Barony by writ
Barony by writ is a term from the English nobility law. Such a barony is one of the two ways in which a hereditary barony with a seat in the House of Lords could be created in medieval England and afterwards (until 1722) .
Historical development
Originally there was no hereditary title of baron in England after the Norman conquest . The large landowners who owned more than 13½ knights' fiefs were often called barons. Since it was not a question of a title, the owners of such large fiefs were usually not named in documents as barons, but as dominus, liber baro or simply after their property (e.g. John of so and so). Gradually, the term barony by tenure later became commonplace for these gentlemen , without describing a status under nobility law. Such barons were e.g. B. the barons named in the Magna Carta , who forced King John Ohneland in 1215 to respect certain basic rights and to grant privileges.
Since the king required the council to exercise governmental power, he called men of his trust to regular council meetings who were not already among his advisors because of their offices and position in the state, e. B. Bishops, Earls and Holders of Crown Offices. These confidants of the king were called by him to appear at the regular council meetings, a so-called Writ of Summons . This happened for the first time in 1265. It was not originally the intention of the king to create a hereditary nobility title of baron in this way, but gradually these drafts (those called up carried the title of baron) became a hereditary claim of the descendants of the called one, too to be called. This is how the hereditary title Baron and the barony by writ came about .
The fact that the creation of a hereditary peer dignity was not intended from the beginning in this creation also results from the fact that not all those called who had offspring could inherit the title and seat in the House of Lords. Even if the respective king usually appointed the heir of his council member to the council after his death, this did not always happen. But more often during the 14th and 15th centuries last and Nachnachkommen were called, the more solidified customary law the view in the hereditary peer if it were a special form to create a hereditary title. This was generally recognized by law by the beginning of the 16th century at the latest. This was particularly evident from the fact that in the absence of a male heir, the title did not expire, but could also be passed on to a daughter. In this case, since women could not be members of the House of Lords, her husband could stand in for his wife in the House of Lords, but not in his own right, but Iure uxoris (Latin from the right of the wife ).
In addition to the baronies by writ, there was also another way of being appointed hereditary baron since the 14th century: This was done through a formal letter of nobility that the king issued to a deserving vassal. This survey by Letters Patent was first made in 1389 for John de Beauchamp by King Richard II , who raised Beauchamp to Baron Beauchamp of Kidderminster . From this point on, baronies were created by letters patent more and more often, under Henry VI. 11 alone, while the number of the originally sole possibility of creating hereditary baronies through the institute of barony by writ fell out of use at first slowly, then ever faster, until 1722 with the Barony Percy for the last time a barony by writ was created .
Legal structure of the barony by writ
In contrast to the Barony by letters patent, the barony by writ is not only inheritable to male titleholders. While the Barony by Letters patent expires when there are no more male descendants of the first title holder, the barony by writ can also be inherited by female descendants. So if a title holder only has daughters, they inherit the entire hand. However, only one person may use the title. If there is only one daughter, she inherits the title and then passes it on to her eldest son. If there are several daughters, the title is suspended until there is only one descendant who is entitled to inherit. If this is not the case, the barony falls into Abeyance , which means that it is dormant until one of the descendants of the family that had held the title petitions the crown to end the dormant period and award it the title. If the Committee for Privileges and Conduct of the House of Lords, after examining the documents submitted, determines that the petitioner is a descendant of the family entitled to inheritance, the Committee reports to the Crown, at whose discretion it is then to return the dormant title to the petitioner . Since there are no time limits for requests to end the suspension, it often takes a very long time, sometimes centuries, until an abeyance is ended and the new title holder has been determined. At present (as of 2012) there are well over a hundred abeyant baronies by writ and around 40 bearers of an existing such barony. The oldest title is that of Baron de Ros , created in 1264. It is therefore officially listed as the Premier Barony of England (First Barony of England).