lord

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Lord (German: "Herr", from Old English hláford , also hlaferd or hláfweard : "Brotherr, Brothüter" from Old English hláf " Loaf " and weard , "Guardian, Bewahrer, Wart") is the English name and form of address for noblemen or others high-ranking personalities. In the English church language, the name The Lord corresponds to the German “Herr” for God. The Scottish name is Laird , but is not a title of nobility comparable to the rank of lord, but a title linked to land ownership in the Highlands or on the Shetland Islands , Orkneys and the Inner and Outer Hebrides .

The House of Lords is in the Palace of Westminster to the left under the Victoria Tower

Nobility title

Within the Peerage of Scotland there is the nobility of a Lord of Parliament , this corresponds to the baron of the other British peerages.

Salutation

Lord is the general term for the high nobility in Great Britain , but is used specifically to address peers , especially barons . Only the Duke is not addressed as Lord. The sons of the Dukes and Marquesses and the oldest sons of the Earls (so-called Lords by courtesy = "out of courtesy") are dubbed accordingly. The oral address is then My Lord or Your Lordship .

The Scottish title holder "Laird" is addressed as an addition to his name, e.g. B. Aleister Crowley, Laird of Boleskine . The addition of Boleskine or of Glencairn stands for the property that belongs to the title holder. It can also be the case that one and the same person has several laird titles, e.g. B. John Crichton-Stuart, Laird of St. Kilda & Dumfries.

use

People who are addressed as "Lord" out of politeness but are not aristocratic themselves (for example the son of a high noblewoman) put their baptismal name after the term "Lord". For example, John Russell was a son of the 6th Duke of Bedford and thus Lord John Russell . He would have stayed that way for the rest of his life (since he was not the Duke's eldest son and would not have inherited the title of Duke) if he had not later been ennobled as 1st Earl Russell himself because of his services.

The wife of such a lord is, out of courtesy , addressed as "Lady" and her husband's name . The wife of the (fictional) Lord Peter Wimsey is, for example, Harriet Wimsey, Lady Peter Wimsey, not Lady Harriet Wimsey. However, if a woman bears the title Lady out of courtesy because she is the daughter of a high noblewoman, she puts “Lady” in front of her baptismal name, for example Lady Diana Spencer as the daughter of the 8th Earl Spencer.

A lord “in his own right” never puts the “Lord” in front of the name, but uses his title, which usually consists of “Lord” and the family name . So one can speak of George Gordon Byron as "Lord Byron" or as "George Gordon, Lord Byron" or as "George Gordon Byron, Lord Byron", but not as "Lord George Gordon Byron". Lord Byron's wife would be (out of courtesy) the "Lady Byron".

Sometimes the lord title is associated with certain offices. In addition to the Anglican bishops (Lord spiritual), the members of higher courts in Scotland and numerous office holders (Lord temporal) also lead him. Known are among others:

In the offices of the United Kingdom, which have the title of lord in the designation, the state offices ( Great Offices of State ) are to be distinguished from the court offices, similar to, for example, in the Holy Roman Empire the ore chamberlain from the chief chamberlain. Nowadays, the state offices are in part no longer granted hereditary, but only determined for high ceremonies (coronation, burial). A list of all real lords ( peers and peeresses in their own right ) can be found in the annual Whitakers Almanack .

Further meaning

The term Lord is in English and in terms of God and Jesus used: "The Lord's Prayer" is the Lord's Prayer , "The Lord's supper" is the holy sacrament etc.

Title acquisition

In Ireland , Irish tiarna means landowner and lord at the same time. Therefore anyone who owns property in Ireland is entitled to use the term Lord on their letterhead. With the possession of a small piece of land, one can become a (non-aristocratic) lord, i.e. landowner. As in other countries, an entry in a land register is required to be officially recognized as a landowner. The cost of registering one of the smallest lots - valued at £ 20,000 and less - has been £ 90 as of 2011.

In Scottish this name is called Laird , but it says the same thing. The name Laird (in the sense of property owner) is not a title of nobility, but a title of property that may be used worldwide. To be officially recognized as a laird , you need your own property, which is registered in the Scottish Land Register . Co-owners are not official lairds, and small plots of around 30 cm x 30 cm, such as those often found in online auctions, are not entered on the Land Register of Scotland . Co-owners are also not registered, as there is only one laird per property. There is an official statement on such dubious offers from the spokesman of the court of the Lord Lyon King of Arms , who is responsible for heraldry and the official recognition of titles of nobility:

"We have had countless inquiries. The title Laird of Glencairn would only apply to the owner of the entire estate, if it exists, not to those buying square-foot portions of it. "

The acquisition of title takes place, as with the Irish Lord, through the acquisition of certain properties. Resourceful business people take this opportunity to divide their property into a large number of small pieces (so-called plots ) and sell them for a fee. In this way, by selling these small pieces of land from an average field worth a few hundred thousand euros, a profit in the millions can be achieved. However, the buyer does not receive an official title from most sellers, as he is not registered as a landowner in the land register and in Scotland there is only one owner per piece of land who can officially call himself a laird . A property that officially gives you the title of Laird can usually not be obtained for less than £ 100,000.

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Land & Property Services of the Irish Department of Finance and Personnel
  2. ↑ faketitles.com
  3. ↑ scots-titles.com
  4. ↑ telegraph.co.uk
  5. ↑ a b Culture - Touristic - Fake Titles ( Memento from October 30, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ↑ faketitles.com