Earls, Marquises and Dukes in the Baronage of Scotland

Last updated

An Earl/Marquis/Duke in the Baronage of Scotland is an ancient title of nobility that is held en baroneum, which means that its holder, who is a earl/marquis/duke in the Baronage of Scotland, is also always a baron. The holder may or may not be a Lord of Regality, which meant that the holder was appointed by the Crown and had the power of "pit and gallows", meaning the power to authorise the death sentence.

Contents

A baronial earl/marquis/duke ranks above both a baron and a lord (being a baron of a higher degree) in the Baronage of Scotland, but below all ranks in the Peerage of Scotland. Earldoms, marquisates and dukedoms in the Baronage of Scotland are very rare. [2]

Since all baronage titles are based in Scots property law and not personal peerages, there are some instances when, for historic reasons, the baronage title happens to share the same name as an extant peerage title, but the current holder of the baronage title is different from the current holder of the peerage title of the same name. The two are not to be confused. Historically, they were held by one and the same person, but the baronage title may subsequently have been disponed according to Scots property law, whereas the peerage title always descends according to the destination in the letters patent of creation of the peerage and the rules of peerage law.

The last remnants of feudal tenure in Scotland were brought to an end by the Abolition of Feudal Tenure Act 2000 which came into force in 2004, with special provision for the dignity of baron and other titles becoming personal titles, preserved in law by the Scottish Parliament. After this date, it is incorrect to refer to titles used today as feudal titles, as feudalism in Scotland ended in 2004. The correct term for present day titles is baronage or baronial titles. [3]

Scottish titles, in order of precedence, are as follows: Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, Lord, Baronet, Knight, Baron, Clan Chief, Esquire/Gentleman. Wallace states that "Lordships, Earldoms, Marquisates and Dukedoms differ only in name from Baronies" but continues "one whose property was erected into a Lordship ranked before a simple Baron" and "A person to whom an Earldom belonged, would be superior to a person who had no more than a lordship ... One, whose lands were incorporated into a Marquisate, was superior to both ... A man, who owned a fief elevated into a Dukedom, was exaulted above all three." [4] However, Lord Stair states that Lordships or Earldoms are "but more noble titles of a Barony". [5]

Modern status

In 2014 the Lord Lyon King of Arms issued the "Note on the Petition of George Menking", under which he determined to accept petitions for the grant arms for baronage dignities including Earldoms, Marquisates and Dukedoms since such dignities have historically always been of the genus of a barony and as such represent a higher form of barony and fall within the jurisdiction of the King of Arms.

The Menking Note is considered an important change (and return to similar status of an earlier Lord Lyon) from an interim ruling on the petition in 2010 by a Swiss national Willi Ernst Sturzenegger, who had purchased the feudal Earldom of Arran, and wished to be titled as 'Willi Ernst Sturzenegger of Arran, Earl of Arran in the territorial baronage of Scotland' or 'Sturzenegger of Arran, holder of the territorial Earldom of Arran", or 'Sturzenegger of Arran, holder of the feudal Earldom of Arran'. In 2006, an earlier Lord Lyon had recognised three petitioners as "Feudal Countess of Crawfurd-Lindsay", "Feudal Earl of Breadalbane" and "Feudal Earl of Rothes". In the ruling in 2010, the Lord Lyon stated that as a general rule previous decisions should be followed, but he could not agree with them as the arguments in the previous cases did not appear to have been tested and no reasoning had been given by the prior Lord Lyon for his decisions. The title "feudal Earl", "territorial Earl", or simply "Earl", being used or recognised in respect of an assemblage of lands into an earldom had never existed until recently. He stated that while the Abolition of Feudal Tenure Act of 2000 divorced feudal baronies from land title, it preserved the title of baron. This was not the case he found with "territorial" or "feudal earldoms": "On the contrary there is a clear break between the type of territorial earldoms which existed before the evolution of a personal peerage, and the later erection of lands into what has been termed a “territorial earldom”. He therefore did not accept that it follows from the recognition of a feudal baron, or one possessed of the dignity of a former feudal barony, as “Baron of X”, that the person in possession of a “territorial earldom” stemming from the erection by the Crown of lands into a free earldom, should be recognised as an “Earl” or “Countess”, “feudal” or otherwise." [6] Since then, in April 2015 the Lord Lyon changed his mind and he may recognise a person possessing a barony (and other titles that are but nobler titles of baron within the Baronage of Scotland lord/earl/marquis/duke) on petition. [7]

List of Earldoms in the Baronage of Scotland

Below is an incomplete list of Earldoms created in the baronage, please help by filling in details below (with reference links).

