Laird

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For other uses, see Laird (disambiguation).

Richard Lauder, Laird of Haltoun

A Laird is a member of the gentry and a heritable title in Scotland. The word Laird comes from the shortened form of 'lavered', which is an old Scottish word deriving from an Anglo-Saxon term meaning 'Lord', and is also derived from the middle-English word 'lard', also meaning 'Lord'.

[edit] History and Definition

A Laird is a member of the gentry; historically Lairds rank below a Baron and above an Esquire in the non-peerage table of precedence in the Statutes of 1592 and the Baronetcy Warrants of King Charles I. The title is granted to the owner of a landed estate in Scotland. Laird is a shortened form of 'laverd', which is an old Scottish word deriving from an Anglo-Saxon term meaning Lord, and is also derived from the middle-English word 'lard', also meaning Lord.

In the 15th century the title 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 little court. Originally in the 16th century and 17th century the title was applied to the head chief of a highland clan and therefore was not personal property and had obligations towards the community.^[1] The title of Laird may carry 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 is styled with the honorific Lady.

Though translated as Lord and signifying the same, Laird is not a title of nobility. The 'title' of Laird is a 'corporeal hereditament' (an inheritable property that has an explicit tie to the physical land), i.e. the title can not be held in gross, and cannot be bought and sold without selling the physical land.

Several websites, and internet vendors on websites like Ebay, claim to sell Scottish Lairdships along with small plots of land. The Court of the Lord Lyon, however, considers these particular titles to be meaningless.^[2]^[3]

[edit] Forms of Address

Normally a Laird is addressed by the name of his lands.
Formally, a Laird is styled as "The Much Honoured [Forename] [Surname] of [Lairdship]" or "The Much Honoured The Laird of [Lairdship]" or "The Much Honoured [Forename] [Surname], Laird of [Lairdship]"
The wife of a Laird or a woman holds a lairdship in her own right is normally styled "Lady" and is formally styled as "The Much Honoured [Forename] [Surname] of [Lairdship]" or "The Much Honoured The Lady [Lairdship]" or "The Much Honoured [Forename] [Surname], Lady [Lairdship]"
The heir apparent of a lairdship is entitled to use the courtesy title "The Younger" (abbreviation Yr) at the end of their name and the eldest daughter if heir apparent is entitled to use the courtesy title "Maid of [Lairdship]" at the end of her name. Neither are titles of nobility or peerage.
The younger children of a laird are styled as "Mr [Forename] [Surname] if male, and "Miss [Forename] [Surname] of [Lairdship] if female
A definite article is not used, and the "of" must be retained to distinguish from titles of the nobility. In some cases laird is translated as lord, but this can cause confusion.