74 2 
B A 
and the old Germans make mention of buffeting a baron , 
i. e. a ‘ villain ;’ as the Italians dill ufe the word bar one to 
fignify a ‘ beggar.’ M. de Marca derives baron from the 
German bar man or freeman ;’ others deduce it from ber , 
an old Gaulifh word, fignifying ‘commander others from 
the Hebrew j-d of the fame import; but the molt proba¬ 
ble opinion is, that it comes from the Spanilh varo, a ‘ flout 
noble perfon whence wives ufed to call their hulba.nds, 
and princes their tenants, barons. In the Salic law, as 
•well as the laws of the Lombards, the word baron figni- 
fies a man in the general; and the old glolfary of Philo- 
menes tranflates by avnq, man.] A perfon who holds a ba¬ 
rony. Baron is more particularly ufed, among us, fora 
peer of the lowed clafs; or a degree of nobility next be¬ 
low that of a vifcount, and above that of a knight or a 
baronet. In ancient records the word baron included all 
the nobility of England, becaufe regularly all noblemen 
were barons, though they had alfo a higher dignity. But 
it hath fometimes happened, that, when an ancient baron 
has been raifed to a new degree of peerage, in the courfe 
of a few generations the two titles have defcended diffe¬ 
rently ; one perhaps to the -male defendants, the other to 
the heirs general; whereby the earldom or other fuperior 
title hath lubfirted without a barony: and there are alfo 
modern inftances, where earls and vifcounts have been 
created without annexing a barony to their other honours : 
fo that now the rule doth not hold univerfally that all peers 
are barons. 
The origin of barons has occafioned great inquiries a- 
mong our Englirti antiquarians. The molt probable opi¬ 
nion is fuppofed to be, that they were the fame with our 
prefent lords of manors; to which the name of court ba¬ 
ron (which is the lord’s court, and incident to every ma¬ 
nor) gives fome countenance. It is faid the original name 
of this dignity in England was vavaffour, which by the 
Saxons was changed into thane, and by the Normans into 
baron. It may be collected from king John’s Magna Char- 
ta, that originally all lords of manors, or barons, had feats 
in the great council or parliament: but fuch is the defici¬ 
ency of public records, that the fird precept to be found 
is of no higher date than the 49th year of Henry III. which, 
although it was ilfued out in the king’s name, Was neither 
by his'authority nor by his direction: for, not only the 
Icing himfelf, but his fon prince Edward, and molt of the 
nobility who flood loyal to him, were then prifoners in the 
hands of the rebellious barons; having been fo made in 
the month of May preceding, at the battle of Lewes, and 
fo continued until the memorable battle of Evelham, which 
happened in Augult the year following; when, by t)ie 
happy efcape of prince Edward, he refcued the king and 
his adherents out of the hands of Simon Mountfort earl 
of Leicefter. It cannot be doubted but that feveral par¬ 
liaments were held by Henry III. and Edward I. yet no 
record is to be found (except the 5th of Edward I.) until 
the 22d year of the lad-mentioned king. 
Before the 49th of Henry III. the ancient parliaments 
confided of the archbifhops, bifhops, abbots, earls, and ba¬ 
rons. Of thefe barons there were two forts: the greater 
barons, dr the king’s chief tenants, who held of him in 
capite by barony; and the leffer barons, who held of the 
fird by military fervice in capite. The former had fum¬ 
mons to parliament by feveral writs; and the latter (i.e. 
all thofe who were pofieffed of thirteen knights fees and a 
quarter) had a general fummons from the fheriff in each 
county. Thus things continued till the 49th of Hen. III. 
But then, indead of keeping to the old form, the prevail¬ 
ing powers thought fit to fummon, not all, but only thofe 
of the greater barons who were of their party ; and, in- 
ftead of the leffer barons who came with large retinues, to 
fiend their precepts to the fheriff of each county, to caufe 
two knights in every fliire to be chofen, and one or two 
burgelfes for each borough, to reprefent the body of the 
people refiding in thofe counties and boroughs; which 
gave rife to the feparation into two houfes of parliament. 
