Luke 16:13, "No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, And love the other; Or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." KJV

Knighthood

Swearing the Oath:

Knights In The News:

It is commonly believed that United States citizens cannot receive from a foreign government noble honors such as a Knighthood. To show that this belief has no basis in law or practice, this is a listing of United States citizens (whether famous or not) who have appeared in the news because they have received Knighthoods. Our sources are newspapers, magazines, and journals.

Wesley Clark, U.S. General and NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe made Knight Cokmmander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire March 28, 2000.

General Wesley K. Clark, US Armyhttp://www.nato.int/cv/saceur/clark.htm

                               

 

Foreign Honors and Awards
http://www.jaymarlowe.com/clark.htm                                   

General Wesley Clark

From Waco to Yugoslavia:

http://www.apfn.org/apfn/clark.htm

Lynn Sandstedt, University Professor at the University of Northern Colorado, appointed Knight of the Order of Alphonso the Wise by King Juan Carlos, for educational work in Madrid, October 1998.

Jerry Lewis, comedian, actor, director, producer, humanitarian, appointed as Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, 1966.

Bob Hope, actor, comedian, humanitarian, appointed by H.M. Queen Elizabeth, 1976, as Commander of the British Empire.

Norman Schwarzkopf and Colin Powell, U.S. Military Generals, appointed in 1993 as Knights Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (Honorary) by H.M. Queen Elizabeth.                                                                                           

  Schwarzkopf: Logs don't mention chemical exposure              Bush Names Powell Secretary of State http://www.cnn.com/US/9701/09/gulf.war.illness/index.html     http://news.excite.com/news/ap/001216/20/news-bush    http://www.gulfwarvets.com/schw.htm

George Bush, former U.S. President, appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath by H.M. Queen Elizabeth.

Ronald Reagan, former U.S. President, appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath by H.M. Queen Elizabeth.

Caspar Weinberger, former U.S. Secretary of Defense, appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by H.M. Queen Elizabeth.

Final Report on Iran/Contra: Part VIII
URL: http://www.afn.org/~dks/i-c/pVIII-weinberger-dod.html
Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger lied to investigators to  conceal his knowledge of the Iran arms sales. Contrary to Weinberger's assertions, a small group of senior civilian officials and m...

John Paul Getty II, U.S. billionaire businessman, appointed Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by H.M. Queen Elizabeth.

Andre Previn, U.S. music composer and orchestral maestro, appointed Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

Welsh, Alfred J.: Attorney (Louisville, Kentucky). no date. Knight, Order of the Crown of the Kingdom of Belgium. No restriction on use of prenominal "Sir" or on postnominals. Sir Alfred has served as Honorary Consul of Belgium in Louisville since 1983. Source: The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Fall 1994, page 16.

Foley, Tom: Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. March 19, 1995. Member, Order of the British Empire. Foly also holds the French Legion of Honor and the German Order of Merit. Source: AP news release. The OBE was given by Sir Robin Renwick, the British Ambassador to the United States with these words: "I am ordered by Her Majesty the Queen to invest you with the Order of Knight of the British Empire." Without further ceremony, Sir Robin then placed the neck decoration upon Foley. According to the AP news release, Foley cannot use the chivalric prenominal, but can use the OBE postnominal.

Falk, Peter: Television and motion picture actor. Chevalier of Arts and Letters, France's highest arts honor in the French Legion of Honor; on Thursday, February 29, 1996 in Paris. French film star Gerard Depardie, himself a Chevalier, bestowed the honor in a ceremony held by the French Ministry of Culture. Falk is one of many Americans who regularly receive Knighthood in various Orders of Chivalry.

Heston, Charleton: Actor. Monday, March 16, 1997. Commander, Order of Arts and Letters (France). The French Order of Arts and Letters is France's highest civilian honor for those in the performing arts. Source: AP news release. No restriction on the use of prenominal "Chev." or on postnominals. Chevalier Heston commented that while he had played knights in the movies, this was the first time he actually was made one.

Admiral Leighton W Smith Jr., who recently retired from the United States Navy, has been appointed by Queen Elizabeth II as an Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (Military Division) (KBE). The award, which will be made during an audience with The Queen at Buckingham Palace on 5 March, 1997 is in recognition of Admiral Leighton Smith's key role, whilst Commander-in Chief of NATO's Southern Command based in Naples.

Hope, Bob and Delores Hope: Actor/Comedian/Humanitarian. January 4, 1998. Knight, Pontifical Order of St. Gregory the Great. The Pontifical Order of St. Gregory the Great (Ordo Sancti Gregorii Magni) was founded by Pope Gregory XVI (1831-1846). The Order's original purpose was to honor loyal and meritorious gentlemen of the Papal States. The Order of St. Gregory the Great is open to Roman Catholics, non-Roman Catholic Christians, and even non-Christians. It now has three ranks (Knight Grand Cross, Knight Commander, and Knight) and two divisions, civil and military. Source: AP news release. No restriction on the use of prenominal "Chev." or on postnominals. On June 11, 1998, Chev. Hope and his wife, Dame Hope, were Invested as Knight Commanders with Star of this Order. Source: AP news release.

Montalban, Ricardo and Mrs. Montalban: Actor. January 4, 1998. Knight, Pontifical Order of St. Gregory the Great. The Pontifical Order of St. Gregory the Great (Ordo Sancti Gregorii Magni) was founded by Pope Gregory XVI (1831-1846). The Order's original purpose was to honor loyal and meritorious gentlemen of the Papal States. The Order of St. Gregory the Great is open to Roman Catholics, non-Roman Catholic Christians, and even non-Christians. It now has three ranks (Knight Grand Cross, Knight Commander, and Knight) and two divisions, civil and military. Source: AP news release. No restriction on the use of prenominal "Chev." or on postnominals.

Disney, Roy and Mrs. Disney: Disney Studios Executive and brother of Walt Disney. January 4, 1998. Knight, Pontifical Order of St. Gregory the Great. The Pontifical Order of St. Gregory the Great (Ordo Sancti Gregorii Magni) was founded by Pope Gregory XVI (1831-1846). The Order's original purpose was to honor loyal and meritorious gentlemen of the Papal States. The Order of St. Gregory the Great is open to Roman Catholics, non-Roman Catholic Christians, and even non-Christians. It now has three ranks (Knight Grand Cross, Knight Commander, and Knight) and two divisions, civil and military. Source: AP news release. No restriction on the use of prenominal "Chev." or on postnominals.

Ali, Muhammed: World heavyweight champion boxer. Thursday, January 15, 1998. Member of Morocco's Commander of the Arch. By King Hassan II. Ali was in Morocco for the holy month of Islam's Ramadan.

