Laird

Laird (/ˈlɛərd/) , the Scots pronunciation of "Lord" (spelling follows pronunciation in Scots), is a generic name for the owner of a large, long-established Scottish estate, roughly equivalent to an esquire in England, yet ranking above the same in Scotland. In the Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranks below a baron and above a gentleman. This rank is held only by those lairds holding official recognition in a territorial designation by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. They are usually styled [name] [surname] of [lairdship], and are traditionally entitled to place The Much Honoured before their name.[1][2]

For other uses, see Laird (disambiguation).

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Ministerialis
The Much Hon. Richard Lauder, Laird of Haltoun

Although the UK Government deems that "for Scottish lairds it is not necessary for the words Laird of to appear on any part of a passport, requests from applicants and passport holders for manorial titles and Scottish lairds to be included in their passports may be accepted providing documentary evidence is submitted, and recorded in the passport with the observation e.g.: THE HOLDER IS THE LORD OF THE MANOR/LAIRD OF ....... ".[3]

The Lord Lyon, Scotland's authority on titles, has produced the following guidance regarding the current use of the term laird as a courtesy title:

The term ‘laird’ has generally been applied to the owner of an estate, sometimes by the owner himself or, more commonly, by those living and working on the estate. It is a description rather than a title, and is not appropriate for the owner of a normal residential property, far less the owner of a small souvenir plot of land. The term ‘laird’ is not synonymous with that of ‘lord’ or ‘lady’. Ownership of a souvenir plot of land is not sufficient to bring a person otherwise ineligible within the jurisdiction of the Lord Lyon for the purpose of seeking a grant of arms.[4]

Historically, the term bonnet laird was applied to rural, petty landowners, as they wore a bonnet like the non-landowning classes. Bonnet lairds filled a position in society below lairds and above husbandmen (farmers), similar to the yeomen of England.[5]

Etymology

"Laird" (earlier "Lard") is the now-standard Scots pronunciation (and spelling, which is phonetic) of the word that is pronounced and spelled in standard English "lord".[6] As can be seen in the Middle English version of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales,[7] specifically in the Reeve's Tale, Northern Middle English had "a" where Southern Middle English had "o", a difference still found in standard English "two" and Scots "twa".

The Scots and Northern English dialectal variant Laird has been recorded in writing since the 13th century, as a surname, and in its modern context since the middle of the 15th century. It is derived from the Northern Middle English laverd, itself derived from the Old English word hlafweard meaning "warden of loaves".[8] The Standard English variant, lord, is of the same origin, and would have formerly been interchangeable with laird; however, in modern usage the term "lord" is associated with a peerage title, and thus the terms have come to have separate meanings. In Scotland, however, the title Baron represents a lower rank than it does in England, the rank equal to the English Baron being the Lord of Parliament in Scotland (e.g. Lord Lovat).

History and definition
Carving believed to depict a 16th-century Scottish laird

In the 15th and 16th centuries, the designation was used for land owners holding directly of the Crown, and therefore were entitled to attend Parliament. Lairds reigned over their estates like princes, their castles forming a small court. Originally in the 16th and 17th centuries, the designation was applied to the head chief of a highland clan and therefore was not personal property and had obligations towards the community.[9]

The laird may possess certain local or feudal rights. A lairdship carried voting rights in the ancient pre-Union Parliament of Scotland, although such voting rights were expressed via two representatives from each county who were known as Commissioners of the Shires, who came from the laird class and were chosen by their peers to represent them. A certain level of landownership was a necessary qualification (40 shillings of old extent). A laird is said to hold a lairdship. A woman who holds a lairdship in her own right has been styled with the honorific "Lady".[10]

Although "laird" is sometimes translated as lord and historically signifies the same, like the English term lord of the manor "laird" is not a title of nobility. The designation is a 'corporeal hereditament' (an inheritable property that has an explicit tie to the physical land), i.e. the designation cannot be held in gross, and cannot be bought and sold without selling the physical land. The designation does not entitle the owner to sit in the House of Lords and is the Scottish equivalent to an English squire, in that it is not a noble title, more a courtesy designation meaning landowner with no other rights assigned to it. A laird possessing a Coat of Arms registered in the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland is a member of Scotland's minor nobility. Such a person can be recognised as a laird, if not a chief or chieftain, or descendant of one of these, by the formal recognition of a territorial designation as a part of their name by the Lord Lyon.[11][12] The Lord Lyon is the ultimate arbiter as to determining entitlement to a territorial designation, and his right of discretion in recognising these, and their status as a name, dignity or title, have been confirmed in the Scottish courts.[13]

