Help with suffix

[michaelpipe]

Probably obvious, but what does "A M" mean (as letters after a vicar's name).

[pennydog]

Could it be artium magister (the alternative of a Masters of Arts degree)?

[michaelpipe]

Could it be artium magister (the alternative of a Masters of Arts degree)?
I had thought that, but I understood the correct term was Magister Artium, 'though I may be wrong. A M appears to be specific to clerics, rather than to any other profession.

[Kerrywood]

Michael, does your query relate to the 1600s?

The Clergy Database (www.theclergydatabase.org.uk), for which I can currently access only a cache, advises that in earlier records the qualifications ‘BA’ and ‘MA’ often appear as ‘AB’ and ‘AM’ respectively. So Artium magister could be right.

Kerrywood

[Chris Doran]

Cassell's dictionary circa 1920 lists both A.M. and M.A., and a Google of artium magister will find it in a number of online dictionaries.

Searching local street directories, I found a retired Navy Captain with an A.M., but in his case it probably means Albert Medal.

[Sue Mackay]

I am currently transcribing BMDs from the South African Commercial Advertiser. The Ministers at the various churches who performed the marriages and christenings seemed to alternate between MA and AM from one edition of the paper to the next, so the two were obviously pretty interchangeable.

[michaelpipe]

Thanks all, problem solved:)