Honorific

An honorific is a form of address used to people of high rank.

Usage

An honorific is something that is attached to the name but is not normally used elsewhere, e.g Mr, Sir, Mrs, Dr, Master. Contrast this with a title or position can appear without the person's name (e.g. the President, the Earl), and may be asssociated with a particular role or area (e.g. the US President, Financial Director, Earl of Cornwall).

Period usage

Note also that medieval English kings were addressed as "Your Grace". "Your Majesty" is found in letters to King Henry VIII after about the time he broke with the Church of Rome (watch the gradual transition from "your grace" to "your highness" and "your majesty" in the letters addressed to Henry by his wives and daughters at http://englishhistory.net/tudor/letters.html). Earlier examples may be found in the Oxford Englsh dictionary dating back to 1387.

Honorifics in the SCA

The following honorifics are generally accepted throughout the SCA, though there may be some regional variations. They are sometimes abbreviated and used as part of an individual's alphabet soup or before their names.

RANK	HONORIFIC	ABBREVIATION
King or Queen	Your Majesty My Liege (in some Kingdoms, only if you've sworn fealty) Your Grace (if you're just rather old-fashioned)	HM
Crown Prince or Princess	Your Royal Highness	HRH
Prince or Princess	Your Highness	HH
Duke or Duchess	Your Grace
Count or Countess	Your Excellency	HE
Viscount or Viscountess	Your Excellency	HE
Baron or Baroness	Your Excellency	HE
Knight	Sir
Pelican, Laurel, or Order of Defense	Master or Mistress	OP, OL
Anybody else	My Lord/My Lady	L