Fed Chief Greenspan to Be Knighted
Tuesday, August 6, 2002; 4:48 PM
WASHINGTON –– He won't get to call himself "Sir Alan" but Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan – often known as the second most powerful man in the United States – will get another title: knight.
Queen Elizabeth II has approved an honorary knighthood for Greenspan's "outstanding contribution to global economic stability," the British Treasury announced Tuesday. A copy of the release was distributed in Washington.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51226-2002Aug6.html

Britain 'to confer honorary knighthood - Bill Gatesn Bill Gates'

Microsoft supremo Bill Gates is to receive an honorary British knighthood for services to global enterprise, a newspaper has reported.

Mr Gates, 48, was recommended for the knighthood - which is to be formally conveyed by the Queen - by Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, the Sunday Telegraph reported, adding that an announcement would be made today.

That is when Mr Gates, among other captains of global industry and finance, will be in London attending a major conference titled "Advancing Enterprise: Britain in a Global Economy", organised by Mr Brown.

Britain gives the title of honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, or KBE, from time to time to distinguished non-Britons, many of them Americans.

Such foreign knights cannot, however, prefix their names with "sir".

Americans who have received a KBE include former president George Bush, former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani, film director Steven Spielberg, and US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, who will also be at the conference, the newspaper said.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/01/25/1074965435919.html

=========================================

Wellington Webb, Mayor of Denver, appointed May 1998 as Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor.

Webb teams with Hillary

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/1999/01/18/daily4.html

Owens criticizes Webb anti-gun ads

http://searchcolorado.com/glenwood/stories/040799/reg_0407990048.shtml

Robert Lederman mailto:robert.lederman@worldnet.att.net
Rudy: A Knight in Tarnished Armor
Fri Feb 22 17:40:06 2002
68.3.132.0

Rudy: A Knight in Tarnished Armor
Newsday

 

By Ian Williams
Ian Williams is a British writer living in New York City.

Newsday February 20, 2002
LAST WEDNESDAY, as protocol dictates, "bowing from the head, not the waist"
to Queen Elizabeth, "Sir" Rudy Giuliani joined Billy Graham, Steven
Spielberg, IBM's Lou Gerstner, Ronald Reagan, Norman Schwarzkopf and other
knightly relics of the British attempt to persuade Washington that the
"special" relationship between the two countries means something more than
Tony Blair's doing what he's told - sometimes even before he's asked.

However, as "Sir" Rudy received his gong (medal) from the British queen, he
had more relevant role models as an "honorary" Knight Commander of the Most
Excellent Order of the British Empire. For example, one other previous
honorary knight was Rumanian dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu, who was honored for
buying British even as he drove his people to poverty and desperation.
Ceaucescu didn't like term limits either, and he also tried to hang on to
office, until the crowds in Bucharest eliminated him.

The Queen has also knighted President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan,
and British newspapers pointed out that even if he thus became an ersatz
aristocrat, his primary avocation was as a kleptocrat who had become one of
the richest people in the world by selling off his country's oilfields and
pocketing the proceeds. But since British companies were among those who
wanted to buy them, her majesty overlooked this peccadillo.

"Sir" Nursultan could provide a few other pointers for Sir Rudy, following
the latter's attempts to extend his term by hook or by crook last November.
The Kazakh parliament passed a law granting the "First President" total
immunity from prosecution and subpoenas if he were ever to break the
dictatorial mold and retire. Something similar may be useful if ever there
is any fallout from the last minute stadium deals or the lifting of all the
mayor's records in the last days of Giuliani's term.

British Airways, which has just announced 5,800 firings, flew Sir Rudy to
meet the oceanliner QE2 on the snobby but noisy Concorde. Sir Rudy
reciprocated by going to a banquet arranged by Sir Richard Branson,
proprietor of bitter rival Virgin Atlantic. He also did the Churchillian
tour, visiting the British leader's wartime bunker, and relishing the
somewhat forced comparisons between himself - for so bravely facing the
world's TV cameras - and the prime minister who had faced the Nazi bombers.

His hosts chivalrously forbore to point out that Sir Winston had had the
good sense to put his bunker underground rather than on the 23rd floor of 7
World Trade Center. The new knight's love affair with things British must
also have been a surprise to the Brooklyn Museum, whose funding he
threatened because they mounted an exhibition of British artists whose work
he did not like: He claimed it was anti-Catholic.

Perhaps someone should have told him as he was bowing his head to Queen
Elizabeth that she and her offspring have by law been banned from being
Catholics or marrying one.

In olden times, knights were supposed to be chivalrous: they were chaste,
humble and protected the weak. You could be forgiven if you don't think
central casting would have sent Giuliani around to audition for the part.
After all, neither canon lawn or the medieval ideal of knighthood included
separating from your wife at a news conference without telling her, did it?
On the other hand, Henry VIII, the founder of the modern British monarchy,
wasn't one for listening to the pope either. He divorced and beheaded his
way through six wives.

And as for defending the weak: Did Sir Rudy ever ride to the rescue for any
victim of NYPD brutality? For instance, Patrick Dorismond, whose juvenile
records the white knight and mayor unsealed so that he could somehow justify
summary execution on the street?

Knighthood is not enough for Sir Rudy. Anyone who follows British politics
can see that a control freak so prissily opinionated, so much a manipulator
of information, has a natural calling as a new Labor peer in the soon to be
reformed House of Lords. If the Queen and the government like him so much,
he'd be sure to get a British passport quickly.

All hail Lord Rudy of Flatbush!

And it may divert his nakedly palpable presidential ambitions and save the
United States and the world from his meanspirited and unchivalrous politics
as well. Then perhaps we could banish his baneful influence from New York
totally, except perhaps to allow him to record one of those inanely annoying
messages from minor celebs (another Giuliani legacy) that make it impossible
to tell a yellow cab driver your destination.

As he tells us to buckle up, we can tell him to belt up - with feeling.
Copyright © 2002, Newsday, Inc.
 

The Original 13th Article of Amendment

"If any citizen of the United States shall accept, claim, receive, or retain any title of nobility or honour, or shall without the consent of Congress, accept and retain any present, pension, office, or emolument of any kind whatever, from any emperor, king, prince, or foreign power, such person shall cease to be a citizen of the United States, and shall be incapable of holding any office of trust or profit under them, or either of them."

http://www.apfn.org/apfn/13th.htm

March 11, 1997: "Investiture Ceremony" The investiture ceremony took place in London, Buckingham Palace. Paul was receiving his knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II.  

 

Sean Connery should be knighted, Brits say

Copyright © 1998 Nando.net
Copyright © 1998 Agence France-Presse

LONDON (April 6, 1998 5:25 p.m. EDT http://www.nando.net) - Two-thirds of Britons believe Scottish actor and former James Bond star Sean Connery should get a knighthood after years of being passed over, according to a poll released Monday.

Connery, 67, deserves to be awarded the title "sir" from Queen Elizabeth II for incarnating the most famous member of Her Majesty's Secret Service, most people polled by the NOP Research Group said. His support was highest among 15- to 34-year-olds.

