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Jaleela
07-22-2010, 01:37 AM
Discussion thread for To be an Anuirean Noble (http://www.birthright.net/brwiki/index.php/To be an Anuirean Noble). If you would like to add a comment, click the Post Reply button.

Jaleela
07-22-2010, 06:16 AM
"well born" - I'm not familiar with seeing medieval letters written with that salutation, is it a central eastern form?

Just adding some more salutations for reference.

Louis the Dauphin, later Louis XI (aka. the Spider King) writing to his father while running from him to take shelter with his uncle, Philip of Burgundy.

"My very redoubted lord...since as you know, my good uncle of Burgundy ..."

An example of address in writing from the Ambassador's of Milan to their Lords...Specifically Giovan Pietro Panigarola to the Duke of Milan (Duke Francesco Sforza):

Invocation: Yesus (written at the top of all dispatches)
Beginning: Illustrissimo et Excellentissimo Signor mio
Ending: Excellentie Vestre servus
Signature: Johannespetrus Panicharolla

Commenting in his letter, when addressing the duke's son when he hears of Francesco's illness:

"The seventeenth of the present month at six o'clock I received Your Lordship's letter notifying me of the grave illness of the Most Illustrious Lord, your father of your departure, and of the reason for it. Having comprehended what Your Lordship wrote me, I immediately went to His Most Serene Highness the King..."

from the dispatches of the Milanese Ambassadors (1466)

Gwrthefyr
07-22-2010, 09:00 AM
The style highborn sounds like an extremely bad literal translation of German, and even then Hochadel was never a style, just a vague word referring to imperial immediate nobility. Also politeness varies, and italian fashion (also common in France, mocked in England but still adopted by the nobility) was on the contrary to appear more humble in addresses. "Your most humble servant" is not even the most extreme of these forms. A new grandiose palace is often merely described as "a shack". It's fake modesty, but it was pretty common.

And then there's people who did so by politics or to counter people's ridiculously grandiose titles.
E.g. There is some correspondance between the spanish crown and Francis I of France where, to the ridiculously long list of Spanish titles (on the order of 20 kingdoms, a dozen duchies, plus some counties, marquessates and the lordships of Viscaya and Malines), he'd simply style himself as "a citizen of Paris", although he was the king who forced the emperor to accept the style of "His Majesty" for someone other than the HR Emperor.

And as noted, princes would address each other as cousin or brother. No matter how closely related they may be.

AndrewTall
07-23-2010, 07:26 AM
Given the variety of monarchies I figure that just about every variation has been valid at some point. I started posting some of Robert's stuff up (and apologies to him for any errors I added) as it sounded flavoursome - feel free to give some alternatives for those who are not southern dandies / northern bulls dressed in silk / etc!