Today
See also: False titles of nobility and Souvenir Plots (Scotland)

A study in 2003 by academics at the Universities of Edinburgh and Aberdeen concluded that:

"The modern Scottish Highland sporting estate continues to be a place owned by an absentee landowner who uses its 15-20,000 acres for hunting and family holidays. While tolerating public access, he (82% of lairds are male) feels threatened by new legislation, and believes that canoeing and mountain-biking should not take place on his estate at all".[14]

A contemporary popular view of Lairdship titles has taken a unique twist in the 21st century with sales of souvenir plots from sellers who obtain no legal right to the title. A souvenir plot is defined in the Land Registration (Scotland) Act 2012 as “a piece of land which, being of inconsiderable size or no practical utility”.[15] Several websites, and internet vendors on websites like eBay, sell Scottish lairdships along with minuscule "plots of land" – usually one foot squared. The Court of the Lord Lyon considers these particular titles to be meaningless[16][17] because it is impossible to have numerous "lairds" of a single estate at the same time, as has been advertised by these companies.[18][19]

However, despite the law and guidance by the Court of the Lord Lyon, the sellers view the contract purporting to sell a plot of Scottish souvenir land as bestowing the Buyer with the informal right to the title of Laird. This is despite the fact that the buyer does not acquire ownership of the plot because registration of the plot is prohibited by Land Registration (Scotland) Act 2012, s 22 (1)(b). As ownership of land in Scotland requires registration of a valid disposition under Land Registration (Scotland) Act 2012, s 50 (2) the prohibition on registration of a souvenir plot means the buyer does not acquire ownership, and accordingly has no entitlement to a descriptive title premised on landownership.[20]

Traditional and current forms of address
The Laird, a figurine by Royal Doulton
In 1988, Kinnaird Castle was the wedding venue of the Laird and Lady of Kinnaird

Traditionally, a laird is formally styled in the manner evident on the 1730 tombstone in a Scottish churchyard. It reads: "The Much Honoured [Forename (John)] [Surname (Grant)] Laird of [Lairdship (Glenmoriston)]". The section titled Scottish Feudal Baronies in Debrett's states that the use of the prefix "The Much Hon." is "correct", but that "most lairds prefer the unadorned name and territorial designation".[21][22]

Another acceptable style is: "The Much Honoured" The Laird of [Lairdship]"[23]

Currently, the most formal style for the wife of a laird remains "Lady",[24][25] as is a woman who holds a lairdship in her own right. Both women can be formally styled as "The Much Honoured [Forename] [Surname] of [Lairdship]". The National Portrait Gallery holds a 1992 portrait of Catherine Maxwell Stuart, 21st Lady of Traquair.[26][27][28]

In 1988, the Newcastle Journal informed their readers that upon her marriage to Mr Stuart Stout, a Scottish laird, "the former Mrs Audrey Gregory, 61 will now be known as the Lady of Kinnaird". Marrying at Kinnaird Castle, Lady Kinnaird died in 2006.[29][30]

In the UK television series Monarch of the Glen, (based on the 1941 novel by Sir Compton Mackenzie), the wife of "Hector Naismith MacDonald, Laird of Glenbogle" is typically accorded the courtesy title "Lady of Glenbogle".[31]

Other current styles are "The Much Honoured [Forename] [Surname], Lady [Lairdship]".[32]

George V and his wife Queen Mary were reported as being "The Laird and Lady of Balmoral" by the Scottish press in the 1920s and 30s.[33]

The male heir apparent of a lairdship is entitled to use the courtesy title "The Younger" (abbreviation Yr or yr) at the end of his name. The eldest daughter – if the heir apparent – is entitled to use the courtesy title "Maid of [Lairdship]" at the end of her name. Alternatively, she is known as "Miss [Surname] of [Lairdship]", as would be an only daughter. It is not the custom for younger sons of a chief, chieftain or laird to use either the "Younger" or the territorial title. The younger children of a laird are styled as "Mr [Forename] [Surname]" if male, and "Miss [Forename] [Surname] of [Lairdship]" if female.[34]

None of these styles are of the peerage.

