343
in the structure of the of It had
become the practice, by the end of the
to create titles of dignity by
open letters which only in
less formal attestation. The title of earl had
ferred in this way Stephen's reign, and the
titles of duke and marquess so conferred in the
late fourteenth century, and viscount in the fifteenth.1
In the letter creating the title, it to regulate
the succession of the title. In 1387, m*as the first and,
for a long time, the only of the creation of a
baron by letter patent; this baton declared by
the letter—and it the object of Ms
baron—an hereditary lord of Parliament. Such
became common in the reign of Henry VI. it a
of bitter strife among the nobility, it often
useful for the party for the in to be
to raise men to the who did not to be
barons. By the end of the century, it had become the
normal method of creating peers. The
regulate the succession in any way he but in prac-
tice, the title was to to male only, and
that under the principle of primogeniture. The advan-
tages of the new system were obvious: heiresses could
no longer confer the dignity of a peer upon their
and thus carry it into new families which be
agreeable to the Hng or the the
king was now able not only to a baron a but
any one. It seems clear, however, that
were not seen at first; personal and immediate
ruled, especially during Henry VL's the
1 The first dukedom was created in 1337 by Edward III. for Ms
son. His other sons were later made dukes, In I3Q7 Richard II. conferred
the first dukedom outside the royal family. He also made the first mar-
quess. These titles were adopted from the continent; they gave social
precedence, but had no legal standing. They _" implied no territorial
power or jurisdiction over the place whence the tit!e was derived. Even
the old title ol earl, though always taken from a county or county town,
had long ceased to imply anything of the sort.'1—Mait'.and, C. H. £., i66e
167. The titles in order of importance were duke, marquess, earl, viscount