Baron
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.
The term originates from the Latin term, via Old French. The use of the title baron came to England via the Norman Conquest of 1066, then the Normans brought the title to Scotland and Southern Italy. It later spread to Scandinavian and Slavic lands.
Etymology
The word baron comes from the Old French baron, from a Late Latin "man; servant, soldier, mercenary". The scholar Isidore of Seville in the 7th century thought the word was from Greek "heavy", but the word is presumably of Old Frankish origin, cognate with Old English meaning "warrior, nobleman". Cornutus in the first century already reports a word barones which he took to be of Gaulish origin. He glosses it as meaning servos militum and explains it as meaning "stupid", by reference to classical Latin "simpleton, dunce"; because of this early reference, the word has also been suggested to derive from an otherwise unknown Celtic *bar, but the Oxford English Dictionary takes this to be "a figment".Britain and Ireland
In the Peerage of England, the Peerage of Great Britain, the Peerage of Ireland and the Peerage of the United Kingdom, barons form the lowest rank, placed immediately below viscounts. A woman of baronial rank has the title baroness. In the Kingdom of England, the medieval Latin word barō was used originally to denote a tenant-in-chief of the early Norman kings who held his lands by the feudal tenure of "barony", and who was entitled to attend the Great Council which by the 13th century had developed into the Parliament of England.Feudal baronies are now obsolete in England and without any legal force, but any such historical titles are held in gross, that is to say are deemed to be enveloped within a more modern extant peerage title also held by the holder, sometimes along with vestigial manorial rights and tenures by grand serjeanty.
History
After the Norman Conquest in 1066, the Norman dynasty introduced an adaptation of the French feudal system to the Kingdom of England. Initially, the term "baron" on its own was not a title or rank, but the "barons of the King" were the men of the king. Previously, in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England, the king's companions held the title of earl and in Scotland, the title of thane. All who held their feudal barony "in-chief of the king", that is with the king as his immediate overlord, became alike barones regis, bound to perform a stipulated annual military service and obliged to attend his council. The greatest of the nobles, especially those in the Marches, such as the Earls of Chester and the Bishops of Durham, whose territories were often deemed palatine, that is to say "worthy of a prince", might refer to their own tenants as "barons", where lesser magnates spoke simply of their "men" and lords of the manor might reference "bondmen".Initially those who held land directly from the king by military service, from earls downwards, all bore alike the title of baron, which was thus the factor uniting all members of the ancient baronage as peers one of another. Under King Henry II, the Dialogus de Scaccario already distinguished between greater barons, who held per baroniam by knight's service, and lesser barons, who held manors. Thus in this historical sense, lords of manors are barons, or freemen; however they are not entitled to be styled as such. John Selden writes in Titles of Honour, "The word Baro hath been also so much communicated, that not only all Lords of Mannors have been from ancient time, and are at this day called sometimes Barons But also the Judges of the Exchequer have it from antient time fixed on them." Within a century of the Norman Conquest of 1066, as in the case of Thomas Becket in 1164, there arose the practice of sending to each greater baron a personal summons demanding his attendance at the King's Council, which evolved into the Parliament and later into the House of Lords, while as was stipulated in Magna Carta of 1215, the lesser barons of each county would receive a single summons as a group through the sheriff, and representatives only from their number would be elected to attend on behalf of the group. These representatives developed into the knights of the shire, elected by the county court presided over by the sheriff, who themselves formed the precursor of the House of Commons. Thus appeared a definite distinction, which eventually had the effect of restricting to the greater barons alone the privileges and duties of peerage.
Later, the king started to create new baronies in one of two ways: by a writ of summons directing a chosen man to attend Parliament, and in an even later development by letters patent. Writs of summons became the normal method in medieval times, displacing the method of feudal barony, but creation of baronies by letters patent is the sole method adopted in modern times.
Since the adoption of summons by writ, baronies thus no longer relate directly to land-holding, and thus no more feudal baronies needed to be created from then on. Following the Modus Tenendi Parliamenta of 1419, the Tenures Abolition Act 1660, the Feudal Tenure Act 1662, and the Fines and Recoveries Act 1834, titles of feudal barony became obsolete and without legal force. The Tenures Abolition Act 1660 specifically states: baronies by tenure were converted into baronies by writ. The rest ceased to exist as feudal baronies by tenure, becoming baronies in free socage, that is to say under a "free" contract requiring payment of monetary rents.
