Baronage of Scotland

In Scotland, a "baron" or "baroness" holds a barony within the Baronage of Scotland, recognised as titled nobility. The holder of a barony having the status of a minor baron. Scottish baronies are heritabletitles of honour, originally created by Crown charter from the medieval period onward. They are distinct from the Peerage of Scotland; a Scottish baron is noble but not a peer, and the Scottish equivalent of an English baron is the higher title of Lord of Parliament. Scottish baronies differ from British peerage and baronetage titles in that they may be succeeded by alienation, not solely by inheritance. Unlike these titles, they are not governed by strict succession rules and have remainders to "heirs and assignees", as stated in Crown charters. These titles are also excluded from the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925, since they are not newly created honours but existing dignities recognised in law.

Historically, a barony combined a defined estate with land with local jurisdictional power; barons administered justice through baron's courts, and sat in the Parliament of Scotland. Their powers were curtailed in the 18th century, and Scottish baronies survived into modern times principally as titles of honour attached to land. Although being historically referred to as feudal barons, the term feudal is now incorrect. The Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000, which came into force in 2004, severed baronies from the land to which they had been attached. They became non-territorial dignities, or personal honours in law, with no associated land rights. The heraldic privileges associated with a barony are regulated by the Court of the Lord Lyon, although the Lord Lyon King of Arms has no jurisdiction over the assignation of the title itself.