"King of All the Britains" or "Britons"? [επιλυμένο]

Would it not be “George the Sixth, by the Grace of God, King of all the Britons rather than ”Britains"?

"Rex Omnium Britanniarum" (King of all Britains)
"Rex Britanniae" (King of Britain)

Alright, just wondering 👍

The OMN title was removed in 1953 as Britain changed from an Empire to a Commonwealth.

India's independence in 1947 meant there was no longer an empire as the British ruler went from a Emperor down to a mere king.

Of all the Britains, also refers to people of British descent outside of Great Britain (ie: colonial subjects) and this included Commonwealth people. Many of these places used British coins well into the 1900s and some still do.

I agree its a spelling mistake and should be all Britons, not Britains. I put it down to ESOL translation, no biggie. Just now the world exists beyond English being seen as the universal and only language.

This intrigued me so I did some Googling…  The title “King of the Britons” hasn't been used since the Normans invaded in 1066.  The Saxon kings (Alfred the Great et al) used it, and Britons referred mostly to the Celtic people they had originally conquered during their initial invasion (King Arthur, if there was an historical basis for him, would have fought the Saxon invasion and been a “Briton”).  So no, it's not King of the Britons, BUT it's not King of the Britains either… That title is not used as “Britains” isn't a thing.  Rex Omnium Britanniarum translates as King of all the BRITISH.  So apparently everyone's wrong, and it's written wrong all over Numista… It's King of All the British.  At least that's what Google says…

Don't believe everything you read or Google! Sadly, I don't still have a Latin dictionary from when I studied it in school but the translation from the Spink Standard Catalogue of British Coins is BRITANNIARUM REX = King of the Britains (i.e. Britain and British territories overseas). That is why the Numista catalogue uses that translation.

BRITANNIARUM is genitive plural of Britannia so it should be Britannias [or Britains if that conveys the same]. Not the people but the land parts that make up Britain or something like ‘of all British provinces’.

radrick007

Don't believe everything you read or Google! Sadly, I don't still have a Latin dictionary from when I studied it in school but the translation from the Spink Standard Catalogue of British Coins is BRITANNIARUM REX = King of the Britains (i.e. Britain and British territories overseas). That is why the Numista catalogue uses that translation.

Google the phrase king of the Britains. It doesn't return any results (other than a brand name for a guitar pedal), but you get a lot of results for king of the Britons. My daughter is taking Latin, maybe I'll get her to ask her teacher. 

Interesting. Here is a quote I just found:

https://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/royalstyle_uk.htm

"All Britains" (1901)

 

From 1901 to 1952, a new Latin title was used on coins: Dei Gratia Britanniarum Rex, or King of the Britains. In 1868, a book by C. W. Dilke popularized the phrase "Greater Britain" to mean Britain and all its colonies. This may have led to the proposal of the title "King of all Britains", in the last years of the 19th c., by the earl of Rosebery. The Oxford English Dictionary (s.v. "Britain") provides two quotes:

1897 Earl of Rosebery in Daily News 5 July 4/5 : "`Regina Britanniarum' - the Queen of the Britains... She is sovereign, not of one or two, but of numberless Britains, all self-supporting."
1901 Westminster Gazette 11 Dec. 2/2: "Lord Rosebery has succeeded with his cry of 'All the Britains', as the three letters 'Omn' on the new coins are to testify... Our King henceforth is to be King of All the Britains."

This style may have been influenced by the Russian style of "Czar of all the Russias". It appeared on coins abbreviated as Britt. Omn.: the double T in Britt is a mark of plural, a common abbreviation on Roman coins.

Now “OMN: BRITT: REX/REG:” spelled out is “OMNIVM BRITANNIARVM REX/REGINA” = “King/Queen of all the Britains”. Britain is BRITANNIA in Latin. This is a feminine word and the Roman province was indeed personified by a female figure: Britannia. The type on British coins was adapted directly from the mid-second-century Roman imperial type on bronze coins.

If you prefer, you can use “U” instead of “V”, but in Latin it's the same letter (capital “V” + lower case “u”).

Now “omnium Britanniarum” translates as “of all Britains” or “of all the Britains”. Two things: 

1. there is no definite “the” article in Latin, so one can translate into English with or without “the” depending on context;
2. the concept of “of” is expressed by the words' endings “-um” and “-arum”. If you want to say “all (the) Britains” without “of”, it goes like this: “omnes Britanniae”.

If you read further down in the linked page, you'll find an explanation why the style was changed in relation to the major dominions —Canada, Australia, and New Zealand— which had in almost every respect become independent nations.