Baron
Baron is a title of honour in many European peerage systems. It is often a hereditary title that ranks as the one of the lower titles in a peerage. In the UK peerage system, the five peerage titles from highest to lowest are duke, marquess, earl, viscount and baron.[1] Baronets and knights are not members of the peerage although a baron may also be a knight. In the feudalism of medieval England a baron was a tenant-in-chief who held his lands directly from the king.[2] During the 13th century barons were summoned by royal writ to attend Parliament.[3]
The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Frankish baro meaning "freeman, warrior". It later merged with Old English beorn meaning "nobleman." The lands of a baron are called a barony. The female title for a baron is baroness. The form of address for a baron is "Lord" and for a baroness "Lady".[4]
Baron Media
A lord of Parliament, also called a baron, illustrated in the manuscript "Théâtre de tous les peuples et nations de la terre avec leurs habits et ornemens divers, tant anciens que modernes, diligemment depeints au naturel". Painted by Lucas d'Heere in the second half of the 16th century. Preserved in the Ghent University Library.
The robe worn by a baron during his creation ceremony in 17th-century Britain, engraved by Wenceslas Hollar.
Coronet of a British baron
A Scottish baron's helmet.
Pierre Victor, Baron de Besenval de Brunstatt, usually just referred to as Baron de Besenval (the suffix Brunstatt refers to the former barony), portrayed at the Hôtel de Besenval in 1791 by Henri-Pierre Danloux.
Baron Hieronymus von Münchhausen (1720–1797), on the basis of which Rudolf Erich Raspe wrote the tales of Baron Munchausen.
Baron C. G. E. Mannerheim in 1920
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References
- ↑ "Ranks and Privileges of the Peerage". Debrett's. Archived from the original on 12 June 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
- ↑ "Feudal Terms". University of Mississippi. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
- ↑ "Baron". Debrett's. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
- ↑ Titles and Forms of Address: A Guide to Correct Use (London: A. & C. Black, 2007), p. 45
