report of the invasion of Italy, fled to Ravenna, where he resided
till his death on the 27th of August 423
See Gibbon, Decline and Fall, chs 28-33; J. B. Bury, Later Roman Empire, I chs. 1-5, II chs 4, 6, E. A. Freeman, "Tyrants of Britain, Gaul and Spain" in Eng Hist Review (January 1886); T. Hodgkin, Italy and her Invaders (Oxford, 1892), 1. chs. 13, 15-18.
HONOUR (Lat. honos or lu/non, honons, in English the word was spelled with or without the u indifferently until the 17th century, but during the 18th century it became fashion- 1 able to spell the word “ honor ”, Johnson's and Webster's Dictionaries stereotyped the English and American spellings respectively), a term which may be defined as respect, esteem or deference paid to, or received by, a person in consideration of his character, worth or position, also the state or condition of the person exciting the feeling or expression of such esteem; particularly a high personal character coupled with conduct in accordance with or controlled by a nice sense of what 15 right and true and due to the position so held. Further, the word is commonly used of the dignities, distinctions or titles, granted as a mark of such esteem or as a reward for services or merit, and quite generally of the credit or renown conferred by a person or thing on the country, town or particular society to which he or It belongs The standard of conduct may be laid down not only by a scrupulous sense of what is due to lofty personal character but also by the conventional usages of society, hence it is that debts which cannot be legally enforced, such as gambling debts, are called “debts of honour.” Similarly in the middle ages and later, courts, known as “ courts of honour, ” sat to decide questions such as precedence, disputes as to coat armour &c. (see CHIVALRY); such courts, ch1efiy military, are found in countries where duelling has not fallen into desuetude (see DUEL). In the British House of Lords, when the peers sit to try another peer on a criminal charge or at an impeachment, on the question being put whether the accused be guilty or not, each peer, rising in his place in turn, lays his right hand on his breast and returns his verdict “upon my honour.” As a title of address, “ his honour ” or “your honour ” is applied in the United States of America to all judges, in the United Kingdom only to county court judges. In university or other examinations, those who have won particular distinction, or have undergone with success an examination of a standard higher than that required for a “ pass ” degree, are said to have passed “ with honours, ” or an “ honours ” examination or to have taken an “ honours degree ” In many games of cards the ace, king, queen and knave ot trumps are the “ honours. ” Funeral or military honours are aid to a dead officer or a burial are as follows:
and attended by troops;
which rests the soldier's
deceased had been a
with the boots reversed
P
soldier The usual features of such
the coH1n is carried on a gun-carriage
it is covered by the national flag, on
head-dress, sword or bayonet; if the
mounted sold1er, his charger follows
in the stirrups, three volleys are fired over the grave after committal, and “last post ” or another call 15 sounded on the bugles or a roll on the drums is given. A military force is said to be accorded “ the honours of war ” when, after a specially honourable defence, it has surrendered its post, and is permitted by the terms of capitulation to march out with colours flying, bands playing, bayonets fixed, &c. and retaining possession of the field artillery, horses, arms and baggage. The force remains free to act as combatants for the remainder of the war, without waiting for exchange or being considered as prisoners. Usually some point is named to which the surrendering troops must be conveyed befoxe recommencmg hostilities; thus, during the Peninsular War, at the Convention of Cintra. 1808, the French army under Iunot was conveyed to France by British transports before being free to rejoin the combatant troops in the Peninsula. By far the most usual case of the granting of the “ honours of war ” is rn connexion with the surrender of a fortress Of historic examples may be mentioned the surrender of Lille by Marshal Boufliers to Prince Eugene in 1708, that of Huningen by General Joseph Barbanégre (1772-1830) to the Austrians in 1815, and that 0f-1 “ has been no more warranted by authority than when the same Belfort by Colonel P. Denfert Rochereau to the Germans in 1871.
In English law the term “ honour ” is used of a seignior of several manors held under one baron 01 lord paramount The formation of such lordships dates back to the Anglo-Saxon period, when jur1sd1ct1on of sac and soc was frequently given in the case of a group of estates lying close together. The system was encouraged by the Norman lords, as tending to strengthen the principles of feudal law, but the legislation of Henry II., which increased the power of the central administration, u11doubtedly tended to discourage the creation of new honours. Frequently, they es cheated to the crown, retaining their corporate existence and the1r jurisdictions, they then either remained in the possession of the king or were re granted, diminished 1n extent. Although an honour contained Several manors, one court day was held for all, but the various manors retained their separate organizations, having the1r “ quasi several and distinct courts ”
HONOURABLE (Fr. honorable, from Lat. honorabzlis, worthy of honour), a style or title of honour common to the United Kingdom, the British colonies and the United States of America. The terms hvnorabzhs and honorabzlnas were 1n use 1n the m1ddle ages rather as a form of politeness than as a stereotyped style, and though Gibbon assimilates the late Roman title of amassimus to “ honourable, ” as applied to the lowest of the three grades of rank in the imperial hierarchy, the analogy was good even in his day only in so far as both styles were applicable to those who belonged to the less exalted ranks of the titled classes, for the title “ honourable ” was not definitely connned to certain classes until later. As a formal address it is found frequently in the Paston Letters (15th century), but used loosely and interchangeable with other styles; thus John, Viscount Beaumont, is addressed alternately as “ my Worshipful and reverent Lord ” (ii. 88, ed 1904) and as “ my right honorabull Lord ” (ii. 118), while John Paston, a plain esquire, is “ my right honurabyll maister." More tl1an two centuries later Selden, in his Tzlles of Honor (1672), does not include “ honourable” among the courtesy titles given to the children of peers The style was, in fact, used extremely loosely till well on into the 18th century. Thus we f1nd in the registers of Westminster Abbey records of the burial (in 1710) of “ The Hon. George Churchill, Esq, ” who was only a son of Sir Winston Churchill, and of “The Hon. Sir William Godolphin, ” who had only been created a baronet, in 1717 was buried “The Hon. Colonel Henry Cornwall, ” who was only an esquire and the son of one, in 1743 a rear-admiral was buried as “The Hon. Sir John jennings, Kt ”; in 1746 “ The Hon. Major-General Lowther, ” whose father was only a
Dublin merchant; and finally, in 1747, “The Hon. Lieutenant-General Guest, ” who is said to have begun life as an hostler. From this time onwards the style of “ honourable ” tended to become more narrowly applied, but the whole matter is full of obscurity and contradictions. The baronets, for instance, allege that they were usually styled “ the honourable” until the end of the 18th century, and in 1835 they petitioned for the style as a prefix to their names The Heralds' College officially reported on the petitio11 (3 1st of October 1835) that the evidence did not prove the right of baronets to the style, and that its use style has been applied to Field Officers in the Army and others” They added that “ the style of the Honourable IS given to the Judges and to the Barons of the Exchequer with others because by the Decree of IO James I., for settling the place and precedence of the Baronets, the Judges and Barons of the Exchequer were declared to have place and precedence before the younger sons of Viscounts and Barons.” This seems to make the style a consequence of the precedence; yet from the examples above given it is clear that it was applied, e.g. in the case of field officers, where no question of precedence arose. It is not, indeed, until 1874 that we have any evidence of an authoritative limitation of the title. In this year the wives of lords of appeal, lite peers, were granted style and precedence as baronesses, but it was provided that their children were not “ to assume or use