A Lord of Parliament ( sco, Laird o Pairlament) was the holder of the lowest form of

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Be ...

, entitled as of right to take part in sessions of the pre- Union

Parliament of Scotland The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...

. Since that Union in 1707, it has been the lowest rank of the

Peerage of Scotland The Peerage of Scotland ( gd, Moraireachd na h-Alba, sco, Peerage o Scotland) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and for those peers created by the King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Unio ...

, ranking below a

viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicia ...

. A Lord of Parliament is said to hold a ''Lordship of Parliament''.

Details

The

peerage of Scotland The Peerage of Scotland ( gd, Moraireachd na h-Alba, sco, Peerage o Scotland) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and for those peers created by the King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Unio ...

differs from those of

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 ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, in that its lowest rank is not that of

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 kn ...

. In

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, the term "baron" refers to a

feudal baron A feudal baron is a vassal holding a heritable fief called a ''barony'', comprising a specific portion of land, granted by an overlord in return for allegiance and service. Following the end of European feudalism, feudal baronies have largely been ...

, considered to be a minor lord who is not a peer, approximately equal to a baron in some continental countries. The Scottish equivalent to the English baron is the Lord of Parliament. A male holder of such a

lordship A lordship is a territory held by a lord. It was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and judicial unit in rural areas. It originated as a unit under the feudal system during the Middle Ages. In a lordship, the functions of econ ...

is designated a "Lord of Parliament," while there is no similar designation for female holders. Lords of Parliament are referred to as ''Lord X'', while female holders of Lordships of Parliament are known as ''Lady X''. The wife of a Lord of Parliament is also ''Lady X''. Children of Lords of Parliament and female holders of Lordships of Parliament are styled ''The Honourable orename urname', except that the heir apparent to the peerage is styled ''The Master of eerage title'. Where succession by women is allowed, an heiress presumptive may be styled ''The Mistress of eerage title'. After the death of father and/or mother, the child may continue to use the style "the Honourable". The creation of Lordships of Parliament ceased when Scotland and

were combined into a single

Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of Union 1707, wh ...

in 1707, when their parliaments were merged. From 1707 to 1963 the Scottish peers were represented in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

representative peers In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords. Until 1999, all members of the Peerage of England held the right to ...

, but from 1963 to 1999 they were all entitled to sit there. However, the

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

removed the right of

hereditary peers The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of September 2022, there are 807 hereditary peers: 29 dukes (including five royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 190 earls, 111 viscounts, and 443 barons (disregarding subsidi ...

, including Lords of Parliament, to sit in the House of Lords, except that a number of hereditary peers do still sit, following election by hereditary peers. In 1999, two Lords of Parliament were so elected:

Lord Reay Lord Reay, of Reay in the County of Caithness, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. Lord Reay (pronounced "ray") is the hereditary Clan Chief of Clan Mackay, whose lands in Strathnaver and northwest Sutherland were known as the Reay Country. ...

and the

Lady Saltoun Lord Saltoun, of Abernethy, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1445 for Sir Lawrence Abernethy. The title remained in the Abernethy family until the death in 1669 of his descendant the tenth Lady Saltoun. She was succeeded ...

. Following the death of Lord Reay on 10 May 2013, only Lady Saltoun remained in parliament. Lady Saltoun resigned from the House of Lords in December 2014. No provision was made for Lords of Parliament to be specially represented in the current

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyr ...

, but the

Scotland Act 1998 The Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which legislated for the establishment of the devolved Scottish Parliament with tax varying powers and the Scottish Government (then Scottish Executive). It was o ...

provides that a person is not disqualified from membership of the Parliament merely because he or she is a peer (whether of the United Kingdom, Great Britain, England, Scotland, or Ireland).

Other uses

The term ''Lord/Lady of Parliament'' may also be used to refer to any member of the

. A prominent official example is in a Standing Order of the House of Lords: "''Bishops to whom a

writ of summons A writ of summons is a formal document issued by the monarch that enables someone to sit in a Parliament under the United Kingdom's Westminster system. At the beginning of each new Parliament, each person who has established their right to attend ...

have been issued are not Peers but are Lords of Parliament.''" House of Lords Standing Orders, Order 2
/ref>

References

{{reflist British noble titles * * Politics of Scotland Peerages in the United Kingdom

Details

Other uses

See also

References