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| Still shot from Monty Python and the Holy Grail |
When I started writing Shadows of Valor, I didn't know much about medieval names and what people were generally called. Heck, I didn't even know if first and last names were used. Well, in England at least, first and last names were used, and they weren't any different than what we use today. But where our general contemporary titles are usually "mister" and "misses," they were a bit different in centuries past (not taking into account that some royal and knight titles are still used today in some instances).
Basic titles of the working class were "master" and "mistress," among a few others. A person could be called by his first name or by his profession. Example: John Smith,
the butcher, could be called simply JOHN, MASTER SMITH or MASTER BUTCHER. Jane Smith, the baker, could be called JANE, MISTRESS SMITH or MISTRESS BAKER.
There were general titles for someone without using their name as well (much like today's ma'am or sir). For a man they were SIR (if he was a knight), MASTER, GOODMAN, GAFFER (for an older man, it was short for "grandfather"), FATHER, LAD (for a young boy) and YOUNG MASTER (for a young boy).
A woman could be called LADY, GOODWIFE, GAMMER (for an older woman, it was short for "grandmother"), MOTHER, LASS, MISTRESS, MAIDEN, MAID and YOUNG LASS.
Titles held by noblemen and noblewomen were generally "lord" and "lady," among others. Titles specific to nobles were LORD, MILORD ("my lord"), LADY, MILADY ("my lady"), NOBLE SIR, NOBLE LADY, MADAM, and GOOD GENTLES (if speaking to more than one noble person).
I'm sure there are other titles I have not discussed, but these are the ones I used in my story. You can try some of them out on your friends or at the next medieval fair. Have fun with them.
An extra note about medieval times: People swore by just about anything they owned, held dear or respected. Example: "He swore by his sword that
he spoke the truth, but verily she felt his aura emitted a lie," or "She pulled back from his bruising grip, eyes piercing the brute, and swore by her honor he'd rue the day he ever laid a hand on her."
Shadows of Valor will be released July 27th, 2013!
Cool! I love learning stuff like that. Thanks, Elsie!
ReplyDeleteInteresting, Mistress Author. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteReally informative! Thanks. I have often wondered that, and my kids have asked me about this lately. Ah, now I'm smarter. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI love learning historical facts, but if I get a TON of it all at once, I tend to feel overwhelmed and I don't remember much. I retain the information better when I get tidbits a little at a time, like in this post. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteFun post! I enjoy learning about all the customs of that time and find it fascinating that your ranking affected everything from where you sat a dinner to what you wore and how you earned a living.
ReplyDeleteYeah, sometimes I think it would be SO AWESOME to live back then and experience all that, but only for a little while. I'd eventually want to return to my own time with all our cool technology and comfortable jeans *smile*.
DeleteStill loving all this, Elsie! Keep it coming! :)
ReplyDeleteSo glad you're enjoying the posts! My publicist says I need to mix it up though and not do just medieval related stuff, so I'll keep them coming, but space them out a bit. Thanks for following and for your encouraging comments.
DeleteGreat post, Elsie! This is good stuff to know! :D
ReplyDeleteThanks, Liesel! I can't wait to try some terms out at a medieval fair sometime. I'd try them out on my husband, but he'd probably just roll his eyes at me - tee hee.
ReplyDelete