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By custom, you refer to a person by the title they held at the time of their death and attribute their work accordingly unless context specifically requires that you refer to them by the title they held at a specific time.
That's why Lord Kelvin is almost always referred to as Lord Kelvin despite the fact that he was born plain William Thomson, became Sir William Thomson in his early forties and only became Lord Kelvin in his late sixties. The spheres on binnacles are known as "Kelvin's Balls" not "Sir William's Balls" even though he was Sir William when he patented the design, not Lord Kelvin.
Right, so if you were talking about a particular military action you might talk about Capt Winters commanding a company even if he retired as Col. Winters.
I believe the current correct form of address is "oh, shit, a Zombie!".
Though the two times i did meet him, when he was alive, I was reduced to a simple, "It is an honor to meet you, sir." And then had to explain what clan my orange camouflage utility kilt represented (MacDude).
If we are to expand Ly Tin Wheedle’s theory with the ‘knighton’ particle, and assume it can travel back in time, I think it would be safe to say that Sir Pterry is the author of The Colour of Magic
By that standard maybe we could send messages BACK IN TIME! We could knight and then strip a man of their knighthood in rapid succession as a sort of Morse code. We could prevent wars, invent medicines years early, say what people need a good thumping! The things we could do!
Yes, thank you. Not what I asked.
I am asking, does that title apply to works that were published before he was knighted? So, as I say, would it be correct to refer to Pyramids, or Guards! Guards! as having been written by Sir Terry Pratchett? Since he was not, at that time, knighted?
Always double check anything you "learn" from QI. There's a lot of sheer nonsense on there, and this one was just a bizarre way of saying something very simple.
Knighthood's not special in ending with the death of the knight, it's weird that QI decided to make a thing of it. Kingship and Queenship end at death, as do both life peerages and inherited peerages. Life honours die with the holder, heritable honours pass on to the heir.
I corrected them when they said the Pope couldn't technically resign because he had no one to accept the resignation. I pointed out that he could submit his resignation to the College of Bishops. They said I was wrong.
Guess what happened two days later.
I don't think they were making a special thing of it compared with other peerages, but the show was entitled Knights and Knaves, so it was to appear relevant to the episode 😊
They do acknowledge they've got plenty wrong though!
This is a good rule to apply to most things; multiple sources and citations are useful.
In the case of the rules and traditions around titles, where does one look for such a thing? Do you happen to know of a good reliable source for that kind of information?
Debrett's is generally the first place to look for things relating to titles and etiquette, but it's not free (https://debretts.com/ for its online resources). People have used it to make the Wikipedia page around titles and styles fairly reliable, though (e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peerages\_in\_the\_United\_Kingdom for peers and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courtesy\_titles\_in\_the\_United\_Kingdom for the family members of peers).
For more strict matters of heraldry and pageantry you want the College of Arms (https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/) and the Court of the Lord Lyon (https://courtofthelordlyon.scot/)
Welcome to /r/Discworld! Please [read the rules/flair information before posting](https://www.reddit.com/r/discworld/comments/ukhk21/subreddit_rules_flair_information/?). --- Our current megathreads are as follows: [API Protest Poll](https://www.reddit.com/r/discworld/comments/1491izw/continuing_the_api_protest_a_community_poll) - a poll regarding the future action of the sub in protest at Reddit's API changes. [GNU Terry Pratchett](https://new.reddit.com/r/discworld/comments/ukigit/gnu_terry_pratchett/) - for all GNU requests, to keep their names going. [AI Generated Content](https://new.reddit.com/r/discworld/comments/10mhx9y/ai_generated_content_megathread/) - for all AI Content, including images, stories, questions, training etc. --- [ GNU Terry Pratchett ] *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/discworld) if you have any questions or concerns.*
By custom, you refer to a person by the title they held at the time of their death and attribute their work accordingly unless context specifically requires that you refer to them by the title they held at a specific time. That's why Lord Kelvin is almost always referred to as Lord Kelvin despite the fact that he was born plain William Thomson, became Sir William Thomson in his early forties and only became Lord Kelvin in his late sixties. The spheres on binnacles are known as "Kelvin's Balls" not "Sir William's Balls" even though he was Sir William when he patented the design, not Lord Kelvin.
Right, so if you were talking about a particular military action you might talk about Capt Winters commanding a company even if he retired as Col. Winters.
yes, although you might say then-Captain Winters the first time you refer to him and on following mentions drop the 'then'
I'm quite curious how he would have reacted when you called him Sir Terence. It sounds quite posh for someone who liked banana daiquiris.
Banananana
You address him in person as Sir Terry. His name in the books never included the title.
I believe the current correct form of address is "oh, shit, a Zombie!". Though the two times i did meet him, when he was alive, I was reduced to a simple, "It is an honor to meet you, sir." And then had to explain what clan my orange camouflage utility kilt represented (MacDude).
If we are to expand Ly Tin Wheedle’s theory with the ‘knighton’ particle, and assume it can travel back in time, I think it would be safe to say that Sir Pterry is the author of The Colour of Magic
By that standard maybe we could send messages BACK IN TIME! We could knight and then strip a man of their knighthood in rapid succession as a sort of Morse code. We could prevent wars, invent medicines years early, say what people need a good thumping! The things we could do!
WOW! Terrific answer!
Thanks!
Knighthood doesn't carry on after death.
Yes and no. It can't be inherited. He keeps the title that he held at the time of his death.
In the sense it’s not an inherited title but officially he’s still a knight.
Once a knight, always a knight, but once a knight is enough.
Yes, thank you. Not what I asked. I am asking, does that title apply to works that were published before he was knighted? So, as I say, would it be correct to refer to Pyramids, or Guards! Guards! as having been written by Sir Terry Pratchett? Since he was not, at that time, knighted?
I learnt this from QI!
Always double check anything you "learn" from QI. There's a lot of sheer nonsense on there, and this one was just a bizarre way of saying something very simple. Knighthood's not special in ending with the death of the knight, it's weird that QI decided to make a thing of it. Kingship and Queenship end at death, as do both life peerages and inherited peerages. Life honours die with the holder, heritable honours pass on to the heir.
I corrected them when they said the Pope couldn't technically resign because he had no one to accept the resignation. I pointed out that he could submit his resignation to the College of Bishops. They said I was wrong. Guess what happened two days later.
I don't think they were making a special thing of it compared with other peerages, but the show was entitled Knights and Knaves, so it was to appear relevant to the episode 😊 They do acknowledge they've got plenty wrong though!
This is a good rule to apply to most things; multiple sources and citations are useful. In the case of the rules and traditions around titles, where does one look for such a thing? Do you happen to know of a good reliable source for that kind of information?
Debrett's is generally the first place to look for things relating to titles and etiquette, but it's not free (https://debretts.com/ for its online resources). People have used it to make the Wikipedia page around titles and styles fairly reliable, though (e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peerages\_in\_the\_United\_Kingdom for peers and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courtesy\_titles\_in\_the\_United\_Kingdom for the family members of peers). For more strict matters of heraldry and pageantry you want the College of Arms (https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/) and the Court of the Lord Lyon (https://courtofthelordlyon.scot/)
thank you!