The actor himself has claimed he was missed off the 1998 New Year's Honors list because of his active support for the Scottish National Party that advocates independence for Scotland. But government sources suggested it may have more to do with his attitude to domestic violence. In a 1993 interview, Connery had said it was justifiable in certain circumstances for a man to administer "an open-handed slap" to his wife.

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Oaths in the Scriptures:

Matthew 5:33-37,  Jesus said, " Again. ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself,   but shall perform unto the Lord thine paths: vs.33

But I say unto you Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: vs.34

Nor by the earth: for it is His footstool: neither by Jerusalem: for it is the city of the great King. vs.35

Neither shall thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. vs.36

But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil."  vs.37

King James Version of the Holy Bible

---

The following was found on a Message Board by one of our researchers:

Posted by Nigel on June 16, 2000 at 20:51:32:

In Reply to: Re: Oath of Knighthood posted by Jasper on March 13, 2000 at 11:00:08:

: If non Sca I have no information on the ceremonies.

SCA-analog groups have very varied traditions. In my group (the Empire of Adria), the Oath has some basic elements, but certain elements are at the discretion of the Oath-Taker or even the Oath-Giver (the Crown).

My Oath was slightly different than usual, because I was already in direct fealty to the Crown by virtue of an Oath I took three years ago. I also adapted some elements from other sources (including some from here!). The last line "in all areas of my life" is something I put in because I knew that it wasn't just *Nigel* who was taking the oath, it was the mundane *ME* as well. I knew that this oath would affect the rest of my life, not just my persona.

The Oath I took went as follows:

Here do I reaffirm
My oath of fealty and service
To the Crown and Empire of Adria
And I do hereby swear
By mouth and hand
To be a good and worthy Knight
To be a Lamp of Chivalry unto the Populace
To be ever courteous and reverent
To seek excellence in all my endeavours
To be courageous and faithful
To be always loyal and true
To temper justice with mercy
To defend my Crown and my liege
To be temperate and humble
To shelter the weak
To help the needy
To champion the right
And uphold the good
To teach what I know
To learn what I can
To be true to my Faith
And to be faithful to my duties
All this in each area of my life.
So swear I,
Nigel the Byzantine

 

You can see the entire ceremony, including the highly religious Vigil Invocation, at the link below.

In service,

Sir Nigel the Byzantine
Knight of Adria
Fleur-de-Lis King of Arms
*       *       *       *        *       *       *       *        *       *        *       *   

Knighting Ceremony of
Nigel the Byzantine I

Cathedral Church of Saint Paul 8 April anno domini 2000

Feast of SS. Albert of Jerusalem & Walter of Pontnoise

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The Vigil

At 8 pm the night before the Knighting is to take place, the Guardians should convey the Candidate to the Cathedral for the Invocation of the Vigil.

The Vigil will commence with the Celebrant standing at the Altar, with everyone seated in the pews. When the Candidate is ready, he will be brought into the Cathedral by his Guardians, and all three shall kneel before the altar. The Celebrant shall begin:

Let us pray: Almighty and eternal God! With lively faith and reverently worshiping Thy divine Majesty, we prostrate ourselves before Thee and invoke with filial trust Thy supreme bounty and mercy. We pray for Thy blessing upon Thy servant here, that Thou might illumine the darkness of his intellect with a ray of Thy heavenly light and inflame his heart with the fire of Thy divine love, that he may contemplate the great virtues and merits of the saints in whose honor he takes his accolade. Moreover, we beseech Thee to grant graciously, through the merits and intercession of these powerful Holy Guides, the petition which through them we humbly place before Thee, that he may be blessed, and have strength for the Vigil that is to come, devoutly saying, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Vouchsafe graciously to hear it, if it redounds to Thy greater glory and to the salvation of the world. Amen. O Most Holy Queen, as the Archangel Gabriel beheld thee, a living scroll of Christ which the Spirit had sealed, he cried out to thee: "Hail, vessel of joy, in whom the curse of Eve is lifted!" Thou art the Mother of Our Lord, and the re-creation of Nature. Faithful servant of God and invincible martyr, Saint George; favored by God with the gift of faith, and inflamed with an ardent love of His Son, thou didst fight valiantly against the dragon of pride, falsehood, and deceit. Blessed Archangel, Saint Michael, who doth guard us against the wickedness and snares of the Evil One, thou art the Messenger of Our Lord and His General, and thy name is the battle cry of the Heavenly Host. We fervently implore you as the Holy Guides of your servant here, for the sake Our Lord, to help your servant by your intercession to overcome the temptations that surround him, and to bear bravely the trials that he will face, so that he may enter into his new station with a pure heart and a humble countenance. Our Lord and our God! We offer up to Thee our petition in union with the bitter passion and death of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, together with the merits of His blessed Mother, Mary, and of all the saints, particularly with those of the Holy Guides in whose honor he takes the Mantle of Knighthood. Look down upon us, merciful Lord! Grant us Thy grace and Thy love, and graciously hear our prayer. In nómine Patris, et Fílli, et Spirítus Sancti, Amen.

The First Reader shall step forward:

Hear now the words of Saint Louis IX, from a letter to his son: My dearest son, my first instruction is that you should love your God with all your heart and all your strength. Without this there is no salvation. Keep yourself, my son, from everything that you know displeases God, that is to say, from every mortal sin. You should permit yourself to be tormented by every kind of martyrdom before you would allow yourself to commit a mortal sin. If God has permitted you to have some trial, bear it willingly and with gratitude, considering that it has happened for your good and that perhaps you well deserved it. If God bestows upon you any kind of prosperity, thank Him humbly and see that you become no worse for it, either though vain pride or anything else, because you ought not to oppose God or offend Him in the matter of His gifts. Be kindhearted to the poor, the unfortunate and the afflicted. Give them as much help and consolation as you can. Thank God for all the benefits He has bestowed upon you, that you may be worthy to receive greater. Always side with the poor rather than with the rich, until you are certain of the truth.

The Second Reader shall step forward:

Hear now the words of the Apostle Paul, from his first Letter to the Corinthians, chapter 13: Though I speak with the tongues of men and of Angels, and have not Love, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge: and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not Love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not Love, it profiteth me nothing. Love suffereth long, and is kind: Love envieth not: Love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth: Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Love never faileth: but whether there be prophesies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesie in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part, shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly: but then face to face: now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth Faith, Hope, Love, these three, but the greatest of these is Love.

The Celebrant shall step forward again:

Let us pray: Ave Maria, gratia plena Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesu. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, Ora pro nobis peccatoribus Nunc et in ora mortis nostrae. Amen.

The First Reader shall step forward again:

Hear now the wisdom of Saint Augustine: God bestows more consideration on the purity of the intention with which our actions are performed than on the actions themselves. I will suggest a means whereby you can praise God all day long, if you wish. Whatever you do, do it well, and you have praised God. This is the business of our life: by labor and prayer to advance in the grace of God, till we come to that height of perfection in which, with clean hearts, we may behold God. God does not command impossibilities, but by commanding admonishes you do what you can and to pray for what you cannot, and aids you that you may be able. Conquer yourself and the world lies at your feet.

