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Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, 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 Late 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 and lands.
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 (Latin for 'baron') 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 (as in the stile of their Court Barons, which is Curia Baronis, &c. And I have read hors de son Barony in a barr to an Avowry for hors de son fee) 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 Curia regis, 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" (hereditable) contract requiring payment of monetary rents.
In the 20th century, Britain introduced the concept of non-hereditary . 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 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.
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.
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 Forename Surname. After the death of the father or mother, the child may continue to use this style.
Courtesy barons are styled Lord Barony, and their wives Lady Barony; 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 (e.g. William Thomson, Lord Kelvin) or includes a territorial designation in addition to his surname (e.g. Martin Rees). 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" (as opposed to "Lady 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" (as opposed to "Lord Jones of Birmingham") 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 Barony, and the observation would note that The holder is The Right Honourable given surname Lord Barony. 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.
The Court of the Lord Lyon will officially recognise those possessing the dignity of baron (and other titles that are but nobler titles of baron within the Baronage of Scotland lord/earl/marquis/duke see lordships in the Baronage of Scotland) on petition who meet certain criteria, and will grant them baronial arms with a helmet befitting their degree. Scottish barons rank below Lords of Parliament and while noble have the status of minor baron, being a non-Peerage rank; as such it can be transferred by either inheritance or assignation.
In showing that Scottish barons are titles of nobility, reference may be made, amongst others, to the 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 equivalent of an English baron is a Lord of Parliament.
Scottish Barons may record surname of territorial in the surname field of their passport, and an official observation would then note that The holder is given surname Baron of territorial; applicants must provide evidence that the Lord Lyon has recognised their feudal barony, or else be included in Burke's Peerage.
French baronies could be sold freely until 1789, when the Constituent Assembly abolished feudal law. The title of baron was assumed as a courtesy title]] by many nobles, whether members of the Nobles of the Robe or cadets of Nobles of the Sword who held no title in their own right.
Families which had always held this status were called Uradel ('primordial/ancient/original nobility'), and were heraldically entitled to a three-pointed coronet. Families which had been ennoblement at a definite point in time (Briefadel or "nobility by letters patent") had seven points on their coronet. These families held their fief in from a suzerain. The holder of an allodial (i.e. suzerain-free) barony was thus called a Free Lord, or Freiherr. Subsequently, sovereigns in Germany conferred the title of Freiherr as a rank in the nobility, without implication of allodial or feudal status.
Since 1919, hereditary titles have had no legal status in Germany. In modern, republican Germany, Freiherr and Baron remain heritable only as part of the legal surname (and may thereby be transmitted to husbands, wives and children, without implication of nobility).
In Austria, hereditary titles have been completely banned. Thus, a member of the formerly reigning House of Habsburg or members of the former nobility would in most cases simply be addressed as Herr/Frau (Habsburg) in an official/public context, for instance in the media. Still, in both countries, honorary styles like "His/Her (Imperial/Royal) Highness", "Serenity", etc. persist in social use as a form of courtesy.
In Luxembourg and Liechtenstein (where German is the official language), barons remain members of the recognized nobility, and the sovereigns retain authority to confer the title (morganatic cadets of the princely dynasty received the title Baron of Lanskron, using both Freiherr and Baron for different members of this branch.) (2025). 9783798008243, C.A. Starke Verlag. ISBN 9783798008243
Generally, all legitimate males of a German baronial family inherit the title Freiherr or Baron from birth, as all legitimate daughters inherit the title of Freiin or Baroness. As a result, German barons have been more numerous than those of such countries where primogeniture with respect to title inheritance prevails (or prevailed), such as France and the United Kingdom.
In the Netherlands after 1815, titles of baron authorized by previous monarchs (except those of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Holland) were usually recognized by the Netherlands kings. But such recognition was not automatic, having to be authenticated by the Supreme Council of Nobility and then approved by the sovereign. This ceased to be possible after the Dutch constitution was revised in 1983. More than one hundred Dutch baronial families have been recognized. The title is usually inherited by all males descended patrilineality from the original recipient of the title, although in a few noble families baron is the title of cadet family members, while in a few others it is heritable according to primogeniture.
After its secession in 1830, Belgium incorporated into its nobility all titles of baron borne by Belgian citizens which had been recognized by the Netherlands since 1815. In addition, its monarchs have since created or recognized other titles of baron, and the sovereign continues to exercise the prerogative to confer baronial and other titles of nobility. Baron is the third lowest title within the nobility system above knight (, ) and below viscount. There are still a number of families in Belgium that bear the title of baron.
Luxembourg's monarch retains the right to confer the baronial title. Two of the grand duchy's prime ministers inherited baronial titles that were used during their tenures in office, Victor de Tornaco and Félix de Blochausen.
The present corresponding title is baron in the Danish nobility and the Norwegian nobility, friherre in the Swedish nobility (baron is used orally, while it is written as friherre), and vapaaherra in the nobility of Finland.
In the beginning, Finnish nobles were all without honorific titulature, and known simply as lords. Since the Middle Ages, each head of a noble family had been entitled to a vote in any of Finland's provincial diets whenever held, as in the realm's House of Nobility of the Riksdag of the Estates. In 1561, Sweden's King Eric XIV granted the hereditary titles of count and vapaaherra to some of these, but not all. Although their cadet family members were not entitled to vote or sit in the italic=no, they were legally entitled to the same title as the head of the family, but in tradition address they became Paroni or Paronitar. Theoretically, in the 16th and 17th centuries, families elevated to vapaaherra status were granted a barony in fief, enjoying some rights of taxation and judicial authority. Subsequently, the "barony" was titular, usually attached to a family property, which was sometimes fee tail. Their exemptions from taxes on landed properties continued into the 20th century, although in the 19th century tax reforms narrowed this privilege. Nobility creations continued until 1917, the end of Finland's grand ducal monarchy.
There were two main groups of nobility which held the baronial title. One was the Baltic German nobility, for which Russia merely recognized their pre-existing titles; the other was new barons created by the Emperors of Russia after 1721. Like in many other countries, new baronial titles were often created by ennoblement of rich bourgeoisie. The title of baron, along with the rest of the noble hierarchy, was abolished in December 1917 after the Bolshevik Revolution; however, certain leaders of the White movement like Baron Pyotr Wrangel and Roman von Ungern-Sternberg continued to use the title until the end of the Russian Civil War.
| Nánjué (男爵) |
| Rao |
| danshaku (hiragana: だんしゃく, kanji: ) |
| namjak (Korean language: 남작, 男爵) |
| Reis |
| ashan-i hafan |
| (Chữ Hán: 男爵) |
| Báró |
| primor, historically used among a specific population of Hungarians in Transylvania |
| Barun |
| Barão (female: baronesa). |
| Baron (female: baronesă). |
| Bojar or Boyar |
| Tahtis Aznauri |
| Khun |
In some republics of continental Europe, the unofficial title of "Baron" retains a purely social prestige, with no particular political privileges.
In Armenian, the word "Baron" should not be confused with the similar word "Paron" (Armenian: Պարոն), which is a title given to ordinary men, equivalent to 'Sir' or 'Mr'.
In the Polynesian island monarchy of Tonga, as opposed to the situation in Europe, barons are granted this imported title (in English), alongside traditional chiefly styles, and continue to hold and exercise some political power.
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