Baronage of Scotland

In Scotland, "baron" or "baroness" is a rank of the ancient nobility of the Baronage of Scotland, a hereditary title of honour, and refers to the holder of a barony, erected into a free barony by Crown Charter, this being the status of a minor baron, recognised by the crown as noble, but not a peer.

A Scottish barony is arguably the only UK title of nobility which can be legally alienated from the bloodline of its previous possessor.

Crown charters refer to "heirs and assignees", unlike other hereditary noble titles with rules of succession.

That said, titles in the Baronage of Scotland generally pass down through the generations, staying within the family lineage.

The Lord Lyon King of Arms now prefers the approach of recognising the particular dignity as expressed in the Crown Charter that the petitioner presents.

Historically, in the Kingdom of Scotland, the Lord Lyon King of Arms, as the Sovereign's minister in matters armorial, was at once herald and judge.

A "Scottish Prescriptive Barony by Tenure" was, until 2004, the description of the only genuine degree of title of British nobility capable of being disponed along with the caput (or property), rather than passing strictly by blood inheritance.

Statutes of 1592 and the Baronetcy Warrants of King Charles I show the non-peerage Table of Precedence as: Baronets, Knights, Barons, Lairds, Esquire and Gentlemen.

Until 28 November 2004, a barony was an estate of land held directly of the Crown, or the Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.

Using a "prescriptive feudal grant" allowed developers to impose perpetual conditions affecting the land.

Under Scots law, a Scottish Prescriptive Barony by Tenure is now an incorporeal hereditament just like hereditary peerages, baronetcies and coat of arms but can, unlike them, be freely bequeathed to an appointed heir.

In section 63(198) of the Act explanatory notes: If a baron dies intestate, the barony would transmit to the eldest son or other heir in accordance with the pre-1964 rules on intestate succession which were preserved by the Succession (Scotland) Act 1964 for "any title, coat of arms, honour or dignity transmissible on the death of the holder".

[14] Scottish baronies are no longer feudal titles, not attached to the land and remains the only genuine, prescriptive, degree of title of UK nobility capable of being transferred or conveyed – since under Section 63(1) of the Act, the dignity of baron is preserved after the abolition of the feudal system.

[citation needed] On 28 November 2004 the Abolition of Feudal Tenure Act came into force in Scotland.

Prior to the Act, Scottish baronies (including lordships and earldoms) remained the only noble titles in the UK that were transferable following the sale of land containing a caput (i.e. superiority)[clarification needed].

[13] The Lyon Court has no jurisdiction in relation to the assignation, or legal transfer of, baronial titles.

The name recorded by the Lord Lyon as part of any grant of arms or matriculation becomes the holder's name for all official purposes.

In a heterosexual married couple, if the husband is the holder of the Barony, the wife receives a courtesy title.

Scottish Barons rank below Lords of Parliament; while noble, they are not conventionally considered peerage titles.

[28] 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).'

The Lord Lyon only gives guidance and not governance on the wearing of feathers and recommends consulting with a clan chief.

An azure chapeau is appropriate for the heirs of ancient baronial families who are no longer owners of the estates.

This chapeau was a relatively recent armorial invention of the late Lord Lyon, Sir Thomas Innes of Learney.

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