In Scotland, a baron or baroness is the head of a feudal barony, also known as a prescriptive barony. This used to be attached to a particular piece of land on which was situated the caput (Latin for "head") or essence of the barony, normally a building, such as a castle or manor house. Accordingly, the owner of the piece of land containing the caput was called a baron or baroness. According to Grant, there were around 350 identifiable local baronies in Scotland by the early fifteenth century and these could mostly be mapped against local parish boundaries. The term baron was in general use from the thirteenth century to describe what would have been known in England as a knight of the shire.[1]
A Scottish barony is the only UK title of nobility able to be legally alienated from the bloodline of its previous possessor and is not subject to the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925 as Scottish baronies by their nature were erected in crown charters as a free barony so freely assignable, unlike other hereditary noble titles with rules of succession. The dignity of baron is preserved in law by the Scottish Parliament after the abolition of the feudal system in the "Abolition of Feudal Tenure, etc (Scotland) Act 2000" coming into force in 2004.
Heraldry for Scottish baronies are governed by the court of the Lord Lyon. The Court of the Lord Lyon issued a ruling in April 2015 that may recognise a person possessing a barony and other feudal titles (lordship/earl/marquis see Scottish feudal lordship) on petition. The Lord Lyon King of Arms now prefers the approach of recognising the particular feudal dignity as expressed in the Crown Charter that the petitioner presents.[2] These titles are recognised as the status of a minor baron or baroness, but not a peer. Scottish baronies may be passed to any person, of either sex, by inheritance or assignation.[3]
A "Scottish Prescriptive Barony by Tenure" was, from 1660 until 2004, the feudal description of the only genuine degree of title of UKnobility capable of being conveyed (along with the caput, or property), rather than passing strictly by blood inheritance.
A General Register of Sasines was set up by Statute in 1617, with entry in the Register giving the prescriptive right (right by normal or correct usage), after so many years, to the caput or essence of the barony. The individual who owned the said piece of land containing the caput was hence the baron or baroness. Uncertainty over armorial right was removed by the Lyon Register being set up by Statute in 1672, such that no arms were to be borne in Scotland unless validly entered in Lyon Register.
Up until 1874, each new baron was confirmed in his barony by the Crown by Charter of Confirmation. Up until 28 November 2004, a barony was an estate of land held directly of the Crown, or the Prince and Great Steward of Scotland. It was an essential element of a barony title that there existed a Crown Charter erecting the land into a barony, recorded in the Register of the Great Seal of Scotland. Often the original Charter was later lost, however an Official Extract has the same legal status as the original Charter.
Using a "prescriptive feudal grant" allowed developers to impose perpetual conditions affecting the land. The courts became willing to accept the validity of such obligations, which became known as "real burdens". In practical and commercial terms, these real burdens were like English leasehold tenure.
Abolition of feudal tenure
The first Scottish Executive was committed to abolishing the feudal system. On 28 November 2004, the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 came into full force and effect, putting an end to Scotland's feudal system. Under Scots law, a Scottish Prescriptive Barony by Tenure is now "incorporeal feudal heritage", not attached to the land and remains the only genuine, prescriptive, degree of title of UK nobility capable of being transferred or conveyed – since under Section 63(1) of the Act, the dignity of baron is preserved after the abolition of the feudal system.[4][5] However, the Abolition Act did end the ability to get feudal land privileges by inheriting or acquiring the caput (land or castle) in Scotland. In common law jurisdictions, land may still be owned and inherited through a barony if the land is titled in "the Baron of X" as baron rather than in the individual's name. In America, it passes with the barony as a fee simple appurtenance to an otherwise incorporeal hereditament, the barony being treated like a landowning corporation.[6] In Scotland, the practice has not been tested in a Court of Session case since the Act.