The Second Reader shall step forward again:

Hear now the words of the Psalmist. This is the First Psalm: Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scorneful. But his delight is in the Law of the Lord, and in his Law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season, his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth, shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaffe, which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the Congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

The Celebrant shall step forward again:

Let us pray: Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccáta mundi: miserére nobis. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccáta mundi: miserére nobis. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccáta mundi: nobis pacem. Amen.

The First Reader shall step forward again:

Hear now the prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi, in the Canticle of the Sun: Most High Almighty Good Lord, Yours are praise, glory, honor and all blessings; To You alone! Most High, do they belong, and no man is worthy of speaking Your Name! Be praised, Lord, with all Your creatures, and above all our Brother Sun, who gives us the day by which You light our way, and who is beautiful, radiant and with his great splendor is a symbol to us of You, O Most High! And be praised, Lord, for our Sister Moon and the Stars. You created them in the heavens bright, precious and beautiful! And be praised, Lord, for our Brother the Wind and for the air and the clouds and for fair weather and for all other through which You sustain Your creatures. And be praised, Lord, for our Sister Water, so useful, and humble, and chaste! And be praised, my Lord, for our Brother Fire, through whom You light up the night and who is handsome, joyful, robust, and strong! And be praised, my Lord, for our Sister, Mother Earth, who supports and carries us and produces the diverse fruits and colorful flowers and trees! Praise and bless the Lord and give thanks to Him and serve Him with great humility! Be praised, my Lord, for our Sister, bodily Death from whom no living man can escape! Woe only to those who die in mortal sin; but blessed are those who have done Your most holy will; for the second death can cause them no harm!

The Second Reader shall step forward again:

Hear now the words of Our Lord, from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter five, verses 3 through 12: Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shal say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: For so persecuted they the Prophets which were before you.

The Celebrant shall step forward again:

Let us pray: Pater noster, Qui es in coelis, Sanctificetur nomen tuum; Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua sicut in coelo et in terra. Panem nostrum supersubstantialem da nobis hodiè. Et dimitte nobis debita nostra, Sicut et nos debitoribus nostris. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem; Sed libera nos à malo. Amen. We praise Thee, O Lord, most holy Father, King of heaven and earth; because Thou hast comforted us and brought Thy servant here to Thy holy Knighthood. For Thou art the God of our salvation, even that Salvation which arose from the Holy Sepulchre. The Lord is our strength and our song, and Thou hast become our salvation, and in his Knighthood shall Thy servant become Thy Right Hand; Let the heaven and earth praise Thee, the seas and everything that moves in them. For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah. That they may dwell there and possess it. Also, the descendants of His servants shall inherit it, and those who love Thy Name shall dwell in it. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. In nómine Patris, et Fílli, et Spirítus Sancti, Amen. The Vigil is commenced, go in peace.

After the close of the Vigil Invocation, the Candidate will take up his position at the Altar, kneeling over his armor and weapons. Until 10 pm, people may visit him to discuss Knighthood with him, after which he and his two attendants will retire until morning.

At 8:00 the next morning, he and his party will set up a pavilion in the Park, after which more visitations may commence.

 

Knighting Ceremony of
Nigel the Byzantine II

Cathedral Church of Saint Paul 8 April anno domini 2000

Feast of SS. Albert of Jerusalem & Walter of Pontnoise

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The Knighting

Part the First: The Introduction of the Candidate

The Knighting shall begin at 2:00 in the afternoon. Everyone shall assemble in the Lady Chapel, with the Crowns seated on thrones in front of the Altar. When everyone is assembled and the Candidate is ready, Court shall be opened in the usual way.

Herald:	Your Majesty, His Imperial Highness, Sir François de Coucy, has business before You.
Crown:	Please come forward, Your Highness.

Sir François shall come before the Crown, and say:

François:	Your Majesty, on behalf of the Chivalry of the Empire, I beg to inform you that our numbers are not complete. There is one who by his deeds and his demeanour has the right to a place in our company, a place he has deserved for quite some time.
Crown:	Then let him come forward.
Herald:	Their Imperial Majesties, Elisabeth and Erik, by the Grace of God and the Will of the Estates Empress and Emperor of Adria, do command the presence of Their servant, Nigel the Byzantine.

Knight Candidate Nigel, accompanied by the Knighting Party and wearing a white robe, shall come forward to the following Boast and kneel before the Thrones:

Herald:	Your Majesties, he who comes before You now is Nigel the Byzantine, who serves You and this Empire as Fleur-de-Lis King of Arms. He is a Baronet in this Empire, a Companion of the Order of the Star of Adria, a holder of the Golden Spoon and the Celestial Raven, and a Paladin of the Orders of Saint Bela and Saint Warhammer. In the Laurel Kingdoms, he holds rank of Lord and the Order of the Golden Trident, and he is Drafn. He comes now before Your Majesties to beg from Your hands the accolade which his peers agree is rightly deserved.
Crown:	Your Lordship, are you prepared to accept the accolade of Knighthood this day?
Nigel:	I am, Your Majesty.

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Part the Second: Statement of the Legal Requirements

Crown:	The Laws of the Adrian Empire require that the Candidate's legal requirements for elevation be confirmed. Minister of Rolls: Has the Candidate completed all of the required points for the rank of Knight Minister as prescribed by the Estates?
Rolls:	Yes, Your Majesty.
Crown:	Sovereign of Arms: Has the Candidate duly registered heraldry as prescribed by the Estates?
SoA:	Yes, Your Majesty. He bears Purpure, two lions addorsed, tails entwined or.
Crown:	Chancellor: Is the Candidate under any judicial ban that would prevent the taking of this estate at this time?
Chan:	No, Your Majesty.
Crown:	Steward: Has the Candidate paid his taxes according to Our laws?
Steward:	Yes, Your Majesty.

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Part the Third: Speaking the Qualifications

Crown:	Who would speak to the Candidate's qualifications for this Estate?
Chivalry:	I would speak for the Chivalry. Speaker should speak to the Candidate's chivalry and reverence of the customs of the Empire.
E.Minor:	I would speak for the Estates Minor. Speaker should speak to the Candidate's service and fidelity to the Empire.
E.Major:	I would speak for the Estates Major. Speaker should speak to the Candidate's prowess and courage.
E.Royal:	I would speak for the Estates Royal. Speaker should speak to the Candidate's honesty and loyalty.
L.o.Rose:	I would speak for the Ladies of the Rose. Speaker should speak to the Candidate's courtesy and generosity.
Church:	I would speak for the Church. Speaker should speak to the Candidate's faith and humility.
Dream:	I would speak for the Dream. Speaker should speak to the Candidate's noble demeanor and how he upholds the Traditions.
Crown:	Is there anyone else who would speak to the qualifications of this Knight Candidate?

