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Show NO REAL BRITISH "NOBILITY" No Member of the English Peerage, With Few Exceptions, Can Give Proof of Ancient Lineage. In England the Saxon "thnne" was transformed, after the N'ormnn conquest, con-quest, Into a "baron" unless the dominant domi-nant power entirely deprived him of his position as n nobleman. It Is possible thnt ninny thanes were absorbed ab-sorbed In tho English yeoiiinnry. In France and Germany the prefix "do" nnd "von," which are essentially local, lo-cal, designated noble rank. Even In poor old Ireland, where nearly every mnn boasts of his descent from kings, "O" 'nnd "Mac" nre aristocratic symbols, sym-bols, although many Irishmen of toduy have for one reason or another discarded discard-ed the prefix. But In England the custom cus-tom has died out The wearing of coat nrmor wns for centuries n badge of nobility, but tho right to wear coat armor was granted grant-ed so lavishly that the members of tho English peerage ran, with few ex-ceptlons, ex-ceptlons, give no proof of any ancient lineage. There Is, In fact, no real "nobility" In England In tho senso In which the word Is used In continental conti-nental Europe. It Is n curious circumstance cir-cumstance that many real "gentlemen," In the heraldic seiiM- of thnt unfortunate unfortu-nate word, hnve never worn coat armor lit nil and were neither desirous nor competent to exhibit u cont-of-anns to the persons who attach value to such on empty possession. Heralds have fulled to establish any man's right to call himself n "gentleman," and the majority of genealogies given for tho British "nobility" nnd "gentry" are In nil probability mythical or, In the American vermicular, "fakes." |