One of the oldest baronies in Scotland, the Barony of the Bachuil, has not depended on land ownership for centuries; the barony passes along with the possession of a certain ancient stick, "The Bachuil Mór", which was once the bishop's staff of Saint Moluag in the year 562. Unlike all other barons in Scotland, the lawful possessor of the stick is the Baron of the Bachuil, regardless of landholdings.[7]
On 28 November 2004 the Abolition of Feudal Tenure Act came into force in Scotland. Prior to the Act, Scottish feudal baronies (including lordships and earldoms) remained the only noble titles in the UK that were transferable following the sale of land containing a caput (i.e. feudal superiority). With the implementation of the Act, all Scottish titles of nobility became incorporeal heritable property meaning they existed but without any physical attributes (eg land ownership which is corporeal property).[8][9]
Most baronies were created (erected) prior to 1745, but one was erected as late as 1824. Since the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 came into effect, the Lord Lyon, who is the Chief Herald of Scotland, has restored a more traditional form to the coat of arms of a baron. Barons are now identified by the helm befitting their degree. A new policy statement has been made by the Lord Lyon to this effect.
The holder of the dignity of a barony may petition the Lord Lyon for a grant of arms, as he falls under the jurisdiction of the Lyon's Court. A policy statement has been made to this effect by the Lord Lyon.[2] The Lyon Court has no jurisdiction in relation to the assignation, or legal transfer of, feudal titles.
Usage
An English barony is a peerage (yet the Tenures Abolition Act 1660 allows for some remaining non-peer baronies not converted by writ to remain as feudal baronies of free socage "incorporeal hereditament" (article 10 of that act), but whether Scottish barons rightfully rank as peers is disputable.[10] They are known as minor barons currently treated as noble titles of less than peerage rank. The Scottish equivalent of an English baron is "Lord of Parliament".
The feudal baronial title tends to be used when a landed family is not in possession of any United Kingdom peerage title of higher rank, subsequently granted, or has been created a knight of the realm. The name recorded by the Lord Lyon as part of any grant of arms or matriculation becomes the holder's name for all official purposes.
The holder of a Scottish barony (e.g., "Inverglen") may add the title to their existing name (e.g., "John Smith, Baron of Inverglen" or "Jane Smith, Baroness of Inverglen") or add the territorial designation to their surname if still in possession of the caput ("John Smith of Inverglen, Baron of Inverglen" or "Jane Smith of Inverglen, Baroness of Inverglen"); some of the oldest Scottish families prefer to be styled by the territorial designation alone ("Smith of Inverglen").[11][12][13] Formal and in writing, they are styled as The Much Honoured Baron/Baroness of Inverglen. A baron/baroness may be addressed socially as "Inverglen" or "Baron/Baroness" and introduced in the third person as "John Smith of Inverglen, Baron of Inverglen" or "The Baron of Inverglen" or "Jane Smith, Baroness of Inverglen" or "The Baroness of Inverglen". When referred to informally in the third person it is incorrect to refer to them as "Baron/Baroness Inverglen" or "Lord/Lady Inverglen", as these would imply a peerage title (i.e. Lord of Parliament)[14]
In a heterosexual married couple, if the husband is the holder of the Barony, the wife receives a courtesy title. Therefore, they may be styled "The Baron and Baroness of Inverglen", "Inverglen and Madam Smith of Inverglen", "Inverglen and Lady of Inverglen", or "The Baron of Inverglen and Lady of Inverglen."[11] The oldest son of a feudal baron/baroness may be known by the territorial designation with the addition of "yr" (abbreviation for "younger"), e.g. "John Smith of Inverglen, yr". The eldest daughter may be known as "Maid of Inverglen" at the end of her name, e.g. "Sandra Smith, Maid of Inverglen".
The husband of a Baroness is not afforded a courtesy title.
The United Kingdom policy of using titles on passports requires that the applicant provides evidence that the Lord Lyon has recognised a feudal barony, or the title is included in Burke's Peerage. If accepted (and if the applicant wishes to include the title), the correct form is for the applicant to include the territorial designation as part of their surname (Surname of territorial designation e.g. Smith of Inverglen). The Observation[15] would then show the holder's full name, followed by their feudal title e.g. The holder is John Smith, Baron of Inverglen.[16]
The Much Honoured
Sometimes in the most formal of occasions (for example on the envelope of a letter or place name) the prefix honorific style The Much Hon. (The Much Honoured) is put before the name, the prefix honorific "Much Honoured" is used to distinguish Scot Barons from honourifics attaching to peers.
