I sent this once, and it seems to have been sucked in by the black hole...so
I will try again.
As a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), which is kind of
a medieval recreation group, my own view is as follows:
Military superiors may be addressed either by rank or as Sir (if you are
familiar with them, as often happens in a regiment due to Officers' Mess
dinners, you _may_ be on first name terms with them for private
correspondence)
Nobility below the rank of Duke can be 'Your Excellency' (and are referred
to as such in the SCA), but I dislike this personally because of the
conflict with ambassadors, I prefer 'My Lord', 'Your Lordship' or simply
'Sir'
A Duc is 'Your Grace'
An ambassador is 'Your Excellency'
The Cardinal is 'Your Eminence'
Princes/Princesses are 'Your Highness'
Crown Prince/Dauphin or the Queen is 'Your Royal Highness'
The King is 'Your Majesty'
There is no hard and fast rule for members of the lower nobility of the
period, so pick what you will...
Mike
(and if I have made any mistakes in the above...I'm sure someone will
correct me *grin*)
