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.
Forms of address used in the United Kingdom are given below.
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".
In Scotland, "baron" or "baroness" is a rank of the ancient nobility of the Baronage of Scotland, a hereditary 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.
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 Following the end of European feudalism, feudal baronies have largely been superseded by baronies held as a rank of nobility, without any attachment to a fief.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Lord of Kinfauns is a title of nobility created in 1487 by James III of Scots and regranted in 1608 by James I of Great Britain, France and Ireland. As recorded in the Great Seal, Scotland's oldest national record, in crown charter "in domino de Kynfawnis".
Baron of Prestoungrange is one of the oldest aristocratic titles in the country, a title of nobility in the Baronage of Scotland associated with the lands of Prestoungrange, located near Prestonpans, East Lothian, Scotland.
Baron of Dolphinstoun is a title of nobility in the Baronage of Scotland associated with the lands of Dolphinstoun in East Lothian. The barony has been closely linked with the Barony of Prestoungrange and the Wills family.
Baron of Abbotshall is a title of nobility in the Baronage of Scotland associated with the lands of Abbotshall, near Kirkcaldy in Fife, Scotland. The title has historical connections to the Scott family.
The Baron of Abergeldie is a Scottish noble title in the Baronage of Scotland, historically associated with Abergeldie Castle and the surrounding estate in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The barony has been held by the Gordon family since its creation in 1482, making it one of the oldest family-held estates in Scotland.
Baron of Ardblair and Gask is a noble title within the Baronage of Scotland, associated with the Blair-Oliphant family. The title includes both the Barony of Ardblair, dating from the medieval period, and the Barony of Gask. The current holder is Laurence Philip Kington-Blair-Oliphant, who inherited both titles in the 20th century.
Baron of Ardgowan is a noble title in the Baronage of Scotland, historically associated with the Stewart family and the Ardgowan Estate located in Inverkip, Renfrewshire. The title was first granted when the lands were raised to a barony in 1575 by James VI for Sir John Stewart of Ardgowan.
Baron of Ardoch is a title of nobility in the Baronage of Scotland, tied historically to the Ardoch Estate, located in Dumbartonshire. The lands of Ardoch trace back to 1398, when Robert III of Scotland granted the lands to Finlaw Buntyn, marking the beginning of the estate's long history. In 1707 the lands were erected into the Barony of Ardoch.