E.g. The Much Hon. The Baron of Inverglen / Much Hon. Baron of Inverglen / Much Hon. John Smith, Baron of Inverglen / Much Hon. John, Baron of Invergle
The former Lord Lyon declined to award the following baronial additaments to the arms of those feudal barons registering arms now that the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 is in force. However, the current Lord Lyon has confirmed in a recent policy statement that he will officially recognise feudal barons or those possessing the dignity of baron who meet certain conditions and will grant them arms with a helmet befitting their degree. Scottish Barons rank below Lords of Parliament; while noble, they are not conventionally considered peerage titles.
In showing that Scottish barons are titles of nobility, reference may be made, amongst others, to Lyon Court in the Petition of Maclean of Ardgour for a Birthbrieve by Interlocutor dated 26 February 1943 which "Finds and Declares that the Minor Barons of Scotland are, and have both in this Nobiliary Court, and in the Court of Session, been recognised as 'titled' nobility, and that the estait of the Baronage (The Barones Minores) is of the ancient Feudal Nobility of Scotland".
Sir Thomas Innes of Learney in his 'Scots Heraldry' (2nd Ed., p.88, note 1) states that 'The Act 1672, cap 47, specially qualifies the degrees thus: Nobles (i.e. peers, the term being here used in a restricted seventeenth-century English sense), Barons (i.e. Lairds of baronial fiefs and their "heirs", who, even if fiefless, are equivalent to heads of Continental baronial houses) and Gentlemen (apparently all other armigers).' Baronets and knights are evidently classed as 'Gentlemen' here and are of a lower degree than Barons. The Scottish Head of Baronial Houses, includes all the various styles and titles which designate the territorial nobility i.e. baron of X.
Barons may also wear two eagle feathers when in traditional dress.[17][18] If the baron is a member of a clan, it is advisable to consult the clan chief on clan customs and traditions. The Lord Lyon only gives guidance and not governance on the wearing of feathers and recommends consulting with a clan chief.
Previously, between the 1930s and 2004, when new arms were granted or a matriculation of existing arms took note of a barony, the owner was given a chapeau or cap of maintenance as part of his armorial achievement on petitioning for the same. This chapeau is described as "gules doubled ermine" for barons in possession of the caput of the barony. An azure chapeau is appropriate for the heirs of ancient baronial families who are no longer owners of the estates. This chapeau was a relatively recent armorial invention of the late Lord LyonThomas Innes of Learney. Accordingly, a number of ancient arms of feudal barons do not display the chapeau, and now it is no longer granted.
At the Treaty of Perth in 1266, Norway relinquished its claim to the Hebrides and Man, and they became part of Scotland. In 1292, Argyll was created a shire and "The Barons of all Argyll and the Foreigners' Isles", which had preceded the kingdom of Scotland, became eligible to attend the "Scots" Parliament– appearing in the record of the parliament at St. Andrews in 1309. Historically they have a chapeau, "gules doubled ermines", ermines being white tails on black.
There is a unique exception: the Barony of the Bachuil is not of feudal origin like other baronies but is allodial in that it predates (562 A.D.) Scotland itself and the feudal system, dating from the Gaelic Kingdom of Dál Riata. In recognition as allodial Barons par la grâce de Dieu not barons by a feudal crown grant, the Baron of the Bachuil has the only chapeau allowed to have a vair (squirrel fur) lining.[7]
A chapeau, if part of an armorial achievement, is placed into the space directly above the shield and below the helmet. It may otherwise be used on a visiting card, the flap of an envelope, or to ensign the circlet of a crest badge as used on a bonnet.
Feudo-baronial mantle
The historical Scottish baron's mantle and chapeau from the 1930s to 2004, which are no longer granted
Particularly Scottish in character is the feudo-baronial mantle or robe of estate - described as gules doubled silk argent, fur-edged of miniver and collared in ermine, fastened on the right shoulder by five spherical buttons Or. This may be displayed in a pavilioned form, draped behind the complete achievement of arms - or the armorial shield alone - tied open with cords and tassels, and surmounted by the chapeau. Again, Lord Lyon is no longer granting these heraldic mantles.
