Baronage of Scotland
| The chapeau (or cap of maintenance) represents Scot barons in historical heraldry instead of a coronet |
| The Ancient Nobility of the Baronage of Scotland |
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| Convention of the Three Estates |
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.
The Court of the Lord Lyon representing the monarch in Scotland, institutional writers, the registry of Scots Nobility, the Scottish Law Commission Government Website, UK Government Legislation Website and the Scottish Parliament all refer to the noble title of a Scottish baron.
These titles were historically called feudal titles, which is incorrect today. When Scotland abolished feudalism in 2004, baronial titles that were once feudal baronies were transformed into personal dignities in law (or baronage titles), disconnected from territorial privileges.
Rights in relation to Parliament
Some sources, such as the Manorial Society, mistakenly claim that Scottish baronies are equivalent to English Lords of the Manor, asserting that "Scottish Baronies are essentially what in England are called ‘manors’, but are called ‘baronies’." However, this is incorrect. Scottish barons held a noble rank granted by the King through a crown charter, conferring pre-eminences, precedence, and privileges, including a seat in the Scottish Parliament as part of the ancient Three Estates. When attending in person, they sat among the nobility of the Second Estate. In contrast, Lords of the Manor were not titles granted by the King and did not constitute a noble rank or heraldic rights, but were rather a style applied to the owners of estates. In Scotland, the equivalent title to a Lord of the Manor is Laird. In 1428, an Act permitted lesser barons to elect commissioners to represent them, largely due to the expense and danger of travel in those times. These elected commissioners were seated with the Burgh and Shire representatives of the Third Estate. The barons' personal right to attend Parliament, however, was never abolished and continued until the Union of 1707. Many of the greater barons, through power and royal favour, were elevated over time to higher dignities – becoming Lords of Parliament, Earls or Dukes – with prominent roles in the national governance of the Kingdom. Meanwhile, barons retained dominance over local affairs through the exercise of justice in their baron's courts. In medieval Scotland, territorial baronies formed the foundation of noble status, with personal peerage titles conferred by the Crown developing later but firmly established prior to the Acts of Union in 1707.
A Scottish barony is arguably the only UK title of nobility which can be legally alienated from the bloodline of its previous possessor. It is not subject to the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925, a law for new grants and these are existing titles and Scottish baronies by their nature were erected in crown charters as free baronies and are thus freely assignable. 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 dignity of baron is protected in law by the Scottish Parliament after the abolition of the feudal system in the Abolition of Feudal Tenure, etc. (Scotland) Act 2000, which came into force in 2004. After this date extant feudal titles ceased to be feudal, becoming non-territorial dignities, no longer attached to the land. It is incorrect to refer to them as "feudal barons" today. The correct term is simply "baron."
Heraldry for Scottish baronies is governed by the Court of the Lord Lyon. Scottish baronies may be passed to any person, of either sex, by inheritance or assignation.
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, was at once herald and judge.
The Scottish baronage predates the Scottish peerage and they coexist to this day. The Scottish equivalent of an English baron is a Lord of Parliament.