In the 20th century, Britain introduced the concept of non-hereditary life peers. All appointees to this distinction have, except for the Duke of Edinburgh, been at the rank of baron. In accordance with the tradition applied to hereditary peers, they too are formally addressed in parliament by their peers as "The Noble Lord".
In addition, baronies are often used by their holders as subsidiary titles, for example as courtesy titles for the son and heir of an Earl or higher-ranked peer. The Scottish 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.
Several members of the royal family with the style of Royal Highness are also titled Barons. For example, William, Prince of Wales is also The Baron of Renfrew and The Baron Carrickfergus.
Some non-royal Barons are related to the royal family; for example, Maurice Roche, 6th Baron Fermoy is William's first cousin once removed, through William's late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, who was the 4th Baron Fermoy's granddaughter.
Irish barons
The title of baron was created in the Peerage of Ireland shortly after the Norman invasion of Ireland. Ireland's first baronies included Baron Athenry, Baron Offaly, Baron Kerry, Baron Dunboyne, Baron Gormanston, Baron Slane, Baron of Dunsany, Baron Louth and Baron Trimlestown.Coronet
A person holding a peerage in the rank of baron is entitled to a coronet bearing six pearls around the rim, equally spaced and all of equal size and height. The rim itself is neither jeweled nor "chased".The actual coronet is worn only for the coronation of a new monarch, but a baron can bear his coronet of rank on his coat of arms above the shield. In heraldry, the baron's coronet is shown with four of the balls visible.
Style of address
Formally, barons are styled The Right Honourable The Lord and barons’ wives are styled The Right Honourable The Lady . Baronesses in their own right, whether hereditary or for life, are either styled The Right Honourable The Baroness or The Right Honourable The Lady , mainly based on personal preference. Less formally, one refers to or addresses a baron as Lord and his wife as Lady , and baronesses in their own right as Baroness or Lady . In direct address, barons and baronesses can also be referred to as My Lord, Your Lordship, or Your Ladyship or My Lady. The husband of a baroness in her own right gains no title or style from his wife.The ''Right Honourable is frequently abbreviated to The Rt Hon. or Rt Hon. When referred to by the Sovereign in public instruments, The Right Honourable is changed to Our right trusty and well-beloved, with Counsellor attached if they are a Privy Counsellor.
Children of barons and baronesses in their own right, whether hereditary or for life, have the style The Honourable . After the death of the father or mother, the child may continue to use this style.
Courtesy barons are styled Lord , and their wives Lady ; the article "The" is always absent. If the courtesy baron is not a Privy Counsellor, the style The Right Honourable will also be absent.
It is very common for the surnames of barons and baronesses to be identical to or included in the formal title of their barony. However, when addressed as a peer, the title of Lord, Lady, or Baroness is followed by the name of his or her barony, not his personal name. This is relevant when a baron or baroness's title is completely different from his or her personal surname or includes a territorial designation in addition to his surname. This also means that including a baron or baroness's forename before his or her title is incorrect and potentially misleading. For example, "Lady Margaret Thatcher" would imply that she was the daughter of an earl, marquess, or duke, or Lady of the Garter or Thistle not holding a peerage rather than a baroness. Likewise, in the case of men, "Lord Digby Jones" would imply that he was the younger son of a marquess or duke rather than a baron.
The United Kingdom has a policy of including titles of nobility on passports: the title is entered into the surname field and a standard observation is recorded giving the holder's full name and title. A Baron would therefore record his surname as Lord , and the observation would note that The holder is The Right Honourable Lord ''. However, if the title of an applicant's peerage is different from his surname, he can choose whether to use his surname or title in the surname field. A baroness in her own right would substitute "Baroness" for "Lord", and the wife of a Baron would similarly substitute "Lady". Titles of nobility are checked against Debrett's Peerage, Who's Who, or the London Gazette by the passport office on application.