Helmet
The helmet is now the chief mode of recognition of a Scottish baron. The Lord Lyon has adopted a steel helm with grille of three grilles, garnished in gold, as the current baronial additament. Alternatively, a feudal steel tilting helm garnished in gold, that may be shown affronté, may appear, or a helmet of some other degree if the baron holds a higher rank, such as a lordship of parliament.
Supporters
Supporters, are now usually reserved for the holders of the older baronies (chartered before 1587) and those that have been in continuous family ownership. In England, supporters are reserved for the peerage, and a Scottish baron who approaches the English College of Arms is not allowed supporters. A compartment has occasionally been granted to barons, representing their territories, even in cases where there are no supporters.
Badge
A badge – distinct from the crest – as a separate armorial device, is not necessarily a feature of the arms. The badge may be used by the "tail" or following of a landowner baron. The grant is linked to the baron's standard, a heraldic flag, in the livery colours that carries a large representation of the badge. The standard is blazoned in the grant or matriculation. The livery colours are usually the two most prominent colours of the arms themselves.
Flags
A Standard – an elongated shape, tapering from 1.2 m down to 60cm, with the fly edge split and rounded (lanceolate). The length is according to rank, from 7.5 m for the Sovereign down to 3.5 m for a Knight, Baron or Chief. It bears the Arms as on the shield or the saltire in the hoist, with the tail parted per fess with the Crest, Badge and/or Supporter, plus the motto on one or more Ribands. The Standard is set before the Baron/Chief's tent (as it's a "Headquarters" flag and does not indicate that the Armiger is in residence) rather than carried like the banner. A Standard requires a separate grant by the Lord Lyon and is only made under certain conditions.
A Guidon – one-third shorter than a Standard and tapering to a round, unsplit end at the fly. These are assigned by Lord Lyon to individuals who have Supporters to their Arms, and to others who have a following – those in a position of leadership or some official position.
A Pennon – a smaller, elongated flag 120cm long with a pointed, rounded or swallow-tailed end, designed to be displayed on a lance, assigned by Lord Lyon to an Armiger who applies for one. It is charged with the motto of the armiger as well as the arms as on the shield.
A Banner – a square or rectangular upright representation of the Arms designed for carrying in warfare or tournaments, but now flown as a "house flag" when the Armiger is in residence and is NOT the flag of the Clan or Family. Originally, conspicuous gallantry in battle was marked by cutting off the tail of the Standard or Pennon, turning it into a Banner. Strictly speaking, the sizes and shapes are:
Square banner – Sovereign, 1.5 m square; Dukes; 1.25 m sq; Earls, 1.1 m sq; Viscounts and Barons, 1 m sq; Baronets and feudal barons, 0.9 m sq; other Armigers, 70cm wide x 85cm high
Rectangular banner – typically in the ratio 3:2, or 5:4 when flown as the "house flag" of an Armiger.
Carrying flag – this should be sized as follows (width x height): Peers, 1.2 m x 1.5 m; Feudal Barons, 90cm x 115cm; Chiefs, 85cm x 110cm; Chieftains, 80cm x 90cm.
A Ensign may be occasionally granted and blazoned. This is a square flag, smaller than the flying banner, and carrying the full embroidered achievement (arms, crest, motto), again fringed in livery colours.
A Pipe banner – rather similar to a Banner, but of a size to fit on the longest drone of the pipes (usually 45cm) and richly decorated with gold fringing, tassles and the like. The pipe banner for a Chief who is also a Peer or a Feudal Baron should have a rounded end extending beyond the length, and any other Chief a split rounded end. A feudal baron is authorised two pipers.
List of feudal baronies (created before 1707)
Below is a list of some Scottish feudal baronies created before 1707; this list does not include Scottish feudal baronies created between that year and 1838 (BGH), when the most recent creation of a Scottish feudal barony occurred. It is generally accepted that there were around 350 baronies in Scotland before 1707.[1]
Peerages in the United Kingdom form a legal system comprising both hereditary and lifetime titles, composed of various ranks, and within the framework of the Constitution of the United Kingdom form a constituent part of the legislative process and the British honours system. The British monarch is considered the fount of honour and is notionally the only person who can grant peerages, though there are many conventions about how this power is used, especially at the request of the British government. The term peerage can be used both collectively to refer to the entire body of titled nobility, and individually to refer to a specific title. British peerage title holders are termed peers of the Realm.
