My Lord Sir Herald
Titles and Address in England Before 1600
Ursula Georges
Some members of the Society for Creative Anachronism use all or many of their titles simultaneously, as in the phrase "Duke Sir John". This practice, commonly known as "title-stacking", is usually discouraged as non-medieval. However, although there is no evidence that phrases such as "Duke Sir John" or "Baron Master James" were used before 1600, some remarkably similar phrases, such as "the lady Marquess Dorset", were in use.
The words "lord", "lady", "master", "mistress", and "sir" and the phrases "my lord" and "my lady" were used in England to address or refer to someone respectfully. These words could be combined with a name, such as "My lady Margaret"; they could also be used with somebody's office or occupation, as in the phrases "sir priest" and "master mayor". Noble titles used with "lord", "sir", or "mistress" include "king", "queen", and "earl": "Sir king", "Mistress queen", "Lord earl". Occasionally, the same phrase combined a respectful form of address, a title or occupation, and a name, as in the phrase "Maister Doctor Hanibal".
Here are some examples of medieval use of titles, in the original English spellings, taken from the Oxford English Dictionary:
Sir:
- Sir king,..we beþ icome fram verre londe iwis, 1297
- Nou sir clerc, quaþ þe king, ʒe mowe þretni ynou, 1297
- Sere biscop, ta god kepe, a. 1300
- Hys worthynesse, sur Emperour, Passeþ Muche alle ʒowre, a. 1400
- Sir Preest, in shrift I telle it thee, That he..Hath me assoiled., c. 1400
- Sir Doctour of Phisyke.., Telle us a tale, c. 1400
- The fayre tour..whech þou say, Ser Pope, is þe grete excellens of þi dignite, 1451
- Nou sir clerc, quaþ þe king, ʒe mowe þretni ynou, 1297
Lord:
- Mi lorde ser Herowde! ["My lord sir Herald!"], c. 1440
- to the said Lord Erle, 1444
- I am somoned by a sergent at armes to apere byfore my lorde chaunceller, 1530
- My Lorde Abbot I recommende me vnto you, 1533
- May a bishop be called..by the name of ‘my Lord bishop, my Lords grace’., 1583
- the parts and office of a Lord high Generall, 1598
- to the said Lord Erle, 1444
Lady:
- My lady Prioresse, c. 1386
- Unto the right noble puyssant & excellent pryncesse, my redoubted lady, my lady Margarete, duchesse of Somercete., c. 1489
- The moost excellent pryncesse my lady the kynges graundame, 1509
- Lady maystres ["Lady mistress"], 1530
- The Ladye Marques Dorset, 1548
- Unto the right noble puyssant & excellent pryncesse, my redoubted lady, my lady Margarete, duchesse of Somercete., c. 1489
Master:
- ‘Now, maystir marynars,’ seyde sir Trystram, ‘what meanyth this lettir.’, 1470
- The Popis Holynes, informed by Maister Doctor Hanibal of my commyng, sent word that I shulde tary a day., 1523
- Maister Meir, I haue brought you a byll here, 1525
- The same daye paied to a servant of maister treasurer in Rewarde for bringing a wylde bores hed to the king., 1531
- Maister Constable., 1600
- The Popis Holynes, informed by Maister Doctor Hanibal of my commyng, sent word that I shulde tary a day., 1523
Mistress:
- Such obprobrious words as one Walter Coke shold haw spokyn by Maisteras Mayras ["Mistress Mayoress"], 1541
- For ane chayare to the maistres nureis, 1598
- Mastris Queene my Master, for valt of a better presence has sent you here a Million, 1636
- For ane chayare to the maistres nureis, 1598
Ursula Georges, 2005
ursula at yarn theory dot net
