Barony (administrative division) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Tenure by barony was the higher feudal tenure of a lord who had subordinate knights. Originally, a barony was the land subject to a baron

Baron

Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...

and could, in England after the Norman Conquest, consist of estates scattered throughout the country or in several regions (see, for example, the barony of the earl of Pembroke

Earl of Pembroke

Earl of Pembroke is a title created ten times, all in the Peerage of England. It was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, which is the site of Earldom's original seat Pembroke Castle...

, with estates in England, Ireland, and Normandy). A mediaeval

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

barony might comprise more than one manor

Manor house

A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...

or fief, and the principal manor often had a castle

Castle

A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

. It is sometimes difficult to be sure whether a particular estate was considered a barony or not, partly because at times the status of a baron was more than a matter of mere tenure.

In some cases, chiefly in Scotland, Ireland and outlying parts of England, a barony constituted an administrative division

Administrative division

An administrative division, subnational entity, or country subdivision is a portion of a country or other political division, established for the purpose of government. Administrative divisions are each granted a certain degree of autonomy, and are required to manage themselves through their own...

of a country, usually of lower rank and importance than a county

County

A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...

. Just as counties are no longer necessarily connected with a noble earl

Earl

An earl is a member of the nobility. The title is Anglo-Saxon, akin to the Scandinavian form jarl, and meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. In Scandinavia, it became obsolete in the Middle Ages and was replaced with duke...

or count

Count

A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...

, there are baronies which are not connected with a baron any more.

Instances include:

Barony (Ireland)
Barony (Ireland)
In Ireland, a barony is a historical subdivision of a county. They were created, like the counties, in the centuries after the Norman invasion, and were analogous to the hundreds into which the counties of England were divided. In early use they were also called cantreds...

, a former unit of administration in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, below the level of the counties
Counties of Ireland
The counties of Ireland are sub-national divisions used for the purposes of geographic demarcation and local government. Closely related to the county is the County corporate which covered towns or cities which were deemed to be important enough to be independent from their counties. A county...

and latterly not usually associated with any baronial title.

Two divisions of the county
Counties of England
Counties of England are areas used for the purposes of administrative, geographical and political demarcation. For administrative purposes, England outside Greater London and the Isles of Scilly is divided into 83 counties. The counties may consist of a single district or be divided into several...

of Westmorland
Westmorland
Westmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the entirety of the county was absorbed into the new county of Cumbria.-Early history:...

in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

:
- Barony of Kendal
  Barony of Kendal
  The Barony of Kendal is a subdivision of the English county of Westmorland. It is one of two baronies in the county, the other being the Barony of Westmorland, and contains within it the wards of Kendal and Lonsdale...
- Barony of Westmorland
  Barony of Westmorland
  The Barony of Westmorland was one of two baronies into which the English county of Westmorland was divided, the other being the Barony of Kendal. The barony covered the northern part of the county, and was divided into two wards — East ward and West ward. The barony included...

In Scotland:
- Burgh of barony
  Burgh of barony
  A burgh of barony is a type of Scottish town .They were distinct from royal burghs as the title was granted to a tenant-in-chief, a landowner who held his estates directly from the crown....
- List of Scottish feudal baronies
- Prescriptive barony
- Barony of Cartsburn
  Barony of Cartsburn
  The Barony of Cartsburn in the Baronage of Scotland was created for Thomas Crawfurd of Cartsburn in 1669, when the lands of Cartsburn in the Parish of Easter Greenock in the Shire of Renfrew were erected in liberam baronium, as a free Barony held of the Prince and Great Steward of Scotland...
- Barony of Cowie
  Barony of Cowie
  The Barony of Cowie is a geographical and political division of land in Aberdeenshire, Scotland deriving from the Middle Ages. King Robert the Bruce conferred these lands of the Barony of Cowie, along with the Barony of Cluny and the Barony of Kinnaird upon Alexander Fraser of Touchfraser and...
- Barony of Craigie in Angus
  Scottish feudal Barony of Craigie
  The Barony of Craigie is a Scottish feudal Crown barony within and near Dundee in Scotland. Craigie has long been incorporated within the boundaries of the Royal Burgh of Dundee; before that it was a barony lying on the periphery of the town....
- Barony of Dirleton
- Lordship and Barony of Hailes
  Lordship and Barony of Hailes
  The Lordship and Barony of Hailes is a Scottish feudal lordship .Hailes is traditionally believed to have been founded by an Englishman, taken prisoner in the reign of David II of Scotland, who was rewarded with the grant of lands in East Lothian for having on rescued the Earl of Dunbar and March...
- Barony of Ladyland
  Barony of Ladyland
  The Barony of Ladyland was in the old feudal Baillerie of Cunninghame, near Kilbirnie in what is now North Ayrshire, Scotland.- The history of the Barony of Ladyland :...
- Barony of Peacockbank
  Barony of Peacockbank
  The Barony of Peacockbank was in the old feudal Baillerie of Cunninghame, near Stewarton in what is now East Ayrshire, Scotland.-The history of Peacockbank:...
- Barony of Plenderleith

In Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

, the only Barony of Rosendal
Barony Rosendal
Barony Rosendal is a historic estate and manor situated in Kvinnherad in Hordaland county, Norway.-History:The history of Rosendal dates back to the 1650s, when the nobleman Ludvig Holgersen Rosenkrantz came to Bergen as commissioner of war for the Danish king...

See also