bug their greatest they exist but as a link in the great chain which unites the The victorious community at large. A link, more polished, perhaps, than ch, together the others; hardly more powerful. In the above titles, Anova, rendered him almost solely, does the English nobility bear resemblance -, ang babetually foud of to that of other countries." Placed," says Mr. Moore, in P., which were there his Life of Sheridan, "as a sort of breakwater between , after he had esta- the people and the throne, in a state of double responsibigland; and, operating lity-to liberty on one side, and authority on the other, Kvik sa ikeir manners, caused vetzental customs. So 100s produced by the tasche Fench language alone was 1 scade geweedings were carried on • hood case the vanquishers and vanLise, to remain distinct. The ce his Conquest more secure, hot bra and powerful adherents with ves in this kingdom, despoiling Read av bio-Saxon nobles of their fortunes who, that escaped with life, fled deed who had opposed the ConStill more soms hat possessions in peace. their attachment to his person and by at the plan of Hugh Capet, in establishing

the aristocracy of England holds a station, which is dignified by its own great duties, and of which the titles transmitted by their ancestors form the least important ornament; unlike the nobility of other countries, where the rank and privileges of the father are multiplied through the offspring, and equally elevate them above the level of the community. The highest English nobleman must consent to be the father but of commoners. Thus connected with the class below him, by private as well as public sympathies, he gives his children to the people, as hostages for the sincerity of his zeal in their cause; while, on the other hand, the people, in return for those pledges of the aristocracy, send a portion of their own elements aloft into the higher region, to mingle with its glories, and assert their claim to a share in its power. By this mutual transfusion, an equilibrium is preserved, like that which similar processes maintain in the Hugh Capet," says the celebrated natural world; and while a healthy popular feeling circuVana Fotoman, “contrived a cunning device, lates through the aristocracy, a sense of their own station com hoxhong humseit in his new dominions; for, whereas in the scale, elevates the people."

and honours of the kingdom, such as

DEVORA PRAŇMIs, &c. had been, from the most ancient

wy yd upon select and deserving persons, in the aventions of the people, and were not hereditary, Nur der vagy during good behaviour; whereof, as the law-xx xxx it, they were but benificiaries. Hugh Capet, secure to himself the affections and interest of hen, was the first who made those honours perwhich had before been but temporary; and ordained ake whoever, by their merits and loyalty, obtained them, At have a hereditary right in their titles and arms, and leave them to their posterity." See Franciscus us, the civilian, Comment II. Chap. 9. Thus the queror rewarded those of his followers, in whose fidelity could confide; and, in order that their names and actions wht be recorded to posterity, they were culisted in a roll, hung up in Battle Abbey, near which the decisive vicy had been obtained; they became the ancestors of the Most distinguished families in this kingdom; and many of illustrious nobility owe the foundation of their fortunes to that eventful period.

The word nobility is now generally applied to the collected body of peers, who form a distinct portion of the legislature, comprising five gradations of rank; descending from the elevated honours of DUKE, through the intervening degrees of MARQUESS, EARL, and VISCOUNT, to the old feudal dignity of BARON; to which may be added a sixth, viz. a BISHOP, which, although not a hereditary title, is nevertheless, from that dignity, entitled to a seat in the house of peers; these, in their corporate capacity, form one of the estates of the realm-that immediately between the crown and the people; and, though a privileged order personally, their immunities are very unimportant, and minister more to the pomp than the power of the possessor. In no one instance, can the proudest peer transgress, with impunity, the laws of the land; nor the haughtiest lord invade the rights of the humblest commoner. Thus, then,

DUKE.

