BARONET, an English name of dig nity, which in its etymology imports a Little Baron. But we must not confound it with the Lesser Baron of the middle ages [BARON], with which the rank of baronet has nothing in common ; nor again with the banneret of those ages [BANNERET] ; though it does appear that in some printed books, and even in the contemporary manu scripts, the state and dignity of a banne ret is sometimes called the state and dignity of a baronet, by a mere error, as Selden promptly asserts (` Titles of Ho nour,' p. 354), of the scribe.
The origin of this rank and order of persons is quite independent of any pre vious rank or order of English society. It originated with King James I., who. being in want of money for the benefit of the province of Ulster in Ireland, hit upon the expedient of creating this new dignity, and required of all who received it the contribution of a sum of money, as much as would support thirty infantry for time years,which was estimated at 10951., to be expended in settling and improving the province of Ulster.
The principle of this new dignity was to give rank, precedence, and title with out privilege. He who was made a ba ronet still remained a commoner. He acquired no new exemption or right to take his seat in any assembly in which Ito might not before have been seated. What he did acquire we can best collect from the terms of the patent which the king granted to all who accepted the honour. to them and the heirs male of their bodiet, for even-1. Precedence in all commie sions, writs, companies, &c., before all knights, including knights of the Bath and bannerets, except such knights ban nerets as were made in the field, the king being present ; 2. Precedence for the wives of the baronet to follow the= dence granted to the husband ; 3.
dence to the daughters and younger sons of the baronet before the daughters and younger sons of any other person of whom the baronet himself took precedence ; 4. The style and addition of Baronet to be written at the end of his name, with the prefix of Sir; 5. The wife of the baronet to be styled Lady, Madam, or Dame. It was stipulated on the part of the king, that the number of baronets should never exceed two hundred ; and that, when the number was diminished by the natural process of extinction of families, there should be no new creations to supply the places of those extinct, but that the num ber should go on decreasing. Further,
the king bound himself not to create any new order which should lie between the baron and the baronet.
Another distinction was soon after granted to them. A question arose re specting precedency between the newly created baronets and the younger sons of viscounts and barons, which the king dis posed of by his own authority, in favour of the latter ; and in the same instrument in which he declared the royal pleasure in this point, he directed that the baronets might bear, either on a canton or in an escutcheon on their shield of arms, the arms of Ulster, which, symbolical it seems of the lawless character of the in habitants of that province, as is set forth in the preamble of the baronet's patent, was a bloody hand, or, in the language of heraldry, a hand guiles in a field argent. And further, the king "to ampliate his favour, this dignity being of his Majes ty's own creation, and the work of his hands," did grant that every baronet, when he had attained the age of twenty one years, might claim from the king the honour of knighthood ; that in armies they should have place near about the royal standard ; and lastly, that in their funeral pomp they should have two as sistants of the body, a principal mourner, and four assistants to him, being a mean betwixt a baron and a knight.
Such was the original institution of the order. To carry the king's intentions into effect, and especially to secure the pay ment of the money, commissioners were appointed to receive proffers for admission into the order. The instructions given to them throw further light on the origi nal constitution of this body. They were to treat with none but such as were men of quality, state of living and good reputation worthy of the same, and they were to be descended of at least a grand father by the father's side that bore arms; they were to be also persons possessed of a clear yearly revenue of 10001. ; and to avoid the envy and slander, as if they were men who had purchased the honour, the commissioners were to require an oath of them that they had not directly or in directly given any sum of money for the attaining the degree and pre-eminence, except that which was necessary for the maintenance of the appointed number of soldiers.