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See also

References
  1. Innes of Learney, T. (1956). Scots Heraldry (2nd ed.). Edinburgh & London: R. & R. Clark Limited.
  2. Davis, Graeme (31 July 2009). How to Trace Your Ancestry From Your Own Computer. Hachette UK, 31 July 2009. ISBN 978-1-84803-355-9. Retrieved 23 May 2014. The Scottish title "Laird" is a courtesy title with no legal status...in reality, certain long-established estates have the title attached to them...
  3. "Titles" (PDF). UK Government. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 June 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2014. ....Manorial titles....The Lord Lyon King of Arms has also confirmed that for Scottish Lairds it is not necessary for the words "Laird of" to appear on any part of a passport. Requests from applicants and passport holders for Manorial titles and Scottish Lairds to be included in their passports may be accepted providing documentary evidence is submitted, and recorded in the passport with the observation e.g.: THE HOLDER IS THE LORD OF THE MANOR OF.......(THE HOLDER IS THE LAIRD OF......)
  4. "The Court of the Lord Lyon: Lairds". 24 October 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  5. "Definition of bonnet laird". Merriam-Webster (Dictionary). Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  6. "Dictionary of the Scots Language". Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  7. {{title=The Canterbury Tales (edited by Jill Mann) Penguin Classics 2005
  8. "Online Etymology Dictionary – laird". Archived from the original on 25 March 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  9. Perelman, p.141 ( ch. 7 )
  10. Adam, F.; Innes of Learney, T. (1952). The Clans, Septs, and Regiments of the Scottish Highlands (4th ed.). Edinburgh & London: W. & A.K. Johnston Limited.
  11. "How to address a Chief, Chieftain or Laird". Debrett's Forms of Address. Debrett's. Archived from the original on 28 May 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2010.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  12. Adam, F.; Innes of Learney, T. (1952). The Clans, Septs, and Regiments of the Scottish Highlands (4th ed.). Edinburgh & London: W. & A.K. Johnston Limited. p. 401. Scottish law and nobiliary practice, like those of many other European realms, recognise a number of special titles, some of which relate to chiefship and chieftaincy of families and groups as such, others being in respect of territorial lairdship. These form part of the Law of Name which falls under the jurisdiction of the Lord Lyon King of Arms, and are recognised by the Crown. [...] As regards these chiefly, clan, and territorial titles, by Scots law each proprietor of an estate is entitled to add the name of his property to his surname, and if he does this consistently, to treat the whole as a title or name, and under Statute 1672 cap. 47, to subscribe himself so
  13. "OPINION OF THE COURT delivered by LORD MARNOCH". Court of Session. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  14. "The Highland sporting estate: Absentee landlords slow to embrace change". Archived from the original on 11 August 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  15. "Caution the souvenir hunters". Journal of the Law Society of Scotland. 16 April 2012.
  16. "Scottish Highland Titles". faketitles.com. Archived from the original on 6 April 2009. Retrieved 18 June 2009.
  17. Cramb, Auslan (11 December 2004). "How to lord it over your friends for only £29.99". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 25 February 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  18. "The Ludicrous 'Scottish Laird' Scams". Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  19. "New Internet Con Selling Phoney Lairdships". Archived from the original on 26 April 2012.
  20. "The Court of the Lord Lyon". July 2016. Archived from the original on 28 July 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  21. "Scottish Feudal Baronies". debretts.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2016. The use of the prefix "The Much Hon." for barons and chiefs is correct, but used only in the most formal circumstances. "Esq." is not required, and "Mr." is incorrect. Most barons and lairds of old Scottish families prefer the unadorned name and territorial designation – Ian Shand of Pitscot – similar to the "de" or "von" of Continental families...