THE most elevated dignity in the English peerage, is derived from the Latin word dux, a leader or captain of an army. After the Conquest, this title laid dormant till the reign of Edward III. who created his son, Edward the Black Prince, in 1377, (then Earl of Chester) Duke of Cornwall; and, subsequently, Prince of Wales, when the dukedom merged in the principality, and has ever since been vested in the heir apparent to the crown, who, at his birth, becomes Duke of Cornwall. The second dukedom was conferred on the 6th of March, 1351, upon Henry Plantagenet, son and heir of the Earl of Derby, under the title of Duke of Lancaster, which dignity expired at his grace's demise in 1360, without male issue; but was reconferred in 1352, upon John of Gaunt, who had espoused the duke's second daughter, eventually sole heiress, the Lady Blanch Plantagenet. After him, others were made with great solemnity, and in such a manner that their titles descended to their posterity. However, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, A.D. 1572, the order became extinct; but was revived about fifty years afterwards, by her successor, in the person of George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham.

A duke is created by patent, as follows. He must have on, his surcoat, cloak, and hood, and be led between two dukes, an earl going somewhat before him on the right band, bearing a cap of estate, with a coronet on it; which cap is of crimson velvet, lined with ermine, and the coronet gold; but the cap must not be indented, as that of the prince: on the other side, must go an earl, bearing a golden rod or verge: before the duke to be created, shall go a marquess, bearing a sword; and before him an earl, with the mantle, or robe of estate, lying on his arm; which

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restest ye patent, as follows. He is attired daughters ladies; but his eldest son takes precedence of

padres, Sc. Jeing led between two earls, and all gentry, and above the younger sons of earls, and eldest

• gang reture, al in their robes of estate; of of barons.

Neus de sword and girdle; the second, the

ma de mii, de cap and coronet: and after the

* Sale Whits the same as that of a duke, he being at the presence-chander, (the king sitting on Lies Jown while the patent is reading. mante di asante put on him by the king, and weken ges whvus hin, the cap and coronet put on his head, ja ha predchod devered into his hand. 17h -Navarstvu vous or a vari are similar to those of a quran mid the exception, that there are but pete and gold lace: and his coronation then as hous, with only this difference, it has you you each shoulder. Cap and coronet of pada so in the presence of a superior, is entitled ag we day, and Pl. 30, fig. 9. wet or cases Fraged, but without pendents; and his Voigt dave her train borne up by an esquire's wife. 4. dad the title of lordship, and being written to, as Honourable; and is officially addressed by how, "Our right trusty and well beloved cousin ;" speitation as ancient as the reign of Henry IV. who, di caner by his wife, mother, or sisters, actually related Aed to every earl in the kingdom, artfully acknowledged chat connexion in all his letters and other public acts; whence the usage has descended to his successors.

the title of an earl's wife is countess; and his eldest son, by the courtesy of England, is born a viscount, and is called hod of some place; but his younger sons have no title of peerage : all his daughters are ladies.

BARONS SPIRITUAL BY TENURE.

ARCHBISHOPS.

THE two archbishops are called Most Reverend, and have the title of grace, and take precedence of all dukes that are not of blood royal; and the Archbishop of Canterbury of all the great officers of the crown; and the Archbishop of York, of all, except the lord chancellor. The former is styled Primate of all England; the latter, Primate of England, and is subject to Canterbury only. It is the duty of the Archbishop of Canterbury to crown the king; and bath prelates for his officers: the Bishop of London is his provincial dean; the Bishop of Winchester, his chancellor; the Bishop of Lincoln, his vice-chancellor; the Bishop of Salisbury, his precentor; and the Bishop of Rochester, his chaplain. He hath the power of dispensation, in any case not contrary to the law of God; and on this right, is founded his power of granting special liceuses to marry at any time or place; to hold two livings, and the like; and also his power of conferring any degrees in prejudice of the universities. He styles himself, "By Divine Providence." The Archbishop of York has the privilege of crowning the queen consort, and to be her perpetual chaplain. He and his bishops adopt the term, "By Divine Permission."

VISCOUNT.

