Robert, my post #10 to this thread was not in any way a challenge to the baptismal, & thus the formal name of Harry Angelo, my post was simply an expression of my sadness, or perhaps disappointment, that Jim had chosen to use the formal "Henry", rather than the familiar "Harry".
All the other words I used in this post #10 were in the way of explanation for the many readers of this Forum who are not native speakers of the English Language, or for whom the English language is somewhat of a mystery.
During his lifetime, Henry Angelo was addressed both in speech & in writing by most people as "Harry", this was not only the usual pronunciation of "Henry" at that time, "Harry" was also the familiar form of "Henry", and use of this familiar form indicated the popularity of this fencing master with the general public, it seems that Harry had the love & status of a current era rockstar, think Mick Jagger, or Bob Dylan --- no, wait a minute, not Bob, he has now almost achieved the status of a God. But still, Harry was a Rockstar.
Henry Angelo was addressed as Harry & referred to as Harry by the people of his time, people such as Edward, Duke of York, he was referred to as Harry (& also as Henry) by later writers on the art of fence, such as Hutton & Aylward.
I felt, & still do feel, that since Harry would be regarded in friendly & familiar terms by the people who use this Forum, that the familiar "Harry" rather than the formal "Henry" was quite correct & very fitting for use by Jim. It does sadden me a little to see our fencing Rockstar reduced to a signature on a Last Will & Testament. Harry deserves better than that.
Alan
(but many people prefer to address me as "Al", & frequently misspell my family name, neither of these things cause me any concern)
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