Titles in italics are subsidiary baronial titles held by the same earl. Titles with The before the name is the holder's primary title.

TitleC.InfeftArmsIncumbentHeirNotes
The Earl of Aboyne 16762016  Simoes, Earl and Lord of Aboyne.jpg Christiano Arnhold Simoes, Earl of Aboyne [8] Hannah Arnhold Simões, Mistress of AboyneEarldom and Lordship of Aboyne, Lord Lyon granting arms in person to the Earl:
The Earl of Angus 1594unknown
The Earl of Arran 17c2023  Arran arms.svg Susan Clarke Livingston, 22nd Countess of Arran, Lady Balquidder [9]
Baron of Balquidder
The Earl of Breadalbane 17c2004  Lord of Braemar crop.png John Sullivan of Braemar, Earl of Breadalbane and Lord of Braemar [10] [11] Paul Sullivan, Master of BraemarAlan MacKay was the former Earl
Lord of Braemar
The Earl of Crawfurd-Lindsay 17c2004  Inneryne thumbnail A.jpg Abigail Busch Reisinger, Countess of Crawfurd-Lindsay, Baroness of Auchterutherstruther Father is Baron of Inneryne
Baron of Auchterutherstruther
The Earl of Dunbar 1606  Coats of arms of None.svg Robert Douglas, Earl of Dunbar [ citation needed ]
The Earl of Eglinton 1607  Earl of Eglinton and Winton arms.svg Hugh Montgomerie, 19th Earl of Eglinton Rhuridh, Lord Montgomerie
The Earl of Erroll 15462021  Baron of Tulloch crop.png Dr David Willien, 16th Earl of Erroll, 17th Baron of Tulloch
Baron of Tulloch 1678
Earl of Lennox 15942017  Duke of richmond.svg Charles Gordon-Lennox, 11th Duke of Richmond Charles Gordon-Lennox, Earl of March and Kinrara
The Earl of Nithsdale extinct
The Earl of Orkney 16031998  Arms of the Earl of Orkney.svg Peter St John, 9th Earl of Orkney Oliver St John, Viscount Kirkwall
The Earl of Rothes 14582004  Ondaatje arms crop.png Sir Philip Ondaatje, Earl of Rothes, Lord of Leslie, Sheriff of Fife [12] OC CBE FRSL
Lord of Leslie16c
Sheriff of Fife
The Earl of Wigtoun 16062004  Earl of Wigtoun crop.png Dr Roland Zettel, Earl of Wigtoun, Lord of Cumbernauld
Lord of Cumbernauld1314

Note that some peerage titles of feudal origin sometimes have a duplicate baronage title of the same name either held by the current peer or transferred to a new holder.

List of Marquisates and Dukedoms in the Baronage of Scotland

The below are very rare, only two baronage titles are known to continue existing until today.

The Scots spelling of marquis, as a rule, follows the French spelling, rather than the English spelling "marquess".

TitleC.InfeftArmsIncumbentHeirNotes
The Marquis of Huntly 1684 [13] the holder wish to have their details withdrawn
  • The Marquisate, Earldom and Lordship of Huntly was disponed to a non-peer in 1930s, holder known as Marquis or Lord interchangeably
  • According to the Lord Lyon, as at 2009, "...a Petition had previously been lodged on 27th May 1992 by Dennistoun Gordon Teall of Teallach narrating that he had “acquired right and title to the feudal Marquisate, Earldom and Lordship of Huntly” by disposition ... dated 22nd November 1991, recorded 3rd January 1992". [14]
The Duke of Albany 1565 [15] extinct
The Duke of Hamilton 1661 [13] 2010  Douglas-Hamilton COA.svg Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, 16th Duke of Hamilton Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, Marquis of Douglas peer's title has feudal origins
The Duke of Lennox 1581 [16] extinct
The Duke of Montrose 1488 [17] extinct

List of Lordships in the Baronage of Scotland

Lord is the second degree of baronage nobility, nobler than Baron (first) but not before Earl (third), Marquess (fourth) or Duke (fifth).