THIS title formerly applied to the sheriff of a county, and was not used as a designation of nobility until the reign of Henry VI.; when this monarch created John Baron Beaumont, K. G. by letters patent, dated 12th Feb. 1440, Viscount Beaumont; a dignity which expired with his lordship's son and successor, in 1507. A viscountey is always created by patent, and descends according to the specified limitation. The honour was originally conferred as an advancement to barons, but afterwards with the barony; and, in modern times, it has been conferred without a barony; as in the instances of Viscount Leinster, Viscount Sidmouth, Viscount Goderich, &c.

A Viscount, at his creation, has a hood, surcoat, mantle, verge, cap, and coronet; and his mantle has two guards and a half, each having a plain white fur only, called miniver. His coronation mantle has three rows of spots on the right shoulder, and two on the left. The coronet and cap as explained in the Glossary, and Pl. 30, fig. 10.

A viscount hath the title of lordship; when written to, he is styled Right Honourable; and is officially addressed by the crown, "Our right trusty and well beloved Cousin." He has the privilege of having a cover of essay held under his cup when he drinks, and a travers in his own house. His lady is a viscountess, and may have her train borne by a woman in the presence of a countess, but out of it by a The eldest son has no title of peerage, nor are his

man.

BISHOPS.

THE functious of a bishop may be considered as twofold; what belongs to his order, and what to his jurisdiction. To the episcopal order, belong the ceremonies of dedication, confirmation, and ordination: to the episcopal jurisdiction, by the statute law, belong the licensing of physicians, surgeons, and schoolmasters; the uniting of small parishes (although this last privilege is now peculiar to Norwich); assisting the civil magistrate in the execution of statutes relating to ecclesiastical matters, &c. Bishops take precedence of all other barons: among themselves, by a statute of Henry VIII. London, Durham, and Winchester, take precedence of the rest, who rank according to seniority of consecration. The Bishop of London precedes, as being bishop of the capital city of England, and provincial dean of Canterbury; the Bishop of Durham, as count palatine, and earl of Sedberg; and the Bishop of Winchester, as prelate of the order of the Garter. All bishops are called Right Reverend, and have the title of Lordship given them; and, being the fathers and guardians of the church, are styled Fathers in God.

Besides these bishops in England, we have also bishops of Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Calcutta; and, latterly, there have been consecrated bishops of Barbadoes and Jamaica. A bishop's robe, in parliament, is of fine scarlet cloth, having a long train, aud is doubled on the shoulders with

miniver, edged with white ermine, as is the bosom; and when he goes to the house of lords, and the sovereign is there, his train is supported by four chaplains, to the door of that house; but then, by a red ribbon fixed to the end of the train, and tied in a loop, he supports it himself, the loop being put over his right wrist; having a four-square cap upon his head; and in that form he takes his seat on the king's right hand. They have a vote at the trial of a peer; but before sentence, they retire, and vote by proxy. They are free from arrests; and their persons may not be seized upon for contempt, but their temporalities only. Archbishops and bishops of Ireland enjoy similar rank and privileges in that part of the United Kingdom, as the archbishops and bishops of England; and since the union in 1801, are represented in the house of peers by an archbishop and three bishops, elected every session of parliament; and not as the twenty-eight representative temporal peers, who are nominated for life.

BARONS TEMPORAL.

superior title has subsisted without a barony; and there are also modern instances, where they have been created without annexing a barony. See Viscount. So that now, the rule does not hold universally, that all peers are barons.

