Lords in the Baronage of Scotland

Chapeau of a Scots baron
The chapeau (or cap of maintenance) represents Scot barons in historical heraldry instead of a coronet
Nobility of the
baronage of Scotland
Baronial rank of nobility
Titled nobles in the Baronage
Topics
Convention of the Three Estates

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 a 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 Lords of Parliament 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 barons to sit in parliament ceased altogether, unless, that is, a 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) and with the end of feudalism coming into force in 2004, the act converted extant feudal titles into personal dignities, no longer attached to the land.

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

Lords of regality, barons, lords and earls in the Baronage of Scotland are not to be confused with lairds (which is a Scottish term for property owner of a great estate) or a manorial lordship.

Usage

The holder of a lordship in the Baronage of Scotland, in similar fashion to the holder of a barony (e.g., "Lochaber"), has the title added to his existing name (e.g., "John Smith, Lord of Lochaber") or territorial designation added to his surname if they own the caput ("John Smith of Lochaber, Lord of Lochaber").[4][5][6]

Lords are addressed as "Lord of Lochaber" or "Lord Lochaber" (noting that medieval feudal lords, that were not lords of parliament, but of higher dignity than baron were referred to with and without the of even in the most formal documents such as crown charters)[7] or "His Lordship" or "My Lord" or interchangeably as "Baron of Lochaber" or just "Baron" or more intimately just "Lochaber".

A female title holder or wife is "Lady Lochaber" or "My Lady" or "Baroness", but the husband of a Lady, who holds a lordship in her own right, is just plain "Mr Surname".

The heir typically follows lordships in Scotland "Master of Lochaber" or barons in Scotland "Younger of Lochaber" for a son, for a daughter "Mistress of Lochaber" or '"Maid of Lochaber'".

It can be a tradition of the family or a personal style of the holder for Lordships to be styled Lord or Baron interchangeably, both uses are correct and will not cause offence, in some cases female holders have been referred to in official documents as "Baroness of Lochaber" as a preference while male predecessors (and successors) were Lord.

Sometimes in the most formal of occasions (for example an envelope) the prefix honorific style The Much Hon. (The Much Honoured) is put before the name, this prefix honorific is used to distinguish Scottish Barons from honorifics attaching to peers.

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

Forms of address for Lords

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

Order of precedence

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."[8]

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])

List of Lordships in the Baronage of Scotland

Below is an incomplete list of Lordships created in the baronage, you can help by suggesting edits on the Talk page with evidence links.

Note that for Lords in the Baronage of Scotland a baron is a lord and a lord is a baron and can be used interchangeable or as per the preference of the holder. While a Scots baron - that is not a lord - is only ever called baron.

Titles in italics are subsidiary baronial titles held by the same lord. Titles linked and with The before the name is the holder's primary title.

Title C. Infeft Incumbent Known As
The Lord of Abernethy 12c 2017 Mahfouz bin Mahfouz, Lord of Abernethy[9] Lord Abernethy
The Lord of Annandale 1124 Annexed to Crown in c1536
The Lord of Arbroath 17c 1994 Alan Frank Bartlett, Lord of Arboath[10] Lord Arboath
The Lord of Ardrossan 1315 2008 Marko Dobroschelski, Lord of Ardossan[11] Lord Ardossan
Lord of Argyll 12c 2001 Torquhil Campbell, 13th Duke of Argyll Duke
Lord of Lorne 14c
Lord of Badenoch 1258 1987 Granville Gordon, 13th Marquess of Huntly Lord Huntly
The Lord of Balvaird 1673 2018 Brady Brim-DeForest, Baron of Balvaird[12][13] Baron
Lord of Bothwell 12c 2023 Sir William Gallagher, Lord of Bothwell and Kildrummie KNZM MBE Sir William
Lord of Kildrummie
Lord of Braemar 17c 2004 John Sullivan, Earl of Breadalbane, Lord of Braemar[14][15] John Sullivan of Braemar
The Lord of Cockburn 14c 2008 Olivier Fuchs, Baron of Cockburn, Hallrule, Over Liberton, and Buncle and Preston[16] Baron
Lord of Buncle and Preston 14c 2009
The Lord of Coldingham 16c 2010 Peter Leando, Lord of Coldingham[17] Lord Coldingham
The Lord of Coupar (Angus)[18] 1606 2024 Edward Kirkby Rutledge, Lord of Coupar (Angus), Baron of Coupar[19] Lord Coupar
The Lord of Cowal 2018 James Devlin, Lord of Cowal[20], Baron of Over Cowal Lord Cowal
Lord of Cumbernauld 1314 2004 Roland Ladislaus Zettel, Earl of Wigtoun, Lord of Cumbernauld[21] [1] Lord Wigtoun
Lord of Douglas 1445 2010 Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, 16th Duke of Hamilton, 13th Duke of Brandon Duke
The Lord of Forbes 1445 2013 Malcom, 23rd Lord Forbes Lord Forbes
Lord of Galloway 1034 Annexed to Crown in c1235
The Lord of the Garioch 2001 George David Menking, Lord of Garioch[22] Lord Garioch
The Lord of Garlies 1263 Timothy Busch Reisinger, Lord of Garlies[23], Baron of Buchan Forest, Blaurbuis, Coreswall and Glencammon Lord Garlies
The Lord of Fulwood 1314 2002 Camilo Agasim-Pereira, Baron of Fulwood and Dirleton Baron
The Lord of Hailes 1451 2008 Samuel Malin, Lord of Hailes Sam Malin
The Lord of Halydean 1128 2006 Taylor Moffitt, 15th Lord of Halydean[24] Lord Halydean
Lord of the Isles 875 2022 HRH The Prince William, Duke of Rothesay Prince William
The Lord of Kilmarnock 1316 2018 John Werschler, Lord of Kilmarnock Lord Kilmarnock
The Lord of Leslie 1382 2024 Giacomo Merello, Lord Leslie[25][26] Lord Leslie
Lord of Liddesdale 1124 Annexed to Crown in c1540
The Lord of Pittenweem 15c 2015 Claes Zangenberg, 18th Lord of Pittenweem[27][28] Lord Pittenweem
The Lord of Slains 1452 2015 Paul Allan Bell, Lord of Slains[29] Lord Slains

