this since that time period was before the establishment of this hierarchy.) ‘Lord’ certainly denotes nobility, but the second part can be applied to any sort of upper-class — and it’s not even an “official” status, ei. one you would be obliged to state went introducing people. It’s trivia! It would be like calling my mother ‘Dame Tanya, Head of House Kendall’ — not untrue, but unneeded and out of place.

Rarely do I see nobility in fanfiction properly titled and addressed like nobility. Most of the time it’s gentry pseudo-titles and made-up forms of address. If you don’t want to go through the trouble of actually creating a noble hierarchy, go with an un-ennobled gentry class. It’s easier to remember the rules and it’s less high-strung.

If you insist on the use of noble titles though, then you must accept that family names are NOT titles.

Let’s say Artemis Fowl is an earl. He wouldn’t be ‘Earl Fowl,’ he would be ‘Lord [Somewhere], The Earl of [Somewhere]’ if his title came with territory, or ‘Lord [Title-name], Earl [Title-name]’ if the position was a title only. He would NEVER be called ‘Earl [Family-name]’ unless the family name had already been adopted from the title. (ex. Black Butler, where the MC is Ciel Phantomhive, The Earl of Phantomhive.)

And he wouldn’t be really be addressed as ‘Earl [Whatever]’ outside of being announced at a ball or being introduced to someone for the first time  — in conversation with or without him, he would be referred to as ‘Lord [Title-name].’

Nobility in order of precedence:

• Duke/Duchess 
• The Duke/Duchess of [Somewhere]
• styled as ‘His/Her Grace’ 
• referred to in 3rd person as “His/Her Grace’
• orally addressed as ‘Your Grace’ (or ‘Duke/Duchess’ by social equals)
• The eldest son/heir apparent is styled as ‘The Most Honourable’
• The eldest son/heir apparent may be referred to as ‘Marquess/Marchioness [Subsidiary-title]’ (NO ‘THE’)
• The eldest son/heir apparent is addressed as ‘My Lord/Lady’ OR ‘Lord/Lady [Subsidiary-title]’
• younger children are not styled
• younger children are referred to and addressed as ‘The Lord/Lady [First-name+Family-name]’
• Marquess/Marchioness 
• The Marquess/Marchioness of [Somewhere]
• styled as ‘The Most Honourable’
• referred to in 3rd person as ‘His/Her Lordship/Ladyship’
• orally addressed as ‘Lord/Lady [Somewhere].’
• The eldest son/heir apparent is styled as ‘The Right Honourable’
• The eldest son/heir apparent may be addressed as ‘Earl/Countess [Subsidiary-title]’ (NO ‘THE’)
• The eldest son/heir apparent is addressed as ‘My Lord/Lady’ OR ‘Lord/Lady [Subsidiary-title]’
• younger children are not styled
• younger children are referred to and addressed as ‘Lord/Lady [First-name+Family-name]’
• Earl/Countess 
• The Earl/Countess of [Somewhere] OR [Title-name]
• styled as ‘The Right Honourable’
• referred to in 3rd person as ‘His/Her Lordship/Ladyship’ 
• orally addressed as ‘Lord/Lady [Somewhere] OR ‘Lord/Lady [Title-name].’
• The eldest son/heir apparent is styled as ‘The Right Honourable’
• The eldest son/heir apparent may be addressed as ‘Viscount/Viscountess [Subsidiary-title]’ 
• eldest son/heir apparent is addressed as ‘My Lord/Lady’ OR ‘Lord/Lady [Subsidiary-title]’
• younger children are not styled
• younger children are referred to and addressed as ‘Mr/Miss [First-name+Family-name]’
• Viscount/Viscountess 
• The Viscount/Viscountess [Title-name]
• styled as ‘The Right Honourable’ 
• referred to in 3rd person as ‘His/Her Lordship/Ladyship’
• orally addressed as ‘Lord/Lady [Title-name].’
• The eldest son/heir apparent is styled as ‘The Honourable’
• The eldest son/heir apparent is addressed as ‘Mr/Miss [Family-name]’
• younger children are not styled
• younger children are referred to and addressed as ‘Mr/Miss [First-name+Family-name]’
• Baron/Lady*
• The Lord/Lady [Title-name]
• styled as ‘The Right Honourable’ (’Much Honoured’ if Scottish)
• referred to in 3rd person as ‘His/Her Lordship/Ladyship’
• orally addressed as ‘Lord/Lady [Title-name].’ 
• The eldest son/heir apparent is styled as ‘The Honourable’
• The eldest son/heir apparent may be addressed as ‘Mr/Miss [Family-name]’
• younger children are not styled 
• younger children are addressed as ‘Mr/Miss [First-name+Family-name]’

[*Only a woman who is a baroness in her own right may use the title of Baroness.]

• Baronet*
• Baronet [Title-name]
• is not styled
• referred to and orally addressed as ‘Sir [First-name]’
• wife is referred to addressed as ‘Lady [Family-name]’
• The eldest children are not styled
• The eldest children are addressed as ‘Mr/Miss [Family-name]’
• younger children are not styled
• younger children are addressed as ‘Mr/Miss [First-name+Family-name]’

[*Baronets are not actually nobility, but the title is hereditary.