BARONS BY TENURE, a dignity attached to the possession of certain lands, held, according to the feudal system, directly under the crown, and conditionally upon the performance of some honorary services to the king; such as attending him in the field and in the cabinet, and furnishing him with a stipulated quota of knights or men at arms; which quota was regulated by the territorial possessions of the baron; these possessions being divided into allotments, for each of which he was required to provide a knight armed cap-a-pie, whenever the sovereign commanded his presence in the field: hence, according to the number of warriors the feudal lord provided, he was said to possess so many knights-fees. But in the reign of King John, so large a body of these lords of the soil were found to have alienated their grants, and so many to have become impoverished in consequence, that it was found necessary to enact a law, declaring those personages who had retained their original tenures unspoiled, alone qualified to retain the title of baron; and degrading the less prudent BARON is the most general and universal title of nobility. to the rank of tenant in chief, or knights. It was subseIts etymology is very uncertain. Mr. Tooke supposes, quently discovered, however, that the title of baron could it is from the Anglo-Saxon, bairgan, to arm, to guard, not thus easily be taken away; and it was then arranged, to defend, to strengthen; which suggestion, if allowed, that the opulent lords should be styled barones majores, simply means a man of power, armed, and surrounded and the poor ones, barones minores; which continued from with abundant means of defence. It is said, the original that period until the reign of Henry III.; when, in consename of this dignity in England was vavassour, which by quence of a quarrel between the king and Simon de Moutthe Saxons was changed into thane: and by the Normans fort, the prerogative of the crown regarding barons was into that of baron. It was anciently used in a more ex- settled by act of parliament passed, that, henceforward, tended signification, to denote free born men; and after- no nobleman could sit in parliament without a writ of sumwards by the Normans, to signify the free citizens of towns mons. But there was this material difference between the and boroughs, as of the city of London, also of York, &c. greater and lesser barons; these were summoned at the The barons of the Cinque Ports retain their name unto pleasure of the crown; those, as a matter of right. From this day. There were also persons of another description, this time, the privilege was entirely withdrawn from territo whom the same rank was extended. Formerly, when torial lords: the barones majores alone appear to have the higher nobility were almost independent of their sove- assisted in the legislative councils of the nation. Barons by reign, or were, rather, petty sovereigns themselves, and tenure have, however, long ceased to exist; and more than presented in their style of living a complete copy, on a a century and half ago, (A. D. 1669) in the case of the smaller scale, of the royal court, it was customary with Fitzwalter peerage, when Benjamin Mildmay was restored many of the nobles to have their train barons of their own to that barony, in opposition to Robert Cheeke, the lord creation and this was principally the case in the counties of the soil, whence the dignity was alleged to have sprung, palatine, when every earldom had under it ten barons, and the house of lords declared, "That baronies by tenure, every baron ten knights-fees; and that it was usual for having been discontinued for many ages, were not then in such as had four knights-fees, to be promoted to the rank being, and so not fit to be revived, or to admit any pretence of baron. Lords of manors were, also, anciently, styled of right of succession." And recently, in 1805, in the case barons; but, from the gradual alteration in the form of of the barony de Ros, claimed by the Duke of Rutland, as government, and the decline of the feudal system, all those feudal lord, from the possession of Belvoir Castle, said to minor dignities became obsolete, and the title remained have been the fountain of the dignity, the house resolved, only to those who were created immediately by the king,That his grace was not entitled to the barony." And it and were considered peers of the realm, and entitled to was subsequently confirmed to the heiress-at-law, Lady sit in the upper house of parliament, which consisted of the archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, and barons.

This title, in ancient records, was applied to all the nobility; because, regularly, all noblemen were barons, or had a barony annexed, though they had also higher dignities. But it has sometimes happened, that when an ancient baron has been raised to a new degree of peerage, in the course of a few generations, the two titles have descended differently; one, perhaps, to the male descendants; the other, to the heirs general; whereby the earldom or other

Henry Fitzgerald.

There is, however, one earldom extant, that of Arundel, which the ducal house of Norfolk enjoys by the feudal tenure of Arundel Castle; but this, like other exceptions, only establishes the rule, as the honour endures solely by special act of parliament, passed in the third year of King Charles I. to barons by tenure succeeded.

BARONS BY WRIT, or persons elevated to the rank of nobility, by being summoned to attend the king in council, or parliament; which writs were of that description called