# Knight's night out. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 22, 2002, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knights-night-out/105010 "2002-04-22T17:10:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Elvis_Rojo)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2002, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knights-night-out/105010/1 "2002-04-22T17:10:48Z")
Just out of curiosity, what’s the tittle for a woman knight? Men who are knighted are called “Sir,” but what’s the prefix for a woman? I want to say “Dame,” or “Madam,” but I’m not entirely sure. And, is it possible for a knight to have his knighthood revoked, and if so, do they then receive a new tittle, like “Traitorous Fuck Steve,” or do they just go back to being called Steve? (no offense to anyone out there named Steve, it was just the first word to pop into my head). ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2002, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knights-night-out/105010/2 "2002-04-22T17:14:44Z")
The tittle? Beautiful, pal. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2002, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knights-night-out/105010/3 "2002-04-22T18:19:48Z")
Well, Spenser seems to call his female knight “faire Britomart” most of the time, but I think this is more epithet than title. He also refers to her as “Dame” and “Warlike Maid” on occasion, but not, as far as I can recall, as “Dame Britomart.” So I’m not sure there _is_ a proper title, but I doubt any women knights would get offended at “Dame [first name].” ---
**Author:** ![welby1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@welby1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/welby1)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2002, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knights-night-out/105010/4 "2002-04-22T19:24:16Z")
Only the most loyal, brave and reverent knights receive a tittle. A few, and only a few mind you, were presented with cootchles. You had to be a real knightly bad ass to get some cootchle, though. Traitors were usually castrated and hung. No coochles OR tittles for those bastards. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2002, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knights-night-out/105010/5 "2002-04-22T21:10:13Z")
I believe the correct forms of address are: Sir -\> Dame Lord -\> Lady I’m not sure what the difference between a Sir and a Lord is though. ---
**Author:** ![Spiratu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@Spiratu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiratu)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2002, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knights-night-out/105010/6 "2002-04-22T22:48:14Z")
From _Tirant lo Blanc_, a fifteenth century Spanish novel, Chapter 36: How a Knight is Expelled From His Order. > [@](#): > > Next the heralds will shout: “What is this knight’s name?” to which the pursuivants should answer: “So and so,” saying his title. The kings-of-arms should reply: “Not so, for this recreant knight has disgraced his order!” Then the priests will cry: “Let us give him a name!” while the messengers should ask: “What name shall he have?” The king must answer: “Let this wicked knight, who disgraced his order, be banished from all my lands and dominions.” Once the king has uttered these words, the heralds and kings-of-arms should throw hot water in the knight’s face, saying: “From now on, traitor, you shall be known by your family name.” Eventually, though, it goes on to say that they either sentence him to death or life imprisonment. This book was written towards the end of the whole chivalric period, I think, so it probably wasn’t quite as cut-and-dried as the author makes it out to be, but yeah, for the brief time the guy’s still alive, they apparently call him just Jones or Miller or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Tsubaki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@Tsubaki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tsubaki)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2002, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knights-night-out/105010/7 "2002-04-23T00:02:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by welby1 \* > \*\*Only the most loyal, brave and reverent knights receive a tittle. A few, and only a few mind you, were presented with cootchles. You had to be a real knightly bad ass to get some cootchle, though. > > Traitors were usually castrated and hung. No coochles OR tittles for those bastards. \*\* 😃 ---
**Author:** ![red\_dragon60](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@red\_dragon60](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/red_dragon60)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2002, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knights-night-out/105010/8 "2002-04-23T01:32:40Z")
I believe it is dame. Or lady. Damn, I forget. Look up how the Brits knight people, that should tell ya. A knight is someone that serves under a lord as an elite unit. ---
**Author:** ![red\_dragon60](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@red\_dragon60](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/red_dragon60)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2002, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knights-night-out/105010/9 "2002-04-23T01:32:41Z")
I believe it is dame. Or lady. Damn, I forget. Look up how the Brits knight people, that should tell ya. A knight is someone that serves under a lord as an elite unit. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2002, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knights-night-out/105010/10 "2002-04-23T01:53:37Z")
A female knight is titled “Dame”. Several modern actresses have been knighted for their services to the theater, such as Dame Judi Dench. A knight’s wife is titled “Lady”. A dame’s husband gets zip as far as titles go. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2002, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knights-night-out/105010/11 "2002-04-23T01:57:20Z")
Wasn’t the English author Agatha Christie knighted? I’m pretty sure that I remember a TV show on the A&E Channel calling her “Dame Agatha Christie.”