A few minutes should be allowed for those who have something nice to say. In the off chance they don't have anything nice to say, the Crown should cut them off. After people have said their peace, the Crown should continue:

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Part the Fourth: Vestment of the Regalia

Crown:

With your fulfillment of the Lawful requirements verified, and your qualifications been spoken to by these noble gentleman and ladies, let the Spurs be brought forward.

While the Spurs are being placed on the Candidate's heels, the Herald continues:

Herald:

The Spurs represent the right of a Knight to ride unhindered throughout the land, dispensing justice tempered with mercy, protecting the weak, defending the defenseless, and helping the needy. By wearing the precious Spurs near his feet, the Knights shows his disdain for earthly treasures in favour of spiritual.

One of the people putting the Spurs on the candidate should say as they near completion:

Spurs:

May they never be hacked from your heels in shame and disgrace.

Once the Spurs are on, the Crown continues:

Crown:

Let the Belt be brought forward.

While the Belt is being girded on the Candidate, the Herald continues:

Herald:

The Belt respresents the unity of the Chivalry. The blue color is symbolic of the Virgin Mary, reminding the Knight to be ever faithful in his duties, to be pure of heart, and to be respectful in his actions. The belt hearkens back to the ancient days of the Order of the Garter, whose motto, "Honi soit qui mal y pense", or "Dishonour on him who thinks ill of it", speaks as a reminder to the Knight to remain ever honourable in his actions and his deeds.

The person vesting the Candidate with the Belt should say as they near completion:

Belt:

Choose death before dishonour.

Once the Belt is girded, the Crown continues:

Crown:

Let the Sword be brought forward.

While the Sword is being girded on the Candidate, the Herald continues:

Herald:

The Sword represents the Knight's right to dispense justice. The double edge of the blade ever reminds the Knight to temper justice with mercy. As the steel of the Sword must be tempered in fire and water, so must the soul of the Knight be tempered by adversity and compassion.

The person vesting the Candidate with the Sword should say as he nears completion:

Sword:

Never draw this in anger.

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Part the Fifth: Swearing the Oath

Once the Candidate is fully vested, the Crown shall ask:

Crown:	Upon which sword do you wish to swear your Oath?
Nigel:	Upon the sword of His Imperial Majesty.

The Crown shall direct the Candidate to place his hands on the Sword. The Herald will administer the Oath (one phrase at a time):

Herald:

All members of the Chivalry present, including SCA Peers, and all those who aspire to the Chivalry, are encouraged to kneel in support of the Candidate as he swears his Oath. (to the Candidate): My Lord, please repeat after me:

Here do I reaffirm My oath of fealty and service To the Crown and Empire of Adria And I do hereby swear By mouth and hand To be a good and worthy Knight To be a Lamp of Chivalry unto the Populace To be ever courteous and reverent To seek excellence in all my endeavours To be courageous and faithful To be always loyal and true To temper justice with mercy To defend my Crown and my liege

To be temperate and humble To shelter the weak To help the needy To champion the right And uphold the good To teach what I know To learn what I can To be true to my Faith And to be faithful to my duties All this in each area of my life. So swear I, Nigel the Byzantine

Crown:

This we do hear and shall never forget nor fail to reward that which is given: fealty with love, service with honour, and oath-breaking with vengeance.

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Part the Sixth: The Accolade and the Collée

After the Oath is administered, the Crown will commence with the Accolade:

Crown:	With which sword do you wish to be dubbed?
Nigel:	With the sword of His Highness, Sir Stefan Belski, who was the first Monarch I had the priviledge of serving.

Dame Katayana, who has been holding her husband's sword, will present it to Her Majesty.

Crown:	Having fulfilled the requirements, had your qualifications spoken to, been clothed in your vestments, and having taken your Oath, I hereby create you a Knight Minister in the name of
	Saint George Saint Michael and Our Lady. Rise, SIR Nigel!

Now that the Knight has risen, the Crown shall ask:

Crown:	Whom do you wish to administer the Collée?
Nigel:	His Grace, Sir Gregory of York, who is a Knight of my homeland and the man who to me best exemplifies all that is Knightly and Chivalrous.

The Knight should be braced for what is to come.

Gregory:

Let this be the last blow you take unanswered.

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Commentaries on the Laws of England

William Blackstone
From the First Edition of 1765 - 1769
 

Volume I: Of the Rights of Persons
(1765)

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Introduction
Blackstone's Commentaries did not make law, but was a commentary on the law of Great Britain as it had been established by king and parliament. Blackstone's Commentaries is still in use today in the legal system of Great Britain. The excerpt here is provided for the historical interest it contains about British titles and the duties and privileges of the peerage.

 

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Chapter the Twelfth
Of the Civil State

The lay part of his majesty's subjects, or such of the people as are not comprehended under the denomination of clergy, may be divided into three distinct states, the civil, the military, and the maritime.

That part of the nation which falls under our first and most comprehensive division, the civil state, includes all orders of men, from the highest nobleman to the meanest peasant; that are not included under either our former division, of clergy, or under one of the two latter, the military and maritime states: and it may sometimes include individuals of the other three orders; since a nobleman, a knight, a gentleman, or a peasant, may become either a divine, a soldier, or a seaman.

The civil state consists of the nobility and the commonalty. Of the nobility, the peerage of Great Britain, or lords temporal, as forming (together with the bishops) one of the supreme branches of the legislature, I have before sufficiently spoken: we are here to consider them according to their several degrees, or titles of honour.

All degrees of nobility and honour are derived from the king as their fountain: and he may institute what new titles he pleases. Hence it is that all degrees of honour are not of equal antiquity. Those now in use are dukes, marquesses, earls, viscounts, and barons.

A duke, though it be with us, as a mere title of nobility, inferior in point of antiquity to many others, yet it is superior to all of them in rank; being the first title of dignity after the royal family. Among the Saxons the Latin name of dukes, duces, is very frequent, and signified, as among the Romans, the commanders or leaders of their armies, whom in their own language they called heheroza [note: transliterated from the Greek]; and in the laws of Henry I (as translated by Lambard) we find them called heretochii. But after the Norman conquest, which changed the military polity of the nation, the kings themselves continuing for many generations dukes of Normandy, they would not honour any subjects with that title, till the time of Edward III, who, claiming to be king of France, and thereby losing the ducal in the royal dignity, in the eleventh year of his reign created his son, Edward the black prince, duke of Cornwall: and many, of the royal family especially, were afterwards raised to the same honour. However, in the reign of queen Elizabeth, A.D. 1572, the whole order became utterly extinct: but it was revived about fifty years afterwards by her successor, who was remarkably prodigal of honours, in the person of George Villiers duke of Buckingham.

