Baron | baron
Baron,femininebaroness,titleofnobility[1],rankingbelowaviscount[2](orbelowacount[3]incountrieswithoutviscounts).Inthefeudalsystem[4]ofEurope,abaronwasa“man”whopledgedhisloyaltyandservicetohissuperiorinreturnforlandthathecouldpasstohisheirs.Thesuperior,sovereign[5]inhisprincipality,heldhislands“ofnoone”—i.e.,independently—andthebaronwashistenant-in-chief.Inearlyfeudaltimesthebaroninturn,inaprocessofsubinfeudation,mighthavehadhisownsubordinatebarons.ThispracticewasdiscontinuedinEngland[6]whenK...
Baron, feminine baroness, title of nobility[1], ranking below a viscount[2] (or below a count[3] in countries without viscounts). In the feudal system[4] of Europe, a baron was a “man” who pledged his loyalty and service to his superior in return for land that he could pass to his heirs. The superior, sovereign[5] in his principality, held his lands “of no one”—i.e., independently—and the baron was his tenant-in-chief. In early feudal times the baron in turn, in a process of subinfeudation, might have had his own subordinate barons. This practice was discontinued in England[6] when King Edward I[7] recognized the political and fiscal dangers it posed.
Great BritainIn England the Norman kings assembled advisory councils of the more powerful barons. As these councils evolved into Parliaments larger numbers of barons, as well as representatives of the church, burgesses, and knights of the shires, were summoned to attend the meetings.
The early baron held his lands...