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Say two lord, or lord and a lady are talking. Would they start a conversation with a person whose name they don't know? And if so, how would they ask for the other's name/introduce themselves? I'm specifically curious about French nobles in the 10th/11th century.

Edit: eg. Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. Would he say "I'm Charles Brandon." "I'm Brandon." "I'm the Duke of Suffolk." or just "I'm Suffolk." or something else?

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  • You might want to look at Chrétien de Troyes, while remembering that this is literary convention, not real life. Apparently in C de T there was often a dramatic delay between meeting and naming. E.g., in Erec and Enide, there is a whole scene between Erec and the father, at the end of which: "Sire, you know not what guest you have sheltered here, nor do you know my estate and kin. I am the son of a rich and puissant king: my father's name is King Lac, and the Bretons call me Erec." (tr. W.W. Comfort) Erec is higher in status than the father, a vavasor who has fallen on hard times. – Ben Crowell Feb 4 at 1:12
  • Thank you, I think I will try to find more literary sources from that era to draw examples from. – Katerina Feb 4 at 21:08

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