2. A marquess, marchio, is the next degree of nobility. His office formerly was (for dignity and duty were never separated by our ancestors) to guard the frontiers and limits of the kingdom; which were called the marches, from the teutonic word, marche, a limit: as, in particular, were the marches of Wales and Scotland, while they continued to be enemies countries. The persons who had command there, were called lords marchers, or marquesses; whose authority was abolished by Statute 27 Hen.VIII. C. 27: though the title had long before been made a mere ensign of honour; Robert Vere, earl of Oxford, being created marquess of Dublin, by Richard II in the eighth year of his reign.

3. An earl is a title of nobility so antient, that its original cannot clearly be traced out. Thus much seems tolerably certain: that among the Saxons they were called ealdormen, quasi-elder men, signifying the same as sen or or senator among the Romans; and also schiremen, because they had each of them the civil government of a several division or shire. On the irruption of the Danes, they changed the name to eorles, which, according to Camden, signified the same in their language. In Latin they are called comites (a title first used in the empire) from being the king's attendants; a societate nomen sumpserunt, reges enim tales "sibi associant." After the Norman conquest they were for some time called counts, or countees, from the French; but they did not long retain that name themselves, though their shires are from thence called counties to this day. It is now become a mere title they having nothing to do with the government of the county which, as has been more than once observed, is now entirely devolved on the sheriff, the earl's deputy, or vice-comes. In all writs and commissions, and other formal instruments, the king, when he mentions any peer of the degree of an earl, always stiles him "trusty and well beloved cousin," an appellation as antient as the reign of Henry IV; who being either by his wife, his mother, or his sisters, actually related or allied to every earl in the kingdom, artfully and constantly acknowledged that connexion in a his letters and other public acts; from whence the usage has descended to his successors, though the reason has long ago failed.

4. The name of vice-comnes or viscount was afterwards made use of as an arbitrary title of honour, without any shadow of office pertaining to it, by Henry the sixth when in the eighteenth year of his reign, he created John Beaumont a peer, by the name of viscount Beaumont, which was the first instance of the kind.

5. A baron's is the most general and universal title of nobility; for originally every one of the peers of superior rank had also a barony annexed to his other titles. But it hath sometimes happened that, when an antient baron hath been raised to a new degree of peerage, in the course of a few generations the two titles have descended differently; one perhaps to the male descendants, the other to the heirs general; whereby the earldom or other superior title hath subsisted without a barony: and there are also modern instances where earls and viscounts have been created without annexing a barony to their other honours: so that now the rule does not hold universally, that all peers are barons. The original and antiquity of baronies has occasioned great enquiries among our English antiquarians. The more probable opinion seems to be that they were the same with our present lords of manors; to which the name of court baron, (which is the lord's court, and incident to every manor) gives some countenance. It may be collected from king John's magna carta, that originally all lords of manors, or barons, that held of the king in capite, had seats in the great council or parliament, till about the reign of that prince the conflux of them became so large and troublesome, that the king was obliged to divide them, and summon only the greater barons in person; leaving the small ones to be summoned by the sheriff, and ( as it is said) to sit by representation on another house; which gave rise to the separation of the two houses of parliament. By degrees the title came to be confined to the greater barons, or lords of parliament only; and there were no other barons among the peerage but such as were summoned by writ, in respect of the tenure of their lands or baronies, till Richard the second first made it a mere title of honor, by conferring it on divers persons by his letters patent.

Having made this short enquiry into the original of our several degrees of nobility, I shall next consider the manner in which they may be created. The right of peerage seems to have been originally territorial; that is, annexed to lands, honors, castles, manors, and the like, the proprietors and possessors of which were (in right of those estates) allowed to be peers of the realm, and were summoned to parliament to do suit and service to their sovereign: and, when the land was alienated, the dignity passed with it as appendant. Thus the bishops still sit in the house of lords in right of succession to certain antient baronies annexed, or supposed to be annexed, to their episcopal lands: and thus, in II Hen. VI, the possession of the castle of Arundel was adjudged to confer an earldom on its possessor. But afterwards, when alienations grew to be frequent, the dignity of peerage was confined to the lineage of the party ennobled, and instead of territorial became personal. Actual proof of a tenure by barony became no longer necessary to constitute a lord of parliament; but the record of the writ of summons to them or their ancestors was admitted as a sufficient evidence of the tenure.

Peers are now created either by writ, or by patent: for those who claim by prescription must suppose either a writ or patent made to their ancestors; though by length of time it is lost. The creation by writ, or the king's letter, is a summons to attend the house of peers, by the stile and title of that barony, which the king is pleased to confer: that by patent is a royal grant to a subject of any dignity and degree of peerage. The creation by writ is the more antient way; but a man is not ennobled thereby, unless he actually takes his seat in the house of lords: and therefore the most usual, because the surest way is to grant the dignity by patent, which inures to a man and his heirs according to the limitations thereof, though he never himself makes use of it. Yet it is frequent to call up the eldest son of a peer to the house of lords by writ of summons, in the name of his father's barony: because in that case there is no danger of his children's losing the nobility in case he never takes his seat; for they will succeed to their grand-father. Creation by writ has also one advantage over that by patent: for a person created by writ holds the dignity to him and his heirs, without any words to that purport in the writ, but in letters patent there must be words to direst the inheritance, else the dignity inures on]y to the grantee for lifer. For a man or woman may be created noble for their own lives, and the dignity not descend to their heirs at all, or descend only to some particular; heirs: as where a peerage is limited to a man, and the heirs male of his body by Elizabeth his present lady, and not to such heirs by any former or future wife.

Let us next take a view of a few of the principal incident attending the nobility, exclusive of their capacity as members of parliament, and as hereditary counsellors of the crown; both of which we have before considered. And first we must observe, that in criminal cases, a nobleman shall be tried by his peers. The great are always obnoxious to popular envy: were they to be judged by the people, they might be in danger from the prejudice of their judges; and would moreover be deprived of the privilege of the meanest subjects, that of being tried by their equals, which is secured to all the realm by magna carta c. 29. It is said, that this does not extend to bishops; who, though they are lords of parliament, and sit there by virtue of their baronies which they hold jure ecclesiae, yet are not ennobled in blood, and consequently not peers with the nobility. As to peeresses, no provision was made for their trial when accused of treason or felony, till after Eleanor duchess of Gloucester, wife to the lord protector, had been accused of treason and found guilty of witchcraft, in an ecclesiastical synod, through the intrigues of cardinal Beaufort. This very extraordinary trial gave occasion to a special statute, 20 Hen.VI. c.9 which enacts that peeresses either in their own right, or by marriage, shall be tried before the same judicature as peers of the realm. If a woman, noble in her own right, marries a commoner, she still remains noble, and shall be tried by her peers: but if she be only noble by marriage, then by a second marriage, with a commoner, she loses her dignity; for as by marriage it is gained, by marriage it is also lost. Yet if a duchess dowager marries a baron, she continues a duchess still; for all the nobility are pares, and therefore it is no degradation. A peer, or peeress (either in her own right or by marriage) cannot be arrested in civil cases: and they have also many peculiar privileges annexed to their peerage in the course of judicial proceedings. A peer, sitting in judgment, gives not his verdict upon oath, like an ordinary juryman, but upon his honour: he answers also to bills in chancery upon his honour, and not upon his oath; but, when he is examined as a witness either in civil or criminal cases, he must be sworn: for the respect which the law shews to the honour of a peer does not extend so far as to overturn a settled maxim, that in judicio non creditur nifi juratis. The honour of peers is however so highly tendered by the law, that it is much more penal to spread false reports of them, and certain other great officers of the realm, than of other men: scandal against them being called by the peculiar name of scandalum magnatum; and subjected to peculiar punishment by divers antient statutes.

