Dignities by baron. It was first introduced into England by King Henry VI., who created John Lord Beaumont, Viscount Beaumont, by letters patent. 29. With respect to the various modes by which dignities may be created, it has been shown that all dignities were originally annexed to the possession of certain estates in land; and therefore must have been created by a grant of those estates. Thus Ingulphus says of William I., Comitatus et baronias Normannis suis distribuit. These were clearly dignities by tenure, of which there are some instances to be found in our ancient records. 30. The dignity of baron was formerly annexed to the possession of the manor of Kingston Lisle, in Berkshire, as appears by a patent under the great seal, and with the authority of Parliament, in 22 Hen. VI., expressly declaring that the possessors of that manor had been, by reason of that possession, barons and lords of Lisle; and by that name had place and seat in Parliament from time immemorial; and confirming that right to John Talbot, the person who then possessed it, his heirs and assigns for ever, being lords of the said manor; by which, Lord Coke says, he had a fee simple, qualified in the dignity, 1 Inst. 27 a. determinable by the alienation of the manor. By another patent, 15 Edw. IV., reciting as in the former, and that Edward Grey was seised in right of his wife, Elizabeth, of the said manor, that prince grants to the said Edward Grey the title and dignity of Baron Lisle, to hold to him and his heirs, by the said Elizabeth. 31. In the Rolls of Parliament, 11 & 27 Hen. VI., there are some proceedings respecting the earldom of Arundel, in which it is distinctly admitted by the House of Lords and the Judges, that the dignity of earl was annexed to the seisin and possession of the castle and honour of Arundel. These will be fully § 50. 51. stated hereafter. 32. There is great reason to believe, that for the first $ 36, &c. two centuries after the conquest, every lord of a manor who held of the King in capite was deemed a baron, Dissert. c. 3. and his manor a barony. When the great lords had created inferior manors to be held of themselves, it is probable that those only who possessed what Bracton calls maneria capitalia, were called barones majores, and retained the dignity of barons; while those who had only a manerium non capitale, were called barones minores. And the Crown having ceased to summon them to Parliament in the reign of King John, or that of his son, they lost the dignity, together with the appellation of barons, and became mere lords of manors. 33. Every barony had a principal mansion or castle upon it, which was called the caput baroniæ; and was so appropriated to the person entitled to the barony, that a widow was not dowable of it. And where a barony descended to daughters, the caput 2 Inst. 16. baronia was allotted to the eldest. 34. It has been stated, that every lord of a manor Dissert. c. 3.' § 38. had a jurisdiction over his tenants. In the greater manors, this was in criminal as well as in civil cases. And Spelman thought that a criminal jurisdiction was Gloss. voce the circumstance which constituted a barony; for a civil jurisdiction was incident to every manor. Baro. 35. It was essential to a barony that it should be 2 Inst. 7. held of the Crown in capite. And it is said in a tract, intituled, "An Inquiry into the Manner of creating Peers," supposed to have been written in 1719, by Mr. West, afterwards Lord Chancellor of Ireland, that although every barony was a tenure in capite, I Inst. 222 a. 2 Rep. 80 a. 6 73 a. Collins, 109. 132. 184. infra, § 40. Lib. 9. c. 4. Bract. 84 a. 2 Inst. 7. yet every tenure in capite was not a barony. That since the term tenant in capite was equally applicable to all services, what distinguished a baron from all other tenants in capite, must have been the reservation of some particular services, which were implied in the words tenere per baroniam. There are some authorities in our books, to show that all the ancient baronies were held by grand-serjeanty; and that the particular and honorary service due for a barony, was attendance in Parliament, when summoned. 36. In Glanville's time, the relief of a knight's fee was 100s., but that of a baron was uncertain. It was afterwards declared by the magna charta of King John, c. 2., that the ancient relief of a baron, de baronia integra, was 100 marks. 37. A barony was sometimes called an honour, as appears from the following passage in Spelman's Voce Honor, Glossary.