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.
Esquire is usually a courtesy title.
The title Baron Berkeley originated as a feudal title and was subsequently created twice in the Peerage of England by writ. It was first granted by writ to Thomas de Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley (1245–1321), 6th feudal Baron Berkeley, in 1295, but the title of that creation became extinct at the death of his great-great-grandson, the fifth Baron by writ, when no male heirs to the barony by writ remained, although the feudal barony continued. The next creation by writ was in 1421, for the last baron's nephew and heir James Berkeley. His son and successor William was created Viscount Berkeley in 1481, Earl of Nottingham in 1483, and Marquess of Berkeley in 1488. He had no surviving male issue, so the Marquessate and his other non-inherited titles became extinct on his death in 1491, whilst the barony passed de jure to his younger brother Maurice. However, William had disinherited Maurice because he considered him to have brought shame on the noble House of Berkeley by marrying beneath his status to Isabel, daughter of Philip Mead of Wraxhall, an Alderman and Mayor of Bristol. Instead, he bequeathed the castle, lands and lordships comprising the Barony of Berkeley to King Henry VII and his heirs male, failing which to descend to William's own rightful heirs. Thus on the death of King Edward VI in 1553, Henry VII's unmarried grandson, the Berkeley inheritance returned to the family. Therefore, Maurice and his descendants from 1492 to 1553 were de jure barons only, until the return of the title to the senior heir Henry, becoming de facto 7th Baron in 1553. Upon his death he was succeeded by his relative George Harding.
Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The titles date to the English feudal system. The lord enjoyed manorial rights as well as seignory, the right to grant or draw benefit from the estate. The title continues in modern England and Wales as a legally recognised form of property that can be held independently of its historical rights. It may belong entirely to one person or be a moiety shared with other people. The title is known as Breyr in Welsh.
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 the United Kingdom, a territorial designation follows modern peerage titles, linking them to a specific place or places. It is also an integral part of all baronetcies. Within Scotland, a territorial designation proclaims a relationship with a particular area of land.
The concept of the Scottish Noblesse, a class of nobles of either peerage or non-peerage rank, was prominently advocated for by Sir Thomas Innes of Learney during his tenure as an officer of arms. Innes of Learney believed that Scottish armigers, those individuals granted arms by the Court of the Lord Lyon, implicitly become 'Nobles in the Noblesse of Scotland': a form of hereditary nobility. The soundness of the basis for this belief is uncertain, and included drawing on historical English practice, and the belief that, because other officers of the Crown had been delegated the power to ennoble historically, the Lord Lyon should be able to as well. Despite relying heavily on historical documentation in England, he simultaneously also opposed the application of English heraldic practice and law as it related to heraldry in Scotland.
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.
The law of heraldic arms, sometimes simply laws of heraldry governs the possession, use or display of arms, called bearing of arms. That use includes the coats of arms, coat armour or armorial bearings. Originally with the sole function of enabling knights to identify each other on the battlefield, they soon acquired wider, more decorative uses. Today they are used by countries, public and private institutions or individuals. The first laws regarding arms were written by Bartolus de Saxoferrato and the officials who administer these matters today are called pursuivants, heralds, or kings of arms. The law of arms is part of the law in countries which regulate heraldry, although not part of common law in England and in countries whose laws derive from English law. In most European countries without monarchies, much like in the United States, there are no laws against assuming arms, with the closest legal authenticity mechanism being a pictorial copyright protection.
The title of Lord Pittenweem is a Scottish title of nobility. It was created by James VI as a barony in 1609 for Frederick Stewart, son of William Stewart, Commendator of Pittenweem. Fredrick Stewart assigned the title and lands of the Lordship and Barony to Thomas Erskine, Viscount Fenton, later 1st Earl of Kellie, in 1614. Between 1631 and 1672 the Lordship and Barony was held by the Crown. It was held "in place of the late lords" so that when the Barony and Lordship later passed to the 3rd Earl of Kellie it was not as a new creation but by an assignation of the Lordship and Barony.
