Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
I don't quite understand that one. The wife of a knight is always called "Lady <whatever>". What does the footnote actually say?
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"A man who has been knighted, as Sir William has, is not a member of the nobility. He uses the title
Sir in conjunction with his first name (Sir William), while his wife is called by the title
Lady and her last name (Lady Lucas). A woman called by the title
Lady and her first name has inherited a noble title from her own family; her father holds a minimum rank of earl."
It wasn't news to me that Sir William was not a member of the nobility, but I hadn't appreciated before that not using Lady Lucas' first name was an indicator of social status.
Jim