Click here for a list of Lordships in the Baronage of Scotland

List of Baronies in the Baronage of Scotland

The first degree of baronage nobility.

Click here for a list of Baronies in the Baronage of Scotland

List of Lordships of Regality

Higher dignities compared to baronage titles, erected in liberam regalitatem.

Click here for a list of Lordships of Regality

See also

Notes

    Related Research Articles

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Baron</span> Title of nobility in Europe

    Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knight, but lower than a viscount or count. Often, barons hold their fief – their lands and income – directly from the monarch. Barons are less often the vassals of other nobles. In many kingdoms, they were entitled to wear a smaller form of a crown called a coronet.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Lord Gray</span> Scottish title peerage

    Lord Gray is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. The Barony of Gray was created circa July 1445 for the Scottish diplomat and politician Sir Andrew Gray. The first Lord Gray was a hostage in England for the good conduct of James I of Scotland from 1424 to 1427, and was one of the knights who accompanied Lady Margaret Stewart to France for her marriage to Louis XI of France in 1436.

    False titles of nobility or royal title scams are claimed titles of social rank that have been fabricated or assumed by an individual or family without recognition by the authorities of a country in which titles of nobility exist or once existed. They have received an increasing amount of press attention, as more schemes that purport to confer or sell such honorifics are promoted on the internet. Concern about the use of titles which lack legal standing or a basis in tradition has prompted increased vigilance and denunciation, although under English common law a person may choose to be known by any name they see fit as long as it is not done to "commit fraud or evade an obligation".

    The title Earl of Holderness also known as Holdernesse existed in the late 11th and early 12th centuries as a feudal lordship and was officially created three times in the Peerage of England namely in 1621, in 1644 as a subsidiary title to that of the then-Duke of Cumberland and in 1682. The official creations lasted 5, 38 and 96 years respectively.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Baronage of Scotland</span> Scottish baronage, and a list of barons and their baronies

    In Scotland, "baron" or "baroness" is a rank of the ancient nobility of the Baronage of Scotland, and a title of honour, and refers to the holder of a barony, formerly a feudal superiority or prescriptive barony attached to land erected into a free barony by Crown Charter, this being the status of a minor baron, recognised by the crown as noble, but not a peer.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Lord Oliphant</span> Ttitle in the Peerage of Scotland

    Lord Oliphant was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created twice and de facto under Peerage Law a third time. The first creation is in abeyance of the law, the second extinct and the third creation is dormant.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Feudal baron</span> Hereditary medieval title

    A feudal baron is a vassal holding a heritable fief called a barony, comprising a specific portion of land, granted by an overlord in return for allegiance and service. Following the end of European feudalism, feudal baronies have largely been superseded by baronies held as a rank of nobility, without any attachment to a fief. However, in Scotland, the feudal dignity of baron remains in existence, and may be bought and sold independently of the land to which it was formerly attached.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Lord of Pittenweem</span> Scottish noble title

    Lord of Pittenweem or Baron of Pittenweem is a title of nobility in the Baronage of Scotland.

    The British nobility is made up of the peerage and the (landed) gentry. The nobility of its four constituent home nations has played a major role in shaping the history of the country, although the hereditary peerage now retain only the rights to stand for election to the House of Lords, dining rights there, position in the formal order of precedence, the right to certain titles, and the right to an audience with the monarch.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Lords in the Baronage of Scotland</span> Baronial title of Scottish ancient nobility, and a list of lordships

    A Lord in the Baronage of Scotland is an ancient title of nobility, held in baroneum, which Latin term means that its holder, who is a lord, is also always a baron. The holder may or may not be a Lord of Regality, which meant that the holder was appointed by the Crown and had the power of "pit and gallows", meaning the power to authorise the death sentence.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Lord of Halydean</span> Nobility title in the Baronage of Scotland, Crown Barony and Lordship in Roxburghshire

    Lord of Halydean or Baron of Halydean is a nobility title in the Baronage of Scotland.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Baronage</span>

    In England, the baronage was the collectively inclusive term denoting all members of the feudal nobility, as observed by the constitutional authority Edward Coke. It was replaced eventually by the term peerage.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">The Much Honoured</span> Honorific bestowed on minor nobles in Scotland

    The Much Honoured is an honorific style applied to various minor nobles in Scotland, including Scots barons. It is also argued that the style is also a form of reference for English feudal manorial lords or those holding English feudal barony titles. English feudal title examples "Lord of the Manor of X" or "Baron of X".