A barony is an administrative division of a county in Scotland, Ireland, outlying parts of England and historically France and Sardinia. As a barony is associated to a Baron and a county to a Count or Earl, it has a lower rank and importance than a county.
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 feudal lordship is an ancient title of nobility held in baroneum, which Latin term means that its holder, who is called a feudal lord, is also always a feudal 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.
The Barony of Polop and Benidorm is an ancient Spanish hereditary lordship in the Kingdom of Valencia under the Crown of Aragon. The barony, including the castles of Polop and Benidorm and extensive land, is located in the province of Alicante, Valencia, Spain, only a few miles from the Mediterranean Sea.
A Scottish crest badge is a heraldic badge worn to show allegiance to an individual or membership in a specific Scottish clan. Crest badges are commonly called "clan crests", but this is a misnomer; there is no such thing as a collective clan crest, just as there is no such thing as a clan coat of arms.
A feudal earldom is a Scottish feudal title that is held en baroneum, which means that its holder, who is called a feudal earl, is also always a feudal baron. A feudal earldom is an ancient title of nobility in Scotland. 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. A feudal earl ranks above a feudal lord and a feudal baron, but below an earldom which is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. Feudal earldoms are very rare. As well, due to rights granted from ancient Scots law, in a very few instances, the holder of a feudal earldom may be different than the holder of a peerage title of the same name. A peer is invariably addressed as 'Lord Placename' or 'Lord Such-and-so', whilst those holding a feudal earldom are addressed 'Earl of Placename'. Scottish titles, in order of precedence, are as follows: Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, Lord, Baronet, Knight, feudal 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 exulted above all three." However, Lord Stair states that Lordships or Earldoms are "but more noble titles of a Barony".
In the kingdom of England, a feudal barony or barony by tenure was the highest degree of feudal land tenure, namely per baroniam, under which the land-holder owed the service of being one of the king's barons. The duties owed by and the privileges granted to feudal barons are not exactly defined, but they involved the duty of providing soldiers to the royal feudal army on demand by the king, and the privilege of attendance at the king's feudal court, the Magnum Concilium, the precursor of parliament.
An Irish feudal barony was a customary title of nobility: the holder was always referred to as a Baron, but was not the holder of a peerage, and had no right to sit in the Irish House of Lords. In 1614 the Dublin Government noted that there were "diverse gentlemen" in Ireland who were called Baron, yet: "Never was any of them Lord Baron nor summoned to any Parliament".
The Lordship and Barony of Balvaird is a Scottish feudal lordship. The caput of the Lordship and Barony of Balvaird is Balvaird Castle, in the County of Perthshire in Scotland. One of the borders of the Barony was at one time the River Farg. The Barony was originally granted by a Crown Charter of Confirmation in favour of Lord Andrew Murray "of the lands and Barony of Balvaird" dated 16 March 1624. The Barony is described in Latin in the crown grant as "terrarum et baronie de Balvaird". The spelling of the name of the Lordship & Barony has many variations, including Balverd, Balverde, Balward, Balwaird and Baleward.
References
1 2 Alexander Grant, "Franchises North of the Border: Baronies and Regalities in Medieval Scotland", Chapter 9, Michael Prestwich. ed., Liberties and Identities in Medieval Britain and Ireland (Boydell Press: Woodbridge, 2008)
↑ Re Notarial Instrument of the Earl of Galloway; Disposition; Warrant for Letters Patent,No.s 103, 104, 105, Palmyra Island Land Recordation, United States District Court for the District of Hawaii(D.C. Hawaii-Palmyra I.2017).
↑ An Observation is a printed notation in a passport to convey important information about the passport holder to officials. "Guidance - Observations in Passports".
Dickinson, Professor William Croft, The Court Book of the Barony of Carnwath 1523-1542, Introduction, published by Scottish History Society, 1937. "The standard scholarly work on the history of Scottish feudal baronies". In the opinion of the Lyon King of Arms
Grant, Alexander, The Development of the Scottish Peerage, published in the Scottish Historical Review, 1978.
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