-Honor ab Anglo Normannis dictum videtur uniuscujusque majoris baronis feodale patrimonium, seu baronia. Uti manerium plurimis gaudet (interdum feodis sed plerunque) tenementis consuetudinibus servitiis, &c. Ita honor plurima complectitur maneria, plurima feoda militaria, plurima regalia, &c. Dictus etiam hic olim est beneficium seu feodum regale, tentusque semper a rege in capite. The proprietors of these baronial estates, or land baronies, were all entitled to sit in parliament till the reign of Henry III., who made a law, which has been already stated, that no person should attend parliament without a writ of summons. And though it has been shown that this law did not apply to the great barons, yet probably the Crown frequently availed itself thereof, by omitting to summon some of the lesser barons, or those who acquired estates held per baroniam; for some passages in our antient records eyince, that after the reign of Hen. III. all tenants per baroniam were not peers of parliament. 38. It is stated in Mathew Paris, anno 1070, that soon after the Conquest, the lands of the bishops and great abbots, which had been held before in frankalmoigne, were declared to be baronies; by which the bishops and abbots were bound to attend the curia regis. It is, however, probable that they did not willingly acquiesce in this alteration; for when the immunities of the church were so much restrained at Clarendon, it was expressly enacted, that all eccle- Seld. Id. $ 20. siastics who held their lands of the King, should thereafter hold per baroniam, and attend the curia regis. Archiepiscopi, episcopi, et universæ persona qui de rege Spelm. tenent in capite, habeant possessiones suas de rege sicut 1 Inst. 70 b. baroniam: et inde respondeant justiciariis et ministris n. 297 a. regis: et sequantur et faciant omnes consuetudines regias: et sicut cæteri barones, debeant interesse judiciis curiæ regis cum baronibus: quousque perveniatur ad diminutionem membrorum, vel ad mortem. Concil. 4 Inst. 45. 39. Lord Coke observes, that unless an eccle- 4 Inst. 44. Collins, 111. siastical person held per baroniam, the King had no right to summon him to parliament; consequently he was not bound to obey such summons: because quoad secularia, he is mortuus in lege, therefore not capable to have voice in parliament, unless he held per baroniam. And though such a prelate regular had been often called by writ, and had, de facto, had voice and place in parliament, yet if in rei veritate he held not per baroniam, he ought to be discharged of that service, and to sit in parliament no more. $ 24. 4 Inst. 44. 40. The abbot of St. James, near Northampton, Seld. Id. was summoned to parliament by King Edw. II., but upon showing that he did not hold of the Crown per baroniam, he was excused. In the next reign, the abbot of Leicester obtained letters patent, reciting that he did not hold any lands per baroniam, per quod ad parliamenta seu consilia nostra venire teneatur, and declaring that he and his successors should be for ever exonerated from coming to parliament. From which it may be inferred, that the particular service due for a tenure per baroniam, was attendance on parliament, when summoned. 41. The dignity of earl was originally annexed to the possession, either of an entire county, with jura regalia; in which case the county became palatine, and the earl thereof had royal jurisdiction, both civil 4 Inst. 204. and criminal, and royal seigniory; as in the case of the earldom of Chester: or where the King created a person earl of a county with the third part of the profits of the pleas of such county court: or where the King granted a considerable tract of land to a person, to per servitium unius comitatus: in all which cases the earldom was held by tenure. hold 42. An earldom, like a barony, was a feudal lordship, consisting of demesnes and services, held of the Seld. Id. §10. Crown in capite, with a civil and criminal jurisdiction; Mad. Exch. and it is declared by magna charta, c. 2. that the ancient relief of an earl, de comitatu integro, was a hundred pounds. 43. The possessions of an earl were frequently called honours, as well as those of barons. When they came into the hands of the King by forfeiture or escheat, they were distinguished from the ancient possessions of the Crown, by the name of honores comitum. So where a new earl was created of such a forfeited or escheated earldom, the possessions were Seld. Id. $10. usually granted to him by the name of honor comitatus; and in the charters of creation of earls, a clause was frequently inserted, enabling them to hold all, or a c. 10. § 4. 2 Inst. 8. |