**The titles of duke and marquess are almost always territorial, hence the inclusion of ‘of’. The title of earl can be titular only though, so if they don’t preside over an area the ‘of’ is dropped in favour of the title alone when being addressed. Viscounts and barons are almost always title-only, so they never use ‘of’.]

The addressing system can be very confusing, so to make sure there’s no confusion  — imagine there is a marquess. He is The Marquess of Clearwater.

He is never ‘Lord Henry Clearwater.’

NEVER.

He may be called ‘Lord Clearwater’; ‘Henry, Lord Clearwater’; his immediate family and close friends would call him, ‘Clearwater’; and people of lower standing would call him ‘my lord’ OR ‘your lordship.’ This goes for earls, viscounts, and barons as well.

(Note: A duke never ‘Lord [Anything]’ — he is always ‘Duke [Whatever].’)

A nobleman’s surname is always his title. He’s ‘Devonshire’ and not ‘Cavendish’, the family name. The children use the family name, he uses the title. His signature is his titles as well: Wellington, Jersey, Rutland, Norwich, et al. He generally wouldn’t introduce himself as ‘John Johnson, Earl of Marsh’ either, but as ‘Marsh.’ 

His wife would use his title as a surname also, and sign as ‘E. Marsh’, or ‘Elizabeth Marsh’. Lady Marsh might even send her letters with just ‘Marsh’ as her husband does, though it’s most common for the lady to sign with her first name or initial and the title.

And do not mix peerage and courtesy titles. (The former being the nobleman, the latter being his heir.) If a man is a nobleman he is never ‘Lord [First-name] [Anything].’

And then were have the gentry, my preferred method of upper-class since it can be used in any country, any genre, and a character can achieve the status  without needing the “correct” parentage.

Gentry in order of vague precedence:

• Ambassador 
• Ambassador [Family-name]
• styled as ‘His/Her Excellency’
• orally addressed as ‘Your Excellency’ OR ‘Sir/Madam.’
• Supreme Court Justice 
• Justice [Family-name]
• styled as ‘The Right Honourable’ + whatever title they may have OR ‘His/Her Honour’
• orally addressed as ‘Your Honour,’ OR ‘My Lord/Lady,’ OR ‘Your Lordship/Ladyship,’ OR ‘Sir/Madam.’
• Secretary of State
• Minister [Family-name]
• styled as ‘The Right Honourable’ + whatever title they may have. 
• orally addressed as ‘Your Honour,’ OR ‘Sir/Madam.’

[*Same precedence as a baron.]

• Religious figure 
• These are extremely varied and numerous, and the address varies from religion to religion.
• in general, the heads of an order/sect can be styled as ‘His/Her Eminence’
• orally addressed as ‘Your Eminence’

[*Depending on the position, a religious figure can have precedence over even a duke. Most are pretty mid-range though.]

• Judge 
• Judge [Family-name]
• styled as ‘The Right Honourable’ + whatever title they have
• orally addressed as ‘Your Honour’ OR ‘Sir/Madam,’ OR ‘Judge [Family-name]’
• Magistrate  
• Magistrate [Family-name]
• styled as ‘The Honourable’ + whatever title they have 
• orally addressed ‘Your Honour’  OR ‘Sir/Madam.’
• Knight/Dame 
• styled as ‘Sir/Dame [First-name+Family-name]’
• orally addressed as  ‘Sir/Dame [First-name]’ OR ‘Sir/Madam’
• A wife would be ‘Lady [Surname]’; a husband would be ‘Mr [Surname]’
• Esquire*
• styled as ‘[First-name+Family-name], Esq.’ upon introduction and on paper
• styled as ‘[First-name+Family-name]’ on a day-to-day basis
• orally addressed as ‘Sir.’
• a wife (if she had no title of her own) would be Madam/Mrs [First-name+Family-name]

[* Not to be confused with squires, esquires are the younger sons of the lower nobility; the head of an old but untitled family; any large estate owner; medical professionals; barristers at law.]

• Gentleman 
• styled as [Military title]/Doctor/Professor/Mister [First-name+Family-name]
• orally addressed as ‘Sir.’
• a wife (if she had no title of her own) would be Madam/Mrs [First-name+Family-name]

[*The Latin prefix ‘de’ (meaning ‘of’) was occasionally applied to surnames. Though it doesn’t actually denote nobility nor gentry, it has been known for the nouveau riche to add it to their names (incorrectly) to make it sound fancier, e.g. “de Trafford.” Correctly used, it should denote a foreign place-name, e.g. “de Grey” or “D’Urbervilles.”]

The gentry is upper-class, but unlike nobility, their titles are not hereditary. I think using it actually makes any social hierarchy you may want to write into your fic more credible and less jarring; where there’s a governing body and rich people, there is a gentry  — acknowledged or otherwise.

This concludes Val’s rant/lesson/advice! If you have questions or suggestions for my next topic, hit me up in an ask!