dame
{{short description|Title in British Commonwealth honours systems}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}File:Dame2022.jpg into the Order of the Holy Sepulchre]]
Dame is a traditionally British honorific title given to women who have been admitted to certain orders of chivalry. It is the female equivalent of Sir, the title used by knights.{{cite web|url=https://www.awardsintelligence.co.uk/queens-honours/knighthood-damehood|title=How to get a Knighthood or Damehood|year=2016|publisher=Awards Intelligence|language=en|access-date=25 October 2018|quote=A knighthood, and the female equivalent, a damehood, is an award given by The Queen to an individual for a major, long-term, contribution in any activity, usually at a national or international level.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181025190151/https://www.awardsintelligence.co.uk/queens-honours/knighthood-damehood|archive-date=25 October 2018|url-status=dead}} Baronetesses in their own right also use the title Dame.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}
A woman appointed to the grades of Dame Commander or Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Saint John,{{cite book|last=Karmon|first=Yehuda|title=Die Johanniter und Malteser: Ritter und Samariter : die Wandlungen des Ordens vom Heiligen Johannes|year=1987|publisher=Callwey|language=en|isbn=9783766708625|page=193}} the Order of the Holy Sepulchre,{{cite book|last=Napier|first=Gordon|title=A to Z of the Knights Templar: A Guide to Their History and Legacy|date=24 October 2011|publisher=History Press|language=en|isbn=9780752473628|page=193}} the Order of the Bath, the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, the Royal Victorian Order, or the Order of the British Empire becomes a dame.{{cite web |url=http://www.debretts.com/forms-address/titles/dame |title=Dame |access-date=16 January 2015 |date=n.d. |publisher=Debrett's |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210202543/http://www.debretts.com/forms-address/titles/dame |archive-date=10 February 2015 }} A Central European order in which female members receive the rank of Dame is the Order of Saint George.{{Cite web |url=https://www.georgsorden.at/?L=1 |title=Homepage of the St. Georgsorden |access-date=28 February 2021 |archive-date=7 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307050635/https://www.georgsorden.at/?L=1 |url-status=live }} Since there is no female equivalent to a Knight Bachelor, women are always appointed to an order of chivalry.{{cite web|url=http://www.debretts.com/forms-address/titles/knight/knight-bachelor |title=Knights Bachelor |publisher=Debrett's |access-date=16 January 2015 |date=n.d. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316000545/http://www.debretts.com/forms-address/titles/knight/knight-bachelor |archive-date=16 March 2015 }} Women who are appointed to the Order of the Garter or the Order of the Thistle are given the title of Lady rather than Dame.{{cite web|url=http://www.debretts.com/forms-address/titles/knight/ladies-garter-and-ladies-thistle |title=Ladies of the Garter and Ladies of the Thistle |access-date=16 January 2015 |date=n.d. |publisher=Debrett's |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315235706/http://www.debretts.com/forms-address/titles/knight/ladies-garter-and-ladies-thistle |archive-date=15 March 2015 }}
Women receive all their honours in the same fashion as men receiving decorations or medals, even if they are receiving a damehood, so there is no female word equivalent of being "knighted".
History
The Order of the Ermine, founded in France by John V, Duke of Brittany, in 1381, was the first order of chivalry to accept women. However, female knights existed for centuries in many places in the world prior to this.Ackermann, G. A. (1855). Ordensbuch sämmtlicher in Europa blühender und erloschener Orden und Ehrenzeichen. Rudolph & Dieterici. Like their male counterparts, they were distinguished by the flying of coloured banners and generally bore a coat of arms.
One woman who participated in tournaments was Joane Agnes Hotot (born 1378), but she was not the only one.F.S.W. (1886) Dame Heraldry. Boston, MA: D. Lothrop and Company.Starling, E. (1856). Noble Deeds of Woman. Phillips, Sampson. Additionally, women adopted certain forms of regalia which became closely associated with the status of knighthood.De Marly, D. (1986). Working dress: a history of occupational clothing. Holmes & Meier.
Unlike the male knights, it was virtually unimaginable to see women taking part in medieval battles or commanding battalions of soldiers, but there were exceptions. Joan of Arc is the most famous; another case was the Welsh princess Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd. Some wore armour, others commanded troops, and some were members of an official order of chivalry. One woman to wear full armour into battle was the Duchess Gaita of Lombardy (also called Sikelgaita), who rode beside her Norman mercenary husband, Robert Guiscard. She was a knight in her own right.Kasparek, R. (2014). Knight of the Grail Code. WestBow Press. Another was Petronilla de Grandmesnil, Countess of Leicester; wearing a mail hauberk with a sword and a shield, she defended her lands from Henry II of England. She and her husband participated in the rebellion in 1173 against King Henry II. However, this does not mean that they were officially knighted the way men were.
