Dictionary of National Biography/Article Layout

Each article starts on a new line and is separated from the previous article by a small space. This is in keeping with the overarching requiremnt to minimize the number of pages per volume.

Article title
Each article starts with the surname of the subject on bold characters, followed by the rest of the name, not in bold, followed by the subject's vital dates. The construction of this "article title" is complex. Various titles of nobility and honor are included, and place names (both English and French) also occur.

The article name is followed by the subject's vital dates, in parentheses. Vital dates are usually the year of birth and the year of death (e.g., 1066-1099). Often the year if birth is unknown, and the vital dates are then of the form (d. 1066). Rarely, only the birth date in know, and the vital dates are shown as (b. 1066).