A peer cannot lose his nobility, but by death or attainder; though there was an instance, in the reign of Edward the fourth, of the degradation of George Nevile duke of Bedford by a writ of parliament, on account of his poverty, which rendered him unable to support his dignity. But this is a singular instance: which serves at the same time, by having happened, to shew the power of parliament; and, by having happened but once, to shew how tender the parliament hath been, in exerting so high a power. It hath been said indeed that if a baron wastes his estate, so that he is not able to support the degree, the king may degrade him: but it is expressly held by later authorities that a peer cannot be degraded but by act of parliament.

The commonalty, like the nobility, are divided into several degrees; and, as the lords, though different in rank, yet all of them are peers in respect of their nobility, so the commoners though some are greatly superior to others, yet all are in law peers in respect of their want of nobility.

The first name of dignity, next beneath a peer, was antiently that of vidames, vice domini, or valvasors: who are mentioned by our antient lawyers as viri magnae dignitatis; and sir Edward Coke speaks highly of them. Yet they are now quite out of use; and our legal antiquarians are not so much as agreed upon their original or antient office.

Now therefore the first dignity after the nobility, is a knight of the order of St. George, or of the garter; first instituted by Edward III, AD 1344. Next follows a knight banneret; who indeed by statutes 5 Ric. II. st. z. c. 4. and 14 Ric. II. c. 11. is ranked next after barons: and that precedence was confirmed to him by order of king James I, in the tenth year of his reign. But, in order to intitle himself to this rank, he must have been created by the king in person, in the field, under the royal banners, in time of open war. Else he ranks after baronet who are the next order: which title is a dignity of inheritance, created by letters patent, and usually descendible to the issue male. It was first instituted by king James the first, AD 1611 in order to raise a competent sum for the reduction of the province of Ulster in Ireland; for which reason all baronets have the arms of Ulster superadded to their family coat. Next follow knights of the bath; an order instituted by king Henry IV, and revived by king George the first. They are so called from the ceremony of bathing, the night before their creation. The last of these inferior nobility are knights bachelors; the most antient, though the lowest, order of knighthood amongst us: for we have an in instance of king Alfred's conferring this order on his son Athelstan. The custom of the antient Germans was to give their young men a shield and a lance in the great council: this was equivalent to the toga virilis of the Romans: before this they were not permitted to bear arms, but were accounted as part of the father's household; after it, as part of the public. Hence, some derive the usage of knighting, which has prevailed all over the western world, since its reduction by colonies from those northern heroes. Knights are called in Latin equites aurati; aurati, from the gilt spurs they wore; and equites, because they always served on horseback: for it is observable, that almost all nations call their knights by some appellation derived from an horse. They are also called in our law milites, because they formed a part, or indeed the whole of the royal army, in virtue of their feodal tenures; one condition of which was, that every one who held a knight's fee (which in Henry the second's time amounted to 20 £ per annum ) was obliged to be knighted, and attend the king in his wars, or fine for his non-compliance. The exertion of this prerogative, as an expedient to raise money in the reign of Charles the first, gave great offence; though warranted by law, and the recent example of queen Elizabeth: but it was, at the restoration, together with all other military branches of the feodal law, abolished; and this kind of knighthood has, since that time, fallen into great disregard.

These, sir Edward Coke says, are all the names of dignity in this kingdom, esquires and gentlemen being only names of worship. But before these last the heralds rank all colonels, serjeants at law, and doctors in the three learned professions.

Esquires and gentlemen are confounded together by sir Edward Coke, who observes, that every esquire is a gentleman and a gentleman is defined to be one qui arma gerit, who bears coat armour, the grant of which adds gentility to a man's family: in like manner as civil nobility, among the Romans, was founded in the jus imaginum, or having the image of one ancestor at least, who had borne some curule office. It is indeed a matter somewhat unsettled, what constitutes the distinction, or who is a real esquire: for it is not an estate, however large, that confers this rank upon its owner. Camden, who was himself a herald, distinguishes them the most accurately; and he reckons up four sorts of them: 1. The eldest sons of knights, and their elder sons, in perpetual succession. 2. The younger sons of peers, and their eldest sons, in like perpetual succession: both which species of esquires sir H. Spelman entitles armigeri natalitii. 3. Esquires created by the king's letters patent, or other investiture; and their eldest sons. 4. Esquires by virtue of their offices; as justices of the peace, and others who bear any office of trust under the crown. To these may be added the esquires of knights of the bath, each of whom constitutes three at his installation; and all foreign, nay, Irish peers; and the eldest sons of peers of Great Britain, who, though generally titular lords, are only esquires in the law, and must so be named in all legal proceedings. As for gentlemen, says sir Thomas Smith , they be made good cheap in this kingdom: for whosoever studieth the laws of the realm, who studieth in the universities, who professeth liberal sciences, and (to be short) who can live idly, and without manual labour, and will bear the port, charge, and countenance of a gentleman, he shall be called master and shall be taken for a gentleman. A yeoman is he that hath free land of forty shillings by the year; who is thereby qualified to serve on juries, vote for knights of the shire, and do any other act, where the law requires one that is probus et legalis homo.

The rest of the commonalty are tradesmen, artificers, and labourers who (as well as all others) must in pursuance of the statute I Hen.V. c. 5. be stiled by the name and addition of their estate, degree, or mystery in all actions and other legal proceedings.

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THE NOBLE AND ROYAL TITLE IN AMERICAN CULTURE

AMERICANS AND TITLES
Americans are indecisive about royal and noble titles. While pretending to disdain titles and the titled, the fact is that Americans love them and are fascinated and captivated by them. For example, we have "king-size" beds (and queen-size, too). The "king-size" tube of toothpaste is the biggest one--usually. We have the prom queen, the movie queen, the porn queen, the king of the rodeo, the king of comedy. A friendly and helping man is "a real prince," a sweet-tempered woman is "a lady." There's Duke Ellington, Counts Basie and Chocula, the King of Swing and the Queen of Disco, Elvis the King of Rock, Michael Jackson the King of Pop, and we even have among us a mononymic rock star...Prince. When movie actress Grace Kelly became Princess Grace of Monaco, America swooned (Even if the rest of European monarchy and nobility didn't. Grace Kelley was considered a parvenu and somewhat vulgar because of her movie career, but she was never "vulgar," and embodied her name of Grace very well indeed.), and Grace's popularity soared. Yes, and millions of Americans arose at 2:00 AM one morning to watch the Prince of Wales marry Lady Diana--and they watch, now through the tabloids, with equal wonder at that marriage's difficulties. Let a foreign nobleman, noblewoman, or monarch come to America for a visit, and Americans will flock to each and all, especially if the titled visitor has a suave manner and an interesting accent--and, of course, that great entitler, money.

