There are other personages who have first-name entries for whom no definite rule can be laid down other than that which common knowledge or custom dictates. Certain of the great artists are so entered, Michael Angelo (sometimes given as Michel Angelo and Michelangelo) as Michael, and not Buonarotti, Raphael not Santi, Rembrandt not Rhijn. Others are known and always referred to by a sobriquet, or nickname, which may be the best name for entry, but reference to a good dictionary of artists, like Bryan's, settles any doubt that may arise.
There are also mediæval writers of the later period who have what may be termed special names, by which they are more generally known, but these names are, as a rule, in such common use that they are unlikely to present any special difficulty. Erasmus, Grotius, Melancthon are examples of this class.
CHAPTER XI.
Noblemen. Oriental Names.
Noblemen. Title v. Family Name. Double Subject-Entry. Oriental Names. Indian Names. Japanese and Chinese Names. Hebrew Names. Maori Names.
Whether noblemen are to be entered in the catalogue as authors or subjects, the question of entry by title or family name requires careful consideration. Difference of opinion exists on this point. This difference is carried into the codes of rules, the Library Association of this country, curiously enough, advocating entry by the family name, whereas the American Association, ignoring the republican tradition, recommends entry under the latest title. This latter recommendation is certainly far more convenient, because, as a rule, the title is better remembered, even in cases of recent "creations." Those who make any large use of the Dictionary of National Biography know how troublesome it is in this respect, invariably entailing two references. For the catalogues of popular libraries, entry under the latest and highest title is by far the most convenient and satisfactory, while no possibility of mistake can arise if references are given in doubtful cases from the family name to the title, or from an earlier and lower to a later and higher title.
Some illustrations of such names are the following:—
| Rosebery, Earl of. Napoleon: the last phase. | |
| 1904 | 944.05 |