Questions tagged [titles]
Questions related to the history of the use of honorific forms of address, either as a prefix or suffix to a given or assigned named, usually denoting nobility or royalty or aristocracy.
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By what legal mechanism was Catherine Howard deprived of her title of Queen of England?
To the best of my knowledge, under English (and later British) law, a peerage can only be revoked via a conviction for treason by a bill of attainder. Peerages have sometimes been surrendered ...
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Who was the last leader of a country to call himself a dictator, or the last regime that called itself a dictatorship?
Dictator was originally a title from Ancient Rome, which some modern regimes have used. I'm asking who was or is the most recent to do that.
I'm just assuming it was probably a man since most rulers ...
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What were the heir and children of monarchs with the titles "Grand Prince" or "Prince" called?
I've tried to look everywhere, but I could not find anything substantial.
What I want to know is, what were the heirs and grander offspring of monarchs, with titles such as "Grand Prince" or ...
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Why was Edward I of England the first Edward?
Why is Edward I of England given the numeration "I", when he was preceded by Edward the Confessor and Edward the Martyr. Did numerations only begin with William I?
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Have any kings ever been serving admirals?
As the title says, has any person who has held or has gone on to hold the title of King (or some other similar monarchical title) ever been a serving admiral, who has exercised actual command of a ...
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Why did Peter the Great change his daughters' title to Tsesarevna?
Having won the Great Northern War in 1721, Peter the Great promoted himself from Tsar to Emperor. At the same time, he seems to have changed the title used by his daughters from Tsarevna to Tsesarevna....
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Was the term 'sir' or 'sire' in use in England in the 13th century? [closed]
A supposed ancestor of mine, one 'Sir' Henry Kymbold (born 1280 in Hitcham, Suffolk) appears in a list of direct ancestors. Would 'sir' have even been in use in this period, or does this reflect ...
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Was the title "Prince of Wales" originally claimed for the English crown prince via a trick?
As the son of a proud Welsh woman, as a child I was told the origin story of the title "Prince of Wales" was that after Edward I beat Llywelyn ap Gruffudd at the Battle of Orewin Bridge, as ...
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When was the last promotion in the British Peerage?
I suspect that I ought to say "elevation", rather than promotion, but I think that the question is clear.
According to Debrett's :
The five titles of the peerage, in descending order of ...
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How formalised were the various tiers of Russian nobility during the regency of Sophia Alekseyevna?
I'm a few chapters into Robert K Massie's biography of Peter the Great, and I was surprised to read that, in the aftermath of Peter's seizure of power from his sister and regent Sophia, when passing ...
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What is or was a Bond Major?
In our parish church we have a clock with an engraving on it that says 'The Gift of the Hon. Edward Trelawny the Bond Major 1737'. Does anybody know what a Bond Major was/is?
Unfortunately I have no ...
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What was an "alower of Society debts" in colonial America?
"Alower of Society debts" - one of my ancestors held this role in Colonial America. I can find a reference to the role of "tithingman" - but not this... seems self-explanatory, ...
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Was the title of Pasha bestowed or used in the Indian subcontinent?
Was the title of pasha often bestowed or used in the Indian subcontinent before, say, 1914? If so, which authority bestowed these titles? Are there any well-known examples of pre-1914 pashas?
The ...
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Did the later Byzantine Emperors use regnal numbers?
Regnal numbers are an essentially medieval European invention, and although we today might talk about Ramesses II and Khosrow II, this is not how those rulers referred to themselves.
For most of its ...
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What does a wife call her husband when addressing him in their household in 1600s England if he is a member of the peerage? [closed]
I am writing a novel that takes place in 1600s England during the time of the English Civil War, and the main characters are aristocracy with fairly vast land holdings in York.
If the husband and ...
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Did Catherine of Aragon use the title Princess of Wales before she was married to Prince Arthur?
In several historical fiction books that I've read about Catherine of Aragon, she uses the title Princess of Wales as a child. I can't remember if the books were claiming that she used this title ...
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Who was the sovereign of the lowest title? [closed]
It is known that there existed sovereign counts (Armagnac, count at God will). But had you read about sovereign viscounts or barons? Or some boyar/boyarin (~= baron) in Eastern Europe?
The same about ...
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How would you address a merchant in the High Middle Ages?
If you were to address a powerful and affluent noble with a wide monopoly over trade in the 11th-13th centuries, what would you call them? (Assuming you are of lesser rank to them) Would it be Sir, ...
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Why was "Caesar" borrowed for the imperial title in German rather than "Augustus"?
After Caesar (which simply happened to be his family name) Octavius took the title Augustus which means better, more, augmented. And most Roman emperors and strong men took the title Augustus ...
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What title did the merchants permitted to deal with Canton's 13 Factories carry?
What I know:
During the period leading up to the Opium Wars, trade into China from Europe was locked down to 13 buildings in Canton known as the 13 factories. European merchants were only permitted to ...
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Unofficial title for third or fourth son of a king? [closed]
So, this is possibly a dumb question, but is there an unofficial title for the third or fourth son of a king? Like the first son is "the heir" and the second is "the spare" but is there something ...