By degrees the title came to be confined to the greater ba¬ 
it O N. 
rons, or lords of parliament only; and there were no other 
barons among the peerage but fuch as were fummoned by 
writ, in refpedl of the tenure of their lands or baronies,, 
till Richard II. fird made it a mere title of honour by con¬ 
ferring it on divers perfons by letters patent. 
When a baron is called up to the houfe of peers by writ 
of fummons, the writ is in the king’s name, and heis.di- 
reCled to come to the parliament appointed to be held at a- 
certain time and place, and there to treat and advife with 
his majedy, the prelates, and nobility, about the weighty 
affairs of the nation. The ceremony of the admilfion of a 
baron into the houfe of peers is thus : He is brought into 
the houfe between two barons, who condufl him to the 
lord chancellor, his patent or writ of fummons being car¬ 
ried by a king at arms, who prefents it kneeling to the lord 
chancellor, who reads it, and then congratulates him oil 
his becoming a member of the houfe of peers, and inverts 
him with his parliamentary robe. The patent is then de¬ 
livered to the clerk of the parliament, and the oaths are 
adminirtered to the new peer, who is then conduded to 
his feat on the barons bench. Some barons hold their feats 
by tenure. The fird who was raifed to this dignity by 
patent was John de Beauchamp of Holt Cartle, created 
baron of Kidderminder in Worcerterfhire, to him and his 
heirs male, by Richard II. in the nth year of his reign. 
He inverted him with a mantle and cap. The coronation- 
robes of a baron are the fame as an earl’s, except that he 
has only two rows of fpots on each fhoulder. In like man¬ 
ner, his parliamentary robes have but two guards of white 
fur, with rows of gold lace. In other refpeds they are 
the fame as other peers. Charles II. granted a coronet to 
the barons. It has fix pearls, fet at equal diftances, 011 
the chaplet. His cap is the fame as a vifeount’s. His 
dyle is Right Honourable ; and he is ftyled by the king or 
queen, Right Trujly and Well-beloved. 
Barons of the Exchequer , the four judges to whom the ad- 
minirtration of jurtice is committed, in caufes between the 
king and his fubjetls relating to matters concerning the re¬ 
venue. They were formerly barons of the realm, but of 
late are generally perfons learned in the laws. Their of¬ 
fice is alfo to look into the accounts of the king, for which 
reafon they have auditors under them. See Exchequer. 
Barons of the Cinque Ports are members of the houfe of 
commons, elefled by thofe ports, two for each port. See 
the article Cin qj/e Ports. 
Baron (Robert), a dramatic author, who lived in the 
reign of Charles 1 . and protedlorfhip of Cromwell. He 
received the earlier parts of his education at Cambridge, 
after which he became a member of the fociety of Gray’s 
Inn. While at the univerfity, he wrote a novel called the 
Cyprian Academy, in which he introduced the two fird 
ot the dramatic pieces mentioned below. The third of 
them is a much more regular and perfefl play, and was 
probably written when the author had attained a riper age. 
The names of them are, 1. Deorum Dona, a mafque. 2. 
Gripus and Hegio, a padoral. 3. Mirza, a tragedy. Mr. 
Baron had a particular intimacy with the celebrated Mr. 
James Howell, the great traveller, in whofe colleflion of 
Letters there is one to this gentleman. To Mr. Howell, 
and to all the ladies of England, he has dedicated his ro¬ 
mance. 
Baron (Michael), an excellent comedian of Paris, was 
the fon of Michael Baron, who was of the fame profef- 
fion, and a native of IlTbudun. He wrote fome poems, 
and feveral theatrical pieces, in 2 vols. 121T10. He died at 
Paris in 1729, aged feventy-feven. 
BARON and FEME, is the law-term for hufband and 
wife, and includes the edablifbed law between or concern¬ 
ing them. Our law confiders marriage in no other light 
than as a civil contaff. The holinefs of the matrimonial 
date is left entirely to the ecclefiartical law; the temporal 
courts not having jurifditrtion to confider unlawful mar¬ 
riage as a fin, but merely as a civil inconvenience. The 
punifhment therefore, or annulling of inceduous and un- 
fcriptural marriages, is the province of the fpiritual court. 
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