NOBLE TITLES

[Plumpett@aol.com]

John Q. and Laurel ---

I can help a little with your question #2 ; You wrote ::

2.  If the Sinclairs were so important to Malcolm and Margaret , why didn't
William the Seemly get a  better title than just "baron"?  Question for FAQ 
???

The answer may lie in a better understanding of the titles themselves ---- 
focus on the thought you expressed of ""better title than just "baron " "" .

First , the older titles did not have the plurality common to latter times !  
That is to say , the oldest , most relevant titles were Baron and Earl . 
Other titles were 
" invented " much later  i.e.   Duke , Marquess, Viscount , etc. !!!

However , these later " inventions " were not indicative of more real power 
and that perhaps helps explain why there were often multiple titles held by 
an individual ; that is to say the lands , castles , powers and priviledges 
were incumbent in the " older " titles .

A grant usually was of TITLE which was accompanied by LAND , POWERS , 
PRIVILEDGES , RIGHTS ,  DUTIES , etc. 

And yes , before anyone is confused , I am purposely NOT addressing WARLORD , 
KING , HIGH KING , MORMAEIR , etc . .

Thus , you may find , that at the time period you are looking at for William 
the Seemly, the title of Baron was no small thing -- even later , it was the 
BARONS who forced the King to outline their " POWERS " in writing , in the 
MAGNA CARTA -- this document was not the rights of the lower or the middle 
class but rather those rights of the great landowners , the BARONS !!!

For an example . look at Prince Henry -- Knight , Baron of Roslin , Jarl ( 
EARL ) of Orkney , etc. The lands , castles , etc, were separate items .

Perhaps a better example was ROLLO -- he was " COUNT OF ROUEN " and that was 
a sufficient title to indicate his great power and vast LANDHOLDINGS .

MISC"L data --

(1) " Until the reign of Edward the III , the   Peerage consisted only of 
high  
       ecclesiastics , earls and barons .  The EARLS WERE BARONS .... and 
their   
       names always appear on the rolls before those of the barons ."

( 2) "Today there exists no Scottish dukedom , marquessate or viscounty 
.....created 
       before the reign of  James the VI . of Scotland . .....There are now 
only 87  
      Scottish Peerages in all -- 63 were created after James accession ". 

As you can see , when he was created a " Baron " , William joined a very 
small and very exclusive group !!!

Laurel , I provided most of the preceding from memory but I am sure of its 
accuracy -- I will be glad to look up sources to sustantiate everything or 
allow anyone to expand the detail , but I didn't want the letter to become 
too long or to obscure the relevant facts. . 

Regards to all 

JOE G.





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