BARON

in early times in England the word was used to distinguish a person who held lands of the sovereign, but was not in any sense a title. It was first employed as a title by Richard ITI., who in 1387 created John de Beauchamp b. of Kidder minster. Henry VI. was the first king to create a number of b.’s Charles II. gave b’s a coronet. The title, which is hereditary to the heirs-male, is the lowest in the peerage. The children of a b. are addre ed as ‘The Honorable.’