Formerly, a knight's wife was given the title of Dame before her name, but this usage was replaced by Lady during the 17th century.
The title of Dame as the official equivalent of a knight was introduced in 1917 with the introduction of the Order of the British Empire, and was subsequently extended to the Royal Victorian Order in 1936, the Order of St Michael and St George, and finally the Order of the Bath in 1971.{{citation needed|date=September 2020}}
The youngest person to be appointed a Dame was golfer Lydia Ko at the age of 27.{{cite news |last=Toogood |first=Will |title=New Year Honours 2025: Lydia Ko youngest ever dame, for services to golf |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/new-year-honours-2025-lydia-ko-receives-youngest-ever-damehood-for-services-to-golf/ISXBIUGMTRAOZI3I3UBCZ6QFWU/ |date=31 December 2024 |work=The New Zealand Herald |access-date=31 December 2024}} The oldest had been actress Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies at the age of 100,{{cite web|url=https://movies.yahoo.com/person/gwen-ffrangcondavies/biography.html |title=Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies |website=Yahoo! Movies |access-date=March 3, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403024654/https://movies.yahoo.com/person/gwen-ffrangcondavies/biography.html |archive-date=April 3, 2015 }} until Olivia de Havilland was appointed two weeks before her 101st birthday.{{Cite news|url=http://people.com/royals/olivia-de-havilland-oldest-to-be-named-a-dame/ |first1=Peter |last1=Mikelbank |title=Olivia de Havilland on Becoming the Oldest Person to Be Named a Dame: I'm 'Extremely Proud'|date=2017-06-17|work=people.com|access-date=2017-06-18|language=en-US|archive-date=17 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170617213432/http://people.com/royals/olivia-de-havilland-oldest-to-be-named-a-dame/|url-status=live}}
Several high-profile figures have declined the honour, including Vanessa Redgrave, who eventually accepted the honour.{{cite news |last1=Roxborough |first1=S. |title=Venice Festival Honoree Vanessa Redgrave Explains Why She Turned Down Damehood |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/vanessa-redgrave-explains-why-she-turned-down-damehood-1138213/ |access-date=29 October 2023 |publisher=Hollywood Reporter |date=29 August 2018}}
The prefix is used with the holder's given name or full name but never with the surname alone; this follows the same usage customs as "Sir".{{cite web|url=http://www.debretts.com/forms-address/titles/baronet/baronetess|title=Baronetess|publisher=Debrett's|access-date=2 February 2014|date=n.d.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140204031739/http://www.debretts.com/forms-address/titles/baronet/baronetess|archive-date=4 February 2014|df=dmy-all}}
Nuns of the English Benedictine order are given the title Dame in preference to Sister.{{cite news |last1=Stanford |first1=P. |title=Dame Felicitas Corrigan |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/oct/23/guardianobituaries |access-date=5 October 2023 |publisher=UK Guardian |date=2003 |quote=Dame Felicitas - the title Dame is given to English Benedictine nuns in preference to Sister ...}}
In French Louisiana from the 17th through to the 19th centuries, Dame was the title accorded to a woman "of substance or position in the locality".{{cite book |last1=McDermott |first1=J. |title=A Glossary of Mississippi Valley French 1673-1850 |date=1941 |publisher=Washington University - St Louis |page=63 |isbn=9785873562893 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nQqWt4Sxcg0C&dq=courtesy+title+in+france+dame&pg=PA63 |access-date=29 October 2023}} Similarly, in 1889 in France, it was reportedly "a title of honour which long distinguished high-born ladies from the wives of citizens and the commonalty in general" and a title of respect for a widow.{{cite book |title=Chamber's Encyclopaedia |date=1889 |publisher=William and Robert Chambers, London |page=665 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PVE_AQAAMAAJ&dq=high+born+respected+women+in+France+called+dame&pg=PA665 |access-date=6 October 2023}}{{cite book |last1=Hanks |first1=P. |title=Dictionary of American Family Names |date=2003 |publisher=Oxford University |page=406 |quote=Dame..from Old French, Dame, 'Lady'...title of respect for a widow...}}
Notes
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