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Lords in the Baronage of Scotland

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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.

A Scottish Baron is below a Lord of Parliament (the Scottish equivalent of an English baron) which is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, while a Lord in the Baronage of Scotland is a noble dignity of higher degree than Baron, but below an Earl in the Baronage of Scotland, which is a baron of still higher degree than a lordship.[1] In the baronage there is only a small number of lordships compared to baronies, whilst earldoms are very rare.[2]

While barons originally sat in parliament (along with the lords and higher nobility who made up the Peerage), all of the peerage, originally, was within the feudal system. Later, some of what used to be feudal lordships came to be known as peerages (such as that of The Right Honourable The Lord Forrester) while others were disponed, inherited by greater peers, or otherwise disqualified from the modern-day peerage. The feudal rights were gradually emasculated and, with the demise of the Scottish parliament in 1707, the right of feudal barons to sit in parliament ceased altogether, unless, that is, a feudal baron was also a Peer (Peerage rights are dealt with elsewhere).

The rights of the baronage were all but abolished by Act of Parliament in 1747, following the Jacobite rising. Baronage titles no longer provide any political power as such, although the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 has preserved the noble titles themselves, and the quality, precedence and heraldic rights pertaining.

Only about 400 baronies are identified as existing in 1405.[3] Burke's Landed Gentry for Scotland lists only about 130.

Lords of regality, barons, lords and earls in the Baronage of Scotland are not to be confused with a manorial lordship.

Usage[edit]

The holder of the title Lord in the Baronage of Scotland, in similar fashion to the holder of a barony (e.g., "Inverglen"), may add the title to his existing name (e.g., "John Smith, Lord of Inverglen") or add the territorial designation to his surname ("John Smith of Inverglen, Lord of Inverglen"); some of the oldest Scottish families prefer to be styled by the territorial designation alone ("Smith of Inverglen").[4][5][6]

Lords are addressed 'Lord of Placename' or His Lordship or My Lord and barons are addressed as 'Baron of Placename' or The Baron.

A female baron is usually referred to as 'Lady Placename' or My Lady or Baroness. The wife of a Lord receives the courtesy title 'Lady Placename', but the husband of a Lady, who holds a barony in her own right, is just plain Mr. 'Surname'.

It can be a tradition of the family or a personal style of the holder for Lordships that are also erected in Barony to be styled Lord or Baron interchangeably, in some cases female holders have been referred to in official documents as Baroness as a preference while male predecessors (and successors) were Lord.

Forms of address for Lords[edit]

  • Written: 'The Much Hon The Lord of Placename' or 'The Lord of Placename'
  • Salutation: 'Dear Lord of Placename' or 'Dear My Lord'
  • In a speech: 'My Lord Placename' or 'My Lords, Ladies and Gentleman'
  • In conversation: 'Lord Placename' or 'My Lord' or 'Your Lordship'
  • Third person: 'His Lordship'
  • For females replace Lord for Lady

The Much Honoured[edit]

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 honorifics attaching to peers.

E.g. The Much Hon. The Lord of Inverglen / Much Hon. Lord of Inverglen / Much Hon. John Smith, Lord of Inverglen / Much Hon. John, Lord of Inverglen

Order of precedence[edit]

Wallace states that in regards to Baronial titles:

"Lordships, Earldoms, Marquessates 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 Marquessate, was superior to both ... A man, who owned a fief elevated into a Dukedom, was exhaulted above all three."[7]

The inference in terms of superiority from greater to lesser is thus: Duke, Marquess, Earl, Lord, Baron. (Note however that Lord Stair states that Lordships or Earldoms are "but more noble titles of a Barony".[1])

Lordships in the Baronage of Scotland (created before 1707)[edit]

Below is an incomplete list of Lordships created in the baronage before 1707.

