Capitalisation question

[Gryphos]

So in my current WIP there's this group called the Order of Paladins (or something like that). Obviously, being a proper noun, Order of Paladins is capitalised. However, what about individual members of this order.
Should it be, for example:

"That Paladin got rekt." or "That paladin got rekt."

And similarly, if there's a special magical race of beings called, say, Daemons, should it be capitalised? Is it Daemons or daemons that get rekt?

 

[Butterfly]

It depends on whether or not you are using paladin, or daemon as a noun such as the name of a person, whether the title is part of a name (such as, Paladin Gryphos, or Daemon Butterfly), organisation, country etc. Then it should be capitalised. if you are talking about the paladin, or the daemon, then it should not. [I think this is correct].

 

[X Equestris]

I would say Paladin should remain capitalized. When I see mentions of individuals or small groups that are part of an order, like the Templars or the Hospitalers, it's always capitalized. I'm no expert, though, so take it with a grain of salt.

Now, for question two, I would say keep it in lower case. You never see "human" capitalized unless it starts a sentence, so why change that convention when referring to another species/ race of beings?

 

[Russ]

My experience mirros X equestris with respect to group members. You also see the same pattern with nationalities and sports teams.

 

[DeathtoTrite]

Up to you. Just make sure you are consistent, though honestly, I think I would prefer lower case. Authors capitalizing positions, items, etc. to make it seem importance is pretty stupid a lot of the time.

 

[MineOwnKing]

Titles such as king and captain are lowercased when presented as a common noun, paired with an article (a, an, the). It is capitalized when accompanied by the name or used in direct address during dialogue. Same with “paladin.”

 

[Russ]

Some examples:

The repairs completed, old Marheyo gave me a paternal hug; and divesting himself of his 'maro' (girdle), swathed the calico about his loins, and slipping the beloved ornaments into his ears, grasped his spear and sallied out of the house, like a valiant Templar arrayed in a new and costly suit of armour.

Typee by Melville, Herman View in context

This might make a Templar smile; but in addition to the apology of necessity, there is ever a dignity in talents and experience that is commonly sufficient, in any station, for the protection of its possessor; and Marmaduke, more fortunate in his native clearness of mind than the judge of King Charles, not only decided right, but was generally able to give a very good reason for it.
The Pioneers by Cooper, James Fenimore View in context

Such annotations as may be useful to assist the reader in comprehending the characters of the Jew, the Templar, the Captain of the mercenaries, or Free Companions, as they were called, and others proper to the period, are added, but with a sparing hand, since sufficient information on these subjects is to be found in general history.

 

[MineOwnKing]

If you make paladin a title like king or queen, it would then follow the rules governing such titles. Common nouns are not capitalized in general; titles have special rules.

Capitalize only if accompanied by a name or used in direct address. Do not capitalize if placed after an article (a, an, the) or pronoun.

Example:
The president said we must pull together.
We all watched as President Reagan spoke on the TV.
I bowed before the king and queen of Maldavia.
When Queen Elizabeth speaks, everyone listens.
You’re not my king—I didn’t vote for you.
“What are our orders, Captain?”
The captain paced the deck of the ship.

So:

The woman eyed the paladin warily.
Is Bob a paladin?
“Excuse me, Paladin, but we have a question.”

 

[Gryphos]

If you make paladin a title like king or queen, it would then follow the rules governing such titles. Common nouns are not capitalized in general; titles have special rules.

Capitalize only if accompanied by a name or used in direct address. Do not capitalize if placed after an article (a, an, the) or pronoun.

Example:
The president said we must pull together.
We all watched as President Reagan spoke on the TV.
I bowed before the king and queen of Maldavia.
When Queen Elizabeth speaks, everyone listens.
You’re not my king—I didn’t vote for you.
“What are our orders, Captain?”
The captain paced the deck of the ship.

So:

The woman eyed the paladin warily.
Is Bob a paladin?
“Excuse me, Paladin, but we have a question.”

I see.

Although I think I once read that titles such as king should be capitalised when referencing their official title, such as "Bob, the King of Bobland" or "Bob, the Director of Bobland Inc." Is this correct?

 

[X Equestris]

I see.

Although I think I once read that titles such as king should be capitalised when referencing their official title, such as "Bob, the King of Bobland" or "Bob, the Director of Bobland Inc." Is this correct?

Yes, official titles are capitalized like that.

 

[MineOwnKing]

I see.

Although I think I once read that titles such as king should be capitalised when referencing their official title, such as "Bob, the King of Bobland" or "Bob, the Director of Bobland Inc." Is this correct?

No,

Do not capitalize titles that follow names.

"Bob, the King of Bobland" should instead be "Bob, the king of Bobland"

 

[Gryphos]

See, it's times like this when I wish the English language was like German and we could just capitalise all nouns.

 

[Russ]

No,

Do not capitalize titles that follow names.

"Bob, the King of Bobland" should instead be "Bob, the king of Bobland"

It's funny because I have never seen Mary, Queen of Scots, done any other way than with capitals.

 

[MineOwnKing]

It's funny because I have never seen Mary, Queen of Scots, done any other way than with capitals.

It can be confusing.

I refer to the Chicago Manual of Style and submit to the will of my editor.

Here is a Q and A post I found on the website for Chicago Manual of Style.

Hope it helps.


Q. I’m hoping you can clarify the meaning of this line in 8.22: “Queen Elizabeth; Elizabeth II; the queen (in a British Commonwealth context, the Queen).” What counts as a “British Commonwealth context”? I’m editing a novel that takes place in the UK but refers to a meeting between the sovereigns of the UK and another country. Should these be styled as “the Queen” and “the king,” or “the queen” and “the king”?

A. If you are editing a novel for a UK publisher primarily for UK readers, or a novel that takes place in the UK with characters or a narrator who wouldn’t dream of lowercasing their queen, uppercasing is appropriate. For consistency, you would style all kings and queens in that document in the same way.