Titles and meanings

What's in a Name?

A great deal of writing and instruction goes into teaching new members of our Society how to identify and address the various ranks of nobility, but do we ever explain what those titles mean? Where do these titles come from and what do they really mean?

Let us start at the top with the King. The word king comes to us from the old-old-English (Anglo-Saxon, actually) word cyning. Cyning is related to the Dutch koning, Norse konungr, Danish konge, German konig and Finnish kuningas. The word relates to cynn, in Anglo-Saxon, meaning "family". This is were kin comes from. Cyning originally meant head of the family. The meaning mutated to mean leader of the people. Rex is latin for king, which is why you often hear it mentioned by court heralds after the King's name. 

Next we will visit the Queen. The word dates back to the Anglo-Saxon cwen, which means "wife" and is related to the Gothic (the East Germanic language of the Goths) words qino (wife) and qens (female ruler), The title was used, at first, as "the wife of the King". It is interesting to note that Elizabeth I always said that she was the wife of England. As Rex is latin for king, Regina is latin for queen.

Prince and Princess come to us from Old French in the 12th century. Princess is the feminine form of prince. The word comes from the latin princeps meaning "first in order" or "the most important". This makes sense as the first born was the heir to the throne.

A lord who has won Crown two or more times can take the title of Duke. Duke comes to us from 12th century Old French word duc meaning "commander (of soldiers)" and that comes from the late latin dux meaning "governor of a province" and that can be traced back to the old latin ducere meaning "to lead". Duchess is the feminine form of duke and comes to us from Old French duchesse which comes from the late latin ducissa meaning "female dux" or "female governor of a province".

Below the Duke and Duchess we have the Count and Countess. This title also comes from Old French (13th century) conte which comes from the latin comite or comitem, originally meaning "companion" but later meaning "companion of the Emperor" and later a "delegate or speaker for the Emperor".

Earl is Anglo-Saxon, originally meaning "a noble born warrior (not to be confused with the Anglo-Saxon churl which is the opposite of earl).  Earl comes from the old Germanic erlo and old Norse jarl. The term was later used as an under-king or a viceroy under the Danish rule in England. After the Norman invasion of England, earl was adopted as the equivalent of the French conte (count). There is no feminine version of earl; since an Earl is the equivalent of a count, a female earl would be called countess.

Viscount and Viscountess is the next step down. The name comes from the words vice and conte and no, is does not mean a depraved count. Vice from the late latin vice, meaning "deputy". As a vice president is a deputy to the president, a vice count would be a deputy to a count. The word comes from old French visconte, which dates back to the latin vicecomes meaning "a deputy to a member of the imperial court". The first use of this title in England was recorded in 1440 when Henry VI made John, Baron Beaumont, one.

The Baron and Baroness is next. Baron comes to us from the Frankish baro, meaning "freeman" and the Anglo-Saxon beorn, meaning "nobleman". The title of baron was used to describe landowners who held their lands in return for military service in times of war. In the SCA there are two types of Barons and Baronesses. Landed (or territorial) and Court. Landed Barons and Baronesses hold the land (a Barony and maybe cantons) and govern it in the name of the Crown. Court Barons and Baronesses are awarded by the Crown for service. 

Lords and Ladies are next. Lord comes from the Middle English loverd, which comes from the Anglo-Saxon hlaford meaning "master of a household". It might then come from the Old Anglo hlafweard which means "one who guards the bread" (hlaf "loaf" + weard "guardian"). Lady comes from Anglo-Saxon hlafaeta meaning "household servant" or literally, "loaf eater". 

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Written with for the AEstel, the newsletter of the Kingdom of AEthelmearc and the Ice Dragon, newsletter for the Barony of the Rhydderich Hael. With lots of help from the OED.

The picture is Cwenhild's Baronial Coronet/Scroll.