Lordship Createda Incumbent Succeeded Heir Notes
The Lord of Abernethy 12th century Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz, Lord of Abernethy 2008 none
The Lord of Ardrossan 1357 Marko Dobroschelski, Lord of Ardossan[8] 2018
The Lord of Balvaird 1673 Brady Brim-DeForest of Balvaird Castle, Baron of Balvaird[9] 2017 Huxley Byron Brim-DeForest, Younger of Balvaird
The Lord of Bothwell 12th century[10] extinct
The Lord of Braemar John Sullivan of Braemar, Earl of Breadalbane, Lord of Braemar and Lord of Kildrummie[11][12] 2004 Also Duke of Bolnisi granted by HRH Crown Prince David of Georgia.[9] Known as John Sullivan of Braemar.
The Lord of Buncle and Preston Herr Olivier Fuchs, Baron of Cockburn, Hallrule, Over Liberton, and Buncle and Preston[13] 2009 Herr means Lord in German which Lord Lyon recognised his name with.[13]
The Lord of Cockburn 14th century repeat of above line 2008 repeat of above line
The Lord of Coldingham 1141
The Lord of Cowal James Devlin, Lord of Cowal[9]
The Lord of

Coupar

1607 Forfeited by attainder in 1746
The Lord of Crawford and Douglas
The Lord of Cumbernauld 1314
The Lord of Dudhope 1542
The Lord of Forbes 1445 Malcom, Lord Forbes 2013
The Lord of the Garioch 12th century George David Menking, Lord of the Garioch 2001 RIP?
The Lord of Giffen 14th century Ryan Montgomery, Lord of Giffen 2001
The Lord of Glencoe
The Lord of Fulwood Camilo Agasim-Pereira of Fulwood & Dirleton, Baron of Fulwood & Dirleton, Lord of Fulwood Elio Gabriel Samuel, Younger of Fulwood
The Lord of Hailes 20 Dec 1451b Sam Malin of Hailes, Lord of Hailes[14] 2008
The Lord of Halydean 1128 Taylor Moffitt of Halydean, Lord of Halydean 2006
The Baron of Jedburgh Forest 3 Feb 1602 Richard Bruce Bernadotte Miller, Baron of Jedburgh Forrest 2010
The Lord of Kildrummie John Sullivan of Braemar, Earl of Breadalbane, Lord of Braemar and Lord of Kildrummie[11][15] 2004 Also Duke of Bolnisi granted by HRH Crown Prince David of Georgia.[9] Known as John Sullivan of Braemar.
The Lord of Kilmarnock 1316 David Ayre, Lord of Kilmarnock 2002
The Lord of Leslie Sir Philip Christopher Ondaatje, Earl of Rothes, Lord of Leslie [16] 2004 none
The Lord of Pittenweem 1592[17] Claes Zangenberg, Lord of Pittenween[18] 2011
The Lord of Rannoch 1502 dormant
The Lord of Slains 1452 Paul Bell, Lord of Salins 2015
The Lord of Strathdee 1563
The Lord of

Urquhart

1230
The Lord of

Zetland

1600[19]

a: The creation date is the earliest known date for the Lordship and subject to revision

b: The Barony of Hailes was granted to Adam de Hepburn by Patrick de Dunbar, Earl of March in 1343

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Institutes, II.3.45
  2. ^ "Feudal baronies and manorial lordships" (PDF). baronage.co.uk. 2002. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 January 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  3. ^ Atlas of Scottish History to 1707, Univ. of Edinburgh, 1996
  4. ^ "Usages". Archived from the original on 13 August 2002.
  5. ^ "Scottish Feudal Baronies". Archived from the original on 25 July 2013.
  6. ^ "Scottish feudal baronies (feudal barons, feudal baron) including the oath of a knight". 26 July 2020. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  7. ^ Ancient Peerages, 2nd Edition, Edinburgh, 1785, pp 127-130
  8. ^ "Lordship of Ardossan passed to Marko Dobroschelski in 2008". Baronage Forum. 9 June 2024. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d "Burke's Peerage Revised". Burke's Peerage. 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ "About Bothwell". Bothwell Historical Society. Bothwell Historical Society.
  11. ^ a b "The Arms of J. Sullivan of Braemar, Earl of Breadalbane, Lord of Braemar and Kildrummie". The Armorial Register, UK. 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. ^ a b "The Lord Lyon has granted arms to Herr Olivier Fuchs, Baron of Cockburn, Hallrule, Over Liberton, and Buncle and Preston". X. 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. ^ Scottish Barony Register and Burke's Peerage
  15. ^ "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.
  16. ^ "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.
  17. ^ "Records of the Parliaments of Scotland".
  18. ^ Scottish Barony Register and Letter Patent by the Lord Lyon, see http://baronyofpittenweem.com/reference/stories/full-grant.jpg
  19. ^ 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

External links[edit]

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