So, naturally, Americans aren't interested in titles. Certainly not. Oh no. After all, doesn't the American Constitution prohibit Americans from receiving, using, or even acknowledging titles? The answer is--no, it doesn't. What Article I: Section 9, Paragraph 8 of the Constitution says is this:

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

The primary purpose of the Paragraph was to prevent the United States from creating a system of nobility, at least in the British style of the detested King George III. The secondary purpose was to prevent foreign royalty from coöpting an official of the United States government and to prevent royalty from using the promise of a gift of a noble title as a bribe to obtain preferment from a government official, at least not without the full knowledge and consent of Congress, the assumption being that the "Consent of the Congress" would not be forthcoming. This is the same section of the Constitution which prevents the President (or his wife), members of Congress, and Justices of the Supreme Court from personally accepting gifts from foreign governments, all such gifts being received by the President on behalf of the U.S. Government. Many such gifts are displayed at the Smithsonian. Note that the Constitution does not hold titles in contempt, nor does it reject them as worthless--just the opposite, the Constitution equates the noble title with any other valuable gift, that is, a title is seen as valuable property which can be given and used and which has such significant instrinsic worth that it has the power of currency and, therefore, cannot be recieved without an act of Congress.

The second part of the Constitutional prohibition is less rigid. That is, the Section does not apply to private citizens, nor does it prevent a private citizen from accepting or holding a royal or noble title, because the phrase "Office of Profit or Trust" in this Section is interpreted to refer to elected and appointed high federal officials and members of the armed services who, during their tenure of service, are prevented from accepting noble or royal honors. Once these persons are again private citizens, they are free to be honored, as, for example, the "honorary" knighthoods granted by Queen Elizabeth II to Former Presidents Reagan and Bush and to retired/retiring Generals Norman Schwartzkopf and Colin Powell. These honorees probably will not use the title "Sir," but, because they are members of Orders of Chivalry, i.e., they are knights, they can (and undoubtedly will) use the postnominals of the Orders they hold. Actually, there is no legal reason why these knights couldn't use the title "Sir." Even though the Constitution prevented the development of the traditional European honors model, the United States certainly has developed an honors system that in many ways resembles the establishment of nobility. For example, for its military, there is the Purple Heart, the Congressional Medal of Honor, and many others. For its private citizens there is the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the annual awards given to performers at the Kennedy Center, and others. The key difference seems to be that, unlike European honors, American honors carry postnominals (single letter abbreviations after the name which denote the honor conferred), not prenominals which are titles before the name. Americans don't seem to mind postnominals such as "Ph.D." (Doctor of Philosophy) or "K.C." (Knight Commander) or "Bart." (more properly, "Bt.," Baronet). It's those prenominals that they balk at ("Sir So-and-So" or "Dr. Whatshisname" or "Lord Whosis").

The point is that while the Constitution prohibits the giving of a title of nobility by the American Government (Congress, the President, or the Judicial) or the receipt of the same "from any King, Prince, or foreign State" by high public officials during their terms of office, or by military personnel while enlisted, private American citizens, themselves, are free to accept and use titles of any kind whatever, noble or otherwise.

THE USE OF TITLES IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY
Citizens of the United States like to think of the U.S.A. as classless and untitled, cherishing these egalitarian concepts as marks of the unique American opportunity for upward mobility in class and power. In everyday practice, however, Americans are very much aware of how to create and use titles to establish class and wield power. A primary example of the importance of a title as a mark of power and status is the title "Ms." (rhymes with fizz), created some years ago by feminists for use in the place of "Miss" or "Mrs," both of which titles show a woman's relationship to a man. The title "Ms." is egalitarian in that it shows gender only, exactly as does the modern "Mr." (L.G. Pine, in The Story of Titles, discusses the original and modern uses of "Mister," a variation of "Master." Interestingly, like "Ms.," most royal and noble titles are themselves egalitarian in that they show gender only--for exampl,e a Queen is not necessarily the wife of a King, a Baroness is not necessarily the wife of a Baron.) The general acceptance and use of the once artificial "Ms." show that Americans clearly understand and acknowledge the value and importance of the title as an empowering device.

THE FONS HONORUM OF NOBLE AND ROYAL TITLES
A legitimate noble title always has a legitimate royal source, called a fons honorum (Latin: "source of honor," the "fountainhead" from which the legitimate title is issued). What is important to know (and what Americans have to be firmly instructed in and regularly reminded about) is that noble titles do not come from governments, but from heads of royal families, called a "royal house." Thus, the royal house is a dynastic family holding hereditary royal title and prerogatives usually based upon modern or ancient geographical rulership; the royal dynastic family need not necessarily currently head a government or rule a nation. A government is not, of itself, royal, nor can a government declare itself royal--it is persons who are royal or noble, and it is the head of that government who is royal. Thus, a government as an entity is not and cannot be a fons for royal or noble titles (Which makes the American Constitution's prohibition perfectly proper.). In fact, the universal practice is that a government which prefers a royal head of state doesn't create it, but goes, instead, to one of the royal houses (in Europe or elsewhere) to find a monarch to reign. Observe the actions of the British Parliament when, in 1701, it became apparent that King William and Queen Anne were not going to leave any heirs in line for the throne. Parliament wanted, of course, a Protestant sovereign, but even the British Parliament had not the authority to create royalty, nor could the King and Queen declare an heir. Therefore, Parliament, understanding that governments do not beget royalty, began to carefully scrutinize Europe's royals, searching for a suitable candidate to come to the throne after King William's death. Having analyzed genealogies and religious proclivities, Parliament settled on the Electress of Hanover, who had the virtue of being the granddaughter of James I. However, the Electress died before the British throne became available, so the office passed to her son, George Ludwig who became King George I of England.

Of course, some countries in the Middle East have seen commoners elevate themselves to royal status, as, for example, Reza Pahlavi (1878-1944) a commoner and an army officer who seized power in Iran, declared himself Shah, and then--like Napolean--crowned himself. His son, Muhammad Reza Pahlavi (1919-1980) inherited the throne of Iran, but was deposed in 1979. There are other examples of colonels cum kings. Middle Eastern countries, being Muslim, don't go to the Christian royal houses of Europe for their rulers. They don't have to, there being sufficient Muslim royal houses. Even if there weren't, it is a fact that tanks and militia breed a potent throne and that a quantity of gunpowder, liberally applied, can make any blood blue. There is nothing new in this, as any student of medieval European history kn