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

List of Baronies in the Baronage of Scotland

The first degree of baronage nobility.

Click here for a list of Baronies in the Baronage of Scotland

List of Earldoms in the Baronage of Scotland

Earl is the third degree of baronage nobility, nobler than Baron (first) and Lord (second).

Click here for a list of Earldoms in the Baronage of Scotland

List of Marquisates and Dukedoms in the Baronage of Scotland

Fourth and fifth degrees of baronage nobility, the noblest forms in the hierarchy.

Click here for a list of Marquisates and Dukedoms in the Baronage of Scotland

List of Lordships of Regality

Higher dignities compared to baronage titles, erected in liberam regalitatem.

Click here for a list of Lordships of Regality

See also

References

  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. ^ Borthwick, William (1775). An inquiry into the origin and limitations of the feudal dignities of Scotland. W. D. Jordan Special Collections and Music Library Queen's University Library. Edinburgh : Printed for William Gordon.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  8. ^ Ancient Peerages, 2nd Edition, Edinburgh, 1785, pp 127-130
  9. ^ "Debrett's - The Feudal Baronies of Scotland". Debrett's. Debrett's - London 1769. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  10. ^ "Debrett's - The Feudal Baronies of Scotland". Debrett's. Debrett's - London 1769. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  11. ^ "Debrett's - The Feudal Baronies of Scotland". Debrett's. Debrett's - London 1769. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  12. ^ "Brim-DeForest Family Entry – Burke's Revised Families". Burke's Peerage. Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd. Retrieved 25 June 2025. (subscription required)
  13. ^ "Debrett's - The Feudal Baronies of Scotland". Debrett's. Debrett's - London 1769. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  14. ^ "Sullivan of Braemar Family Entry – Burke's Revised Families". Burke's Peerage. Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd. Retrieved 25 June 2025. (subscription required)
  15. ^ "Debrett's - The Feudal Baronies of Scotland". Debrett's. Debrett's - London 1769. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  16. ^ "Debrett's - The Feudal Baronies of Scotland". Debrett's. Debrett's - London 1769. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  17. ^ "Debrett's - The Feudal Baronies of Scotland". Debrett's. Debrett's - London 1769. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  18. ^ "Records of the Parliaments of Scotland". www.rps.ac.uk. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  19. ^ "Debrett's - The Feudal Baronies of Scotland". Debrett's. Debrett's - London 1769. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  20. ^ "Debrett's - The Feudal Baronies of Scotland". Debrett's. Debrett's - London 1769. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  21. ^ "Debrett's - The Feudal Baronies of Scotland". Debrett's. Debrett's - London 1769. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  22. ^ "Debrett's - The Feudal Baronies of Scotland". Debrett's. Debrett's - London 1769. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  23. ^ "Debrett's - The Feudal Baronies of Scotland". Debrett's. Debrett's - London 1769. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  24. ^ "Debrett's - The Feudal Baronies of Scotland". Debrett's. Debrett's - London 1769. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  25. ^ "Baronage – Registry of Scots Nobility". Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  26. ^ "Debrett's - The Feudal Baronies of Scotland". Debrett's. Debrett's - London 1769. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  27. ^ "Zangenberg Family Entry – Burke's Revised Families". Burke's Peerage. Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd. Retrieved 25 June 2025. (subscription required)
  28. ^ "Debrett's - The Feudal Baronies of Scotland". Debrett's. Debrett's - London 1769. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  29. ^ "Debrett's - The Feudal Baronies of Scotland". Debrett's. Debrett's - London 1769. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
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