Barons in Scotland

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]

The 1896 edition of Green's Encyclopaedia of the Law of Scotland noted that "the mere territorial baron has no title of dignity appropriated to him".[2] In the Encyclopaedia of the Laws of Scotland (1927), John Horne Stevenson stated that "a barony title did not itself confer any dignity upon the holder".[3] 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) on petition. The Lord Lyon King of Arms now prefers the approach of recognizing the particular feudal dignity as expressed in the Crown Charter that the petitioner presents.[4] These titles are recognised as the status of a minor baron or baroness, but not a peer. Scottish feudal baronies may be passed to any person, of either sex, by inheritance or conveyance.[5]

Scotland has a distinct legal system within the United Kingdom. Historically, in the Kingdom of Scotland, the Lord Lyon King of Arms, as the Sovereign's minister in matters armorial, is at once herald and judge. The Scottish equivalent of an English baron is a Lord of Parliament.