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What did "Dr." after a person's or a business's name mean around the turn of the 20th century in the USA?
I am putting together a historical presentation about a late-19th / early 20th-century U. S. ruralite who was involved in many things including operating a general store. I have seen the abbreviation "...
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How did Egyptian Pharaohs get their title? [closed]
I recently watched a presentation where the presenter said there was a man named "Rikayon" who became wealthy from charging people a death tax to bury their dead. After an ancient king (...
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Was Erich Ludendorff any form of nobility?
Erich Ludendorff was the most powerful German general at the end of the First World War, achieving practically dictator status from 1916 on.
A very common mistake is to posthumously nobilitate Erich ...
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Did Washington like or dislike the monarchical styles of address proposed by John Adams?
In high school history class a teacher taught us that George Washington desired and sought nobility/monarchy-like titles for his office of President, such as ones involving "Highness", "Majesty", and "...
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Why is the heir to the British throne called "Prince of Wales"?
The heir apparent to the British throne (England, then Great Britain, then United Kingdom) is usually conferred the title of Prince of Wales. According to Britannica and Wikipedia, this tradition ...
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What's the difference between Khan and Taishi/Taisha?
What is the difference between a Khan and a Taishi/Taisha? I'm working on a project about Kalmykia, and I always see it called as the Kalmyk Khanate, but none of the rulers are called Khan, they are ...
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Why does the King of Spain still claim defunct titles like the King of Hungary?
I am reading the Wikipedia articles on the titles of the King of Spain (this and this) and I am confused why they list countless places that are not under Spanish rule and or are totally defunct as a ...
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Was there a Princess of Wales between 1727 and 1736?
In 1705, Caroline of Ansbach married Georges Augustus. In 1714, she moved to London with her husband as he becomes Prince of Wales. She, thus, becomes Princess of Wales. Her husband became king ...
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If the heir to a Kingdom is called Crown Prince, what is the heir to a Duchy called?
Just like the title said.
What a heir to a hereditary Duchy is called? (as opposed to someone appointed by a King). I mean a Duchy where the Duke inherited his title to his son/daughter.
Since the ...
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When and how did the presidents of states became governors in the U.S.A?
In the earliest days of the U.S.A., the heads of the governments of some of the states were called governors and those of some states were called presidents (hence the U.S. Constitution refers to the "...
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What does D·G·R·IMP·S·A·G·H·B·REX·A·A·B·L·D stand for?
I came across a medal commemorating the coronation of Leopold II as Holy Roman Emperor in 1790.
The inscription on the obverse of the medal is:
LEOPOLDUS II D·G·R·IMP·S·A·G·H·B·REX·A·A·B·L·D·
With ...
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Did any English duke ever grant away an earldom he held?
The standard idea said of feudalism is that nobles have vassals, which could have vassals of their own. So that noble might have an extra title lying around and grant it to someone in exchange for ...
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Why did Baldwin of Boulogne proclaim Edessa a County, not a Kingdom?
[Edessa was] ruled by Thoros, who was officially a vassal of the Turks but in reality acted independently. He did not expect that situation to continue for very much longer without help, so he offered ...
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What titles did early Welsh rulers hold?
Before England created Welsh fiefs, what would the rulers of land be called in the area now called Wales? Wales existed as smaller kingdoms, ruled by kings, but were there lesser titles, such as how ...
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Khmer Rouge Property Rights Destruction
Did Khmer Rouge actually destroy all land titles/ownership records? Or were there certain regions that happened to escape this destruction? If so, is there any documentation on where these regions ...
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Did being a "Philhellene" in ancient times mean you were not a Greek?
Phil-hellene translates to "lover of Greeks"
If some one was a Philhellene in ancient times, is that a reliable indicator that they were "not" Greek? So far vie been able to find Romans and Egyptians ...
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Were Korean and Tibetan rulers ever styled as 'sons of heaven'?
Chinese dynasts adopted the term "Son of Heaven" or "Son of [the god] Tian" (天子) during the early Zhou period around the turn of the 1st millennium BCE, and continued using it until the overthrow of ...
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British royal titles for regions not in Britain
Royal titles for the British aristocracy seem to be associated with regions within Britain, particularly England; such as the Duke of Cambridge or the Princess of York.
Were there ever royal titles ...
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Is Benedict XVI the first pope emeritus?
I have read in a newspaper that Benedict XVI is the first pope emeritus.
Is he really the first pope in history to resign? Or does the title pope emeritus have more specific meaning than just a "pope ...
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Was Alexander the Great ever an emperor?
Why is it that in the many biographies of Alexander the Great, the lands where he ruled over is described as his "empire", but he is only a "king of Macedon"? Was he ever recognized in or after his ...
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Jean III de Grailly, captal de Buch's strange title
The title of Jean III de Grailly, Captal de Buch, seems odd to me. It was acquired by his father Jean II de Grailly (so it was passed down from father to son like other titles of nobility):
Jean ...
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Where does Akbar the Great's "Great" come from?
According to Wikipedia:
Akbar was accorded the epithet "the Great" due to his many accomplishments, among which was his record of unbeaten military campaigns that both established and consolidated ...
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