A barony is an

administrative division Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

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

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

. As a barony is associated to a

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

and a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

to a

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. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...

, it has a lower rank and importance than a

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 if they were hereditable or perpetual or non-fr ...

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 d ...

, a

Scottish feudal barony In Scotland, "baron" or "baroness" is a rank of the ancient nobility of the Baronage of Scotland, a hereditary Imperial, royal and noble ranks, title of honour, and refers to the holder of a barony, erected into a free barony by Crown Charter, ...

or an Irish feudal barony, 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. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...

, geographic baronies are generally no longer connected with feudal

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

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

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

by the

Tenures Abolition Act 1660 The Tenures Abolition Act 1660 ( 12 Cha. 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 ' ...

. 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 an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

: *

Barony of Kendal The Barony of Kendal is a subdivision of the English historic county of Westmorland. It evolved from one of two ancient baronies that make up the county, the other being the Barony of Westmorland (also known as North Westmorland, or the Barony ...

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 *

Prescriptive barony In Scotland, "baron" or "baroness" is a rank of the ancient nobility of the Baronage of Scotland, a hereditary Imperial, royal and noble ranks, title of honour, and refers to the holder of a barony, erected into a free barony by Crown Charter, ...

* Barony of Balmore * Barony of Cartsburn * Barony of Cowie * Barony of Craigie in Angus * Barony of Dirleton * Lordship and Barony of Hailes * Barony of Ladyland * Barony of MacDuff * Barony of Mugdock * Barony of Newton * Barony of Peacockbank * Barony of Plenderleith

Sweden

* Barony of Adelswärd.

Ireland

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

, a former unit of administration in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, below the level of the

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

and latterly not usually associated with any baronial title; today lacking any administrative function but in active use as

cadastral A cadastre or cadaster ( ) is a comprehensive recording of the real estate or real property's metes and bounds, metes-and-bounds of a country.Jo Henssen, ''Basic Principles of the Main Cadastral Systems in the World,'/ref> Often it is represente ...

divisions for

land registration Land registration is any of various systems by which matters concerning ownership, Possession (law), possession, or other rights in Real estate, land are formally recorded (usually with a government agency or department) to provide evidence of ti ...

and

planning permission Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to buil ...

purposes.

Norway

* Barony of Rosendal

References

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