Addressing

There were various methods of acceptable address, of course dependant upon the position held. It also depended upon the position held by the one addressing. Please keep in mind, these might not be historically accurate, but they will be keeping with and are acceptable of the Castle roleplay traditions. Usage of first names was an unusual occurance in medieval times when addressing royalty and nobility. Sorry all, but we picked a class conscious bunch to role-play.

When entering the Castle Great Hall, it would be good manners to first address the Emperor, then the King and Queen, the Prince and Princess, then of course, any other monarchs visiting from other castles. To walk into the Great Hall and do anything else is insulting the Royals of the home and visitors. If the room is full and a great deal of effort would be spent on greetings individuals, then a general greeting to all is very acceptable after greeting royalty. Always greet the Emperor and the Royals and do so properly.

The Emperor is address as Your Imperial Majesty.

The King was usually refered to as Your Majesty, Sire, Your Grace, M'liege, by both Nobles and servants. M'king was another address used by Nobles and servants. M'lord for use by those of Nobility, or M'lord was also an accepted address by someone who served. Highness is NOT one of the titles for a King, to do so, you just demoted him. You never called him by his first name, unless you are given expressed permission to.

The Queen is of course referred to as Your Majesty, or Your Grace. In the third person, the Queen can be referred to as Her Majesty. Highness is NOT one of the titles for a Queen, to do so, you just demoted her. You are never to call the Queen by her first name unless you are given expressed permission to. The Queen may introduce herself as Elizabeth ect. but that is not to be construed as permission to call her Elizabeth, it is only an introduction.

A Prince or Princess can be addressed as Your Highness, or M'Prince and M'Princess of course depending upon gender.

Dukes, Duchesses can be addressed as Your Grace.

Knights were usually referred to as Lord, M'lord, m'Lord, Sir or Sire. If the Knight is a Lady, I would refer to them as M'lady, Knight or Dame _____.

A common address when those of nobility spoke to each other was M'lord or M'lady.

To children, my lad / lass, or good young sir is appropriate, perhaps being on the side of safety with my young lord / lady.

To nobility, my Lord, or my Lady is safe if you don't know their exact name or title.

Officeholders, such as judges, constables, or bureaucrats, and esquires, may be called Your Honour or Your Worship.

A common address when a servant was speaking to one of Nobility was M'Lord or M'Lady.

When those who served spoke to each other, they often used their first names. Sometimes sis, sister or brother was used. It was common in Medieval times for those who served to address ones over them as Master or Mistress.

Those of the Cloth, if their title be Brother, I would refer to them as Brother. Usually it is acceptable to call a Monk, Brother. If the monk be a Priest and not a Brother, then Father. Patre or Padre could be used. Arch-Bishops and Bishops are referred to as Your Grace, whereas lower members of clerical orders are referred to as Sir Priest. Decons, Sextons ect. would be referred to as Master or, if of obviously lower economic status, Goodman.

Also in the realm there are Ones who are Freeborn or Commoners. It would be acceptable to call them Sir or Madam. It is also very acceptable to call them by their name. To some it is very important that they be called by only their first name. Please be sensitive and aware of this. If you question it at all then by all means ask them.

When one of Nobility was speaking or referring to one of the serving caste, often they used, little one, lass, lad or by the first name.

People were well aware of their social standing as compared to the social standing of the person they were addressing. While it's not uncommon to address someone as Sir or Madame, most people don't use such honorific titles while walking down the street. Sometimes in modern usage, we adress people by their professions as the medievals did: this manifests itself in certain situations such as: Good evening Officer, or aye your Honor. Fortunetly, people wear clothing in accordance with their social standing making it easy to make a quick judgment.

The words used to address someone are based on both social status and familiarity. For example: the Earl of Warwick could refer to the Earl of Pembroke as Pembroke, My Lord, Cousin, Sir etc. depending on the circumstance. Coming from a merchant or peasant, both would be addressed as my Lord, my Lord Earl, or similar.

Sir or Mistress is always a safe bet for someone who is not nobility but is well dressed. An older man might be addressed as Father. Someone of your social standing or slightly above could be Goodman, Goodwife, or by their name or profession as Master Patrick or Master Brewer. A familiar tone may be taken by calling someone Cousin. In general, extra words such as Good may be thrown in to add further flattery and pomp to an address, Good my Honorable Lord Constable.

Wench refers to a serving woman and is a perfectly acceptable form of address when appropriate. It has no negative conotations.

There were other titles used in addressing one another in Medieval times. These are some of the more common ones. Other historical titles are very acceptable.

We request that titles be observed. This page can assist you in doing so. Please do the best you can.