Recognition of Personal Nobility
The Augustan Society, Inc., has a tradition of recognizing royal and noble titles. Recently, it has begun to Recognize Personal Nobility, that is, nobility that does not have a title attached.
Various offices, titles, and other achievements have traditionally established the bearer as noble — a non-hereditary honor. In France, for example, this form of nobility applied to judges, who were considered to be noblesse de robe. There are many cultures in which particular persons were considered noble or protected persons (i.e.: the bards of the old Gaelic cultures, the jali of Western African peoples, etc.). This is also applicable in the case of certain classes of orders of chivalry.
The Royalty & Nobility Committee considers petitions for recognition of personal nobility based on office, achievement, or as an adjunct to another honor conferred by a valid fons honorum. Note that a favorable recommendation requires assent from a majority of the members of the Committee, less any who are obliged to recuse themselves. The number, but not the identity, of those assenting must be submitted to Headquarters.
The recommendation will be places on the next available Board agenda, and the Board will make the final decision.
Note: The Augustan Society does not claim to be a definitive authority on the legitimacy of titles, nobility, or orders of chivalry. The recognition of such honors are matters of internal protocol and for the use of the relevant honorifics within the Society.
