correct citation of multiple names

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Question Man: What's the proper way of citing names?

We: Whose name are you citing?

Question Man: Just tell me how.

We: It depends.

Question Man [Audible sigh followed by rolling eyes and then disgust]: Gregory the Second and Konon.

We: The Barbarian?

Question Man: The Pope.

We: Pope Konon?

Question Man: No, Gregory the Pope, Konon, as in Leo III, the Isaurian.

We: Okay, Gregory would be listed as "Gregory II, Pope."

Question Man: Okay...

We: Leo is a bit more difficult, and there are a few ways you could do it. We'd just go with "Leo III" and then maybe clarify it with some parenthesized info on who he was.

Question Man: You can do that?

We: Sure! So "Leo III (Emperor of Byzantine)."

Question Man: But he's better known as "Leo the Isaurian."

We: Then you cite him as "Leo the Isaurian (Leo III)."

Question Man: Why wouldn't I put in the "Emperor of Byzantine" bit?

We: The parentheses are for clarification, I think listing him as both the Isaurian and Leo III is clear enough.

Question Man: And what about Konon? That's his original name.

We: The Pope?

Question Man: The Isaurian.

We: Cite him as "Konon (Leo the Isaurian)" -- another way you can do it is "Konon. See Leo the Isaurian."