  22. Rogers, Charles (1872). "Monuments and Monumental Inscriptions in Scotland, Volume 2 – Parish of Urquhart and Glenmoriston". Grampian Club. p. 383. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  23. Adam, Frank (1970). The Clans, Septs & Regiments of the Scottish Highlands. Genealogical Publishing Com. p. 410. ISBN 978-0-8063-0448-9. Retrieved 26 January 2016. In personal letters...(The) old pre-fix of a laird or chief was "The Much Honoured"...where husband and wife are referred to, the correct styles are "Glenfalloch and the Lady Glenfalloch"
  24. Titles and Forms of Address. Bloomsbury Publishing. 31 January 2007. ISBN 978-1-4081-4812-9. Retrieved 26 January 2016. The widow of a chief or laird continues to use the territorial style and the prefix Dowager may be used in the same circumstances as where it is applied to a Peeress. … In rural Scotland their [i.e., lairds'] wives are often styled Lady, though not legally except in the case of the wives of chiefs.
  25. Adam, Frank (1970). The Clans, Septs & Regiments of the Scottish Highlands. Genealogical Publishing Com. p. 410. ISBN 978-0-8063-0448-9. Retrieved 26 January 2016. In personal letters...(The) old pre-fix of a laird or chief was "The Much Honoured"...where husband and wife are referred to, the correct styles are "Glenfalloch and Lady Jean Campbell of Glenfalloch" ..(also).. "Monaltrie and the Lady Monaltrie"
  26. "Catherine Maxwell Stuart, 21st Lady of Traquair". National Portrait Gallery. National Portrait Gallery, London 2018. Archived from the original on 6 September 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2018. Catherine Maxwell Stuart, 21st Lady of Traquair by Bob Collins NPG x137506 – September 1992
  27. "The Feudal Baronies of Scotland". Debretts 'Correct Form'. 2002. p. 99. Archived from the original on 22 January 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016. ...a wife of a laird was invariably described as 'Lady', followed by the husband's territorial designation, e.g. the wife of Cameron of Lochiel was called Lady Lochiel....the laird's wife came to adopt her husband's full surname, and not just the territorial designation, e.g. "Joan Cameron, Lady Lochiel...
  28. Titles and Forms of Address. Bloomsbury Publishing. 31 January 2007. ISBN 978-1-4081-4812-9. Retrieved 26 January 2016. The widow of a chief or laird continues to use the territorial style and the prefix Dowager may be used in the same circumstances as where it is applied to a Peeress. … In rural Scotland their [i.e., lairds'] wives are often styled Lady, though not legally except in the case of the wives of chiefs.
  29. "Castle-wedding for Laird and his Lady". 5 March 1988 – Newcastle Journal Northumberland, England. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018. Castle Wedding for Laird and his Lady – A FAIRYTALE romance had a happy ending yesterday....... widow married the Scottish Laird in his 12th century castle. The former Mrs Audrey Gregory, 61, will now be known as the Lady of Kinnaird, after marrying Mr Stuart Stout....
  30. "Tayside Motor Trader Stuart Stout". The Courier and Advertiser – 31 March 2014. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  31. "Susan Hampshire: Monarch of the TV". Leigh Journal. 17 October 2003. Archived from the original on 2 February 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016. FAR from being a dotty dowager, Molly – now the Second Lady of Glenbogle – has style...
  32. "Obituary: Lady Margaret Morris of Balgonie". The Scotsman. 15 September 2014. Archived from the original on 14 April 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2016. Lady (Margaret Morris) of Balgonie (nee Margaret Newton Stuart): Pillar of the community with a passion for theatre, baking and restoration...
  33. "The Laird and Lady of Balmoral". Dundee Courier Angus, Scotland – 26 August 1927. Archived from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2014. THE LAIRD AND LADY OF BALMORAL. How A Royal Holiday is Spent. By a Special Correspondent. The King arrives at Balmoral Castle tomorrow morning, and the Queen will join His Majesty towards the end of next week. Deeside has been preparing for His Majesty's annual...
  34. Bloomsbury Publishing (2016). "Scottish Clans and Territorial Houses". Titles and Forms of Address: A Guide to Correct Use. Bloomsbury Publishing – April 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016. The widow of a chief or laird... The heirs of chiefs, chieftains and lairds are addressed in writing with the distinction "the younger" before or after the territorial designation... all unmarried daughters use the (territorial) title... It is not the custom for younger sons of a chief, chieftain or laird to use either the "Younger" or the territorial titles.

Sources
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