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Baron of Plenderleith</span> Title of nobility in the Baronage of Scotland

    Baron of Plenderleith is an ancient title of nobility in the Baronage of Scotland.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Lords of Regality</span> Baronial titles of nobility in Scotland

    In the Baronage of Scotland, a Lord of Regality is an ancient noble title. Lords of regality were said to hold a regality - a type of territorial jurisdiction under old Scots law. This jurisdiction was created by erecting lands in liberam regalitatem, and the area over which this right extended became the regality.

    Baron of Grougar is a title of nobility in the Baronage of Scotland in north Ayrshire in the district formerly known as Cunninghame.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Baron of Lundie</span> Scottish Crown barony created in 1489

    Baron of Lundie is a nobility title in the Baronage of Scotland.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Lord of Balvaird</span> Title of Scottish baronial nobility

    Lord of Balvaird or Baron of Balvaird is a title of nobility in the Baronage of Scotland. It was originally confirmed by James VI in 1624 for Andrew Murray as a barony and later erected into a lordship in favour of David Murray, 5th Viscount of Stormont in 1673.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Earl of Arran (Scotland)</span> Noble titles in Scotland

    The earldom of Arran currently exists in two forms within the Scottish nobility, in reference to the Isle of Arran. One is a peerage title in the Peerage of Scotland, held as a subsidiary title by the Duke of Hamilton.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Baron of Gilmerton</span> Title of nobility in the Baronage of Scotland

    Baron of Gilmerton is a title of nobility in the Baronage of Scotland in the county of Midlothian. It was created in 1667 for Sir John Baird of Newbyth, Lord Newbyth.

    References

    1. ↑ Ruling of the Court of the Lord Lyon (26 February 1943, Vol. IV, page 26): "With regard to the words 'untitled nobility' employed in certain recent birthbrieves in relation to the (Minor) Baronage of Scotland, Finds and Declares that the (Minor) Barons of Scotland are, and have been both in this nobiliary Court and in the Court of Session recognised as a 'titled nobility' and that the estait of the Baronage (i.e. Barones Minores) are of the ancient Feudal Nobility of Scotland".
    2. ↑ "Feudal Baronies and Manorial Lordships" (PDF). baronage.co.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 September 2008. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
    3. ↑ "Abolition of the feudal system". Law Society of Scotland. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
    4. ↑ Ancient Peerages, 2nd Edition, Edinburgh, 1785, pp 127-130
    5. ↑ Institutes, II.3.45
    6. ↑ "Lyon Court Note" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016.
    7. ↑ "Note issued with Warrant for Letters Patent from Lord Lyon King of Arms" (PDF). 30 April 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 September 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
    8. ↑ General Register Office, ed., Registrum magni sigilli regum Scotorum : The register of the Great seal of Scotland, A.D. 1306-1668, Edinburgh, 1882, p. 339
    9. ↑ "Baronage – Registry of Scots Nobility". Archived from the original on 27 February 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
    10. ↑ "The Arms of J. Sullivan of Braemar, Earl of Breadalbane and Lord of Braemar". The Armorial Register, UK. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
    11. ↑ "Decision of Lord Lyon King of Arms "Skye, 8 October 2009"" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
    12. ↑ "Decision of Lord Lyon King of Arms "Skye, 8 October 2009"" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
    13. 1 2 "Decision of Lord Lyon King of Arms "Skye, 8 October 2009"" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
    14. ↑ "Decision of Lord Lyon King of Arms "Skye, 8 October 2009"" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
    15. ↑ Scotland; Great Britain. General Register Office (Scotland) (1882). Registrum magni sigilli regum Scotorum : The register of the Great seal of Scotland, A.D. 1306-1668. University of California Libraries. Edinburgh : General register house.
    16. ↑ Scotland; Great Britain. General Register Office (Scotland) (1882). Registrum magni sigilli regum Scotorum : The register of the Great seal of Scotland, A.D. 1306-1668. University of California Libraries. Edinburgh : General register house.
    17. ↑ Scotland; Great Britain. General Register Office (Scotland) (1882). Registrum magni sigilli regum Scotorum : The register of the Great seal of Scotland, A.D. 1306-1668. University of California Libraries. Edinburgh : General register house.
    This page is based on this Wikipedia article
    Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
    Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.