The Much Honoured

The Much Honoured (abbreviated to The Much Hon.) is an honorific style applied to the holder of a Scottish barony and Clan chiefs.



Overview
There were around 350 identifiable local baronies in Scotland by the early fifteenth century and these could mostly be mapped against local parish boundaries. In addition, there are a small number of extant feudal earldoms in the Baronage of Scotland (Aboyne, Arran, Breadalbane, Crawfurd-Lindsay, Erroll, Lennox, Orkney, Rothes, Wigtoun), one extant feudal marquisate (Huntly) and one extant feudal dukedom (Hamilton), all held in baroneum. Since all these titles, being feudal, are based in Scots property law and not personal peerages, there are some instances when, for historic reasons, the feudal title happens to share the same name as an extant peerage title, but the current holder of the feudal title is different from the current holder of the peerage title of the same name. The two are not to be confused. Historically, they were held by one and the same person, but the feudal title may subsequently have been disponed according to Scots property law, whereas the peerage title always descends according to the destination in the letters patent of creation of the peerage and the rules of peerage law.

The highest-ranking baron in Scotland is The Much Hon. Baron of Renfrew, HRH The Duke of Rothesay; by tradition both titles being held concurrently by the heir apparent to the British throne.

Genuine territorial lairds (not those owning souvenir plots of land) style themselves "The Much Honoured". This practice is now in decline - with notable exceptions, namely that of Catherine Maxwell-Stuart, 21st Lady of Traquair. The official use of titles and honorifics in Scotland comes under the jurisdiction of the Court of the Lord Lyon in Edinburgh.

Usage
Historically, the honorific is used in association with four groups:


 * Scottish Barons. For example, The Much Hon. David Leslie, Baron of Leslie, or The Much Hon. Baron of Leslie
 * Lords in the Baronage of Scotland (not to be confused with lairds). For example, The Much Hon. David Leslie, Lord of Leslie, or The Much Hon. Lord of Leslie
 * Earls in the Baronage of Scotland. For example, The Much Hon. James Leslie, Earl of Rothes or The Much Hon. Earl of Rothes
 * Clan Chiefs or Lairds—not by those owning souvenir plots—who are recognised in a territorial designation by the Lord Lyon. For example, The Much Hon. Hugh Montgomerie, Earl of Eglinton and Winton is Chief of the Clan Montgomerie.

The eldest son of a Scots baron is entitled to be addressed by courtesy as the Younger (abbreviated to the Yr); the eldest daughter of a Scots baron, if heir apparent, is entitled to use the courtesy title The Maid of [name of barony] (e.g. David Leslie the Younger and The Maid of Leslie).

The honorific "The Much Honoured" is distinct from honorifics attaching to Peers of the Realm.