A barony is an

administrative division Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

of a county in Scotland, Ireland, outlying parts of England and historically

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It has a lower rank and importance than a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Origin

A geographic barony is a remnant from mediaeval times of the area of land held under the form of

feudal land tenure Under the English feudal system several different forms of land tenure existed, each effectively a contract with differing rights and duties attached thereto. Such tenures could be either free-hold, signifying that they were hereditable or perpet ...

termed feudal barony, or barony by tenure, either an

English feudal barony In the kingdom of England, a feudal barony or barony by tenure was the highest degree of feudal land tenure, namely ''per baroniam'' (Latin for "by barony"), under which the land-holder owed the service of being one of the king's barons. The ...

, a

Scottish feudal barony 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, norma ...

or an

Irish feudal barony An Irish feudal barony was a customary title of nobility: the holder was always referred to as a Baron, but was not the holder of a peerage, and had no right to sit in the Irish House of Lords. In 1614 the Dublin Government noted that there were ...

, which all operated under different legal and social systems. Just as modern counties are no longer under the administrative control of a noble

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

, geographic baronies are generally no longer connected with feudal

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

s, certainly not in England where such tenure was abolished with the whole

feudal system Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

by the

Tenures Abolition Act 1660 The Tenures Abolition Act 1660 (12 Car 2 c 24), sometimes known as the Statute of Tenures, was an Act of the Parliament of England which changed the nature of several types of feudal land tenure in England. The long title of the Act was ''An act ...

. The position in Scotland is more complex, although the legal force of the Scottish feudal baron was abolished early in the 21st century.P. G. B. McNeill and H. L. MacQueen, eds, ''Atlas of Scottish History to 1707'' (University of Edinburgh: Edinburgh, 1996), pp. 201-7

Surviving examples

England

Two divisions of the

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

: *

Barony of Kendal The Barony of Kendal is a subdivision of the English Historic counties of England, historic county of Westmorland. It is one of two ancient barony (county division), baronies that make up the county, the other being the Barony of Westmorland (al ...

Barony of Westmorland The Barony of Westmorland (medieval Westmarieland or Westmaringaland) also known as North Westmorland, the Barony of Appleby, Appleshire or the Bottom of Westmorland, was one of two baronies making up the English historical county of Westmorlan ...

Scotland

Burgh of barony A burgh of barony was a type of Scottish town ( burgh). Burghs of barony were distinct from royal burghs, as the title was granted to a landowner who, as a tenant-in-chief, held his estates directly from the crown. (In some cases, they might also ...

List of Scottish feudal baronies 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, normal ...

Prescriptive barony 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, normal ...

* Barony of Balmore *

Barony of Cartsburn The barony of Cartsburn in the Baronage of Scotland was created for Thomas Crawfurd of Cartsburn in 1669, when the lands of Cartsburn in the Parish of Easter Greenock in the Shire of Renfrew were erected , as a free barony held of the Prince and G ...

Barony of Cowie The Barony of Cowie is a geographical and political division of land in Aberdeenshire, Scotland deriving from the Middle Ages. King Robert the Bruce conferred these lands of the Barony of Cowie, along with the Barony of Cluny and the Barony of Ki ...

* Barony of Craigie in Angus *

Barony of Dirleton Dirleton is a village and civil parish in East Lothian, Scotland approximately east of Edinburgh on the A198. It contains . Dirleton lies between North Berwick (east), Gullane (west), Fenton Barns (south) and the Yellowcraigs nature reserve, ...

Lordship and Barony of Hailes The Lordship and Barony of Hailes is a Scottish feudal lordship (a feudal barony of higher degree). Hailes is traditionally believed to have been founded by an Englishman, taken prisoner in the reign of David II of Scotland, who was rewarded with ...

* Barony of Ladyland * Barony of MacDuff * Barony of Mugdock *

Barony of Newton The Barony of Newton is a Scottish feudal barony located in the Parish of Bothkennar near Grangemouth, Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, gd, Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a historic county and registration countyRegisters o ...

Barony of Peacockbank The Barony of Peacockbank was in the old feudal Baillerie of Cunninghame, near Stewarton in what is now East Ayrshire, Scotland. The history of Peacockbank DobieDobie, James D. (ed Dobie, J.S.) (1876). ''Cunninghame, Topographized by Timothy Pon ...

* Barony of Plenderleith

Sweden

* In

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, the only Barony of Adelswärd.

Ireland

Barony (Ireland) In Ireland, a barony ( ga, barúntacht, plural ) is a historical subdivision of a county, analogous to the hundreds into which the counties of England were divided. Baronies were created during the Tudor reconquest of Ireland, replacing the ea ...

, a former unit of administration in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, below the level of the

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

and latterly not usually associated with any baronial title.

Norway

* In

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, the only Barony of Rosendal

References

Types of administrative division Defunct types of subdivision in the United Kingdom {{Geo-term-stub