Earls, Marquises and Dukes in the Baronage of Scotland

the chapeau (or cap of maintenance) represents Scot barons in historical heraldry instead of a coronet
The Ancient Nobility of the Baronage of Scotland
Baronial Rank of Nobility[1] Baron (1st degree) 90% are barons Lord (2nd degree) very rare Earl (3rd degree) very rare Marquis (4th degree) only 1 Duke (5th degree) only 1
Titled nobles in the Baronage List of – Barons / Baronesses or Ladies Lords Earls / Countesses Marquis & Duke
Topics Lords of Regality The Much Honoured Nobility Noblesse Clan chief and chieftain Laird Younger (title) Maid (title) List of family seats of Scottish nobility Scottish Barony Register Forms of address Territorial designation Lord Lyon Baronage Family seat Order of precedence in Scotland
Convention of the Three Estates
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An Earl/Marquis/Duke in the Baronage of Scotland is an ancient title of nobility that is held en baroneum, which means that its holder, who is a feudal earl/marquis/duke, is also always a feudal baron. The holder may or may not be a Lord of Regality, which meant that the holder was appointed by the Crown and had the power of "pit and gallows", meaning the power to authorise the death sentence.

A feudal earl/marquis/duke ranks above both a baron and a lord (being a baron of a higher degree) in the Baronage of Scotland, but below all ranks in the Peerage of Scotland. Earldoms, marquisates and dukedoms are very rare.^[2]

Since all feudal titles are based in Scots property law and not personal peerages, there are some instances when, for historic reasons, the feudal title happens to share the same name as an extant peerage title, but the current holder of the feudal title is different from the current holder of the peerage title of the same name. The two are not to be confused. Historically, they were held by one and the same person, but the feudal title may subsequently have been disponed according to Scots property law, whereas the peerage title always descends according to the destination in the letters patent of creation of the peerage and the rules of peerage law.

Scottish titles, in order of precedence, are as follows: Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, Lord, Baronet, Knight, Baron, Clan Chief, Esquire/Gentleman. Wallace states that "Lordships, Earldoms, Marquisates and Dukedoms differ only in name from Baronies" but continues "one whose property was erected into a Lordship ranked before a simple Baron" and "A person to whom an Earldom belonged, would be superior to a person who had no more than a lordship ... One, whose lands were incorporated into a Marquisate, was superior to both ... A man, who owned a fief elevated into a Dukedom, was exaulted above all three."^[3] However, Lord Stair states that Lordships or Earldoms are "but more noble titles of a Barony".^[4]