"Free Baron"

[steffi]

What does being a 'free baron' entail, and how would one obtain that title?

Thanks!

[maxi29]

I haven't heard the phrase in English - are you thinking of the German 'freiherr'? That's normally translated as baron.

According to Wikipedia, freiherr is a title between the lower gentry and a count, usually given the magistrate class on an aristocrat's estate. See http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freiherr - it's in German though.

[steffi]

Thanks for replying maxi, but unfortunately i can't speak german!

I originally found the phrase "free baron" in reference to the memoirs of an Englishman in the early 18th c, who described himself as "the free baron of Devon".

After a bit of research, although i didn't find an exact definition, i think a 'free baron' is probably a 'baron' who severed his financial ties (land) and political affiliations with the king, but kept the title and some of the priviledges.

Thanks anyway!

[ledganteast]

Hi,

I am also trying to figure out what the term means in a book written by my 4th G.Grandfather he refers to himself as a "Free Baron of Dover"?