Legal Definitions - lord in gross

In historical legal contexts, a lord in gross refers to an individual who held the title and associated rights of a lord, but whose status was not tied to the ownership or control of a specific manor or landed estate. Unlike most lords, whose authority and privileges derived directly from their possession of a particular piece of land, a lord in gross held their title "at large" or "by grant," independent of any specific property.

• Imagine a medieval king who wishes to honor a valiant general for his exceptional service. Instead of granting him a specific manor with its lands and tenants, the king bestows upon him a personal title of "Lord" along with certain privileges, such as a seat on the royal council or the right to collect a specific annual payment from the royal treasury. This general would be considered a lord in gross because his lordship stems from the king's personal grant and his distinguished service, not from the ownership or control of a particular landed estate.

• Consider a historical scenario where a powerful church official, like an abbot or bishop, was granted the personal status of a lord by the crown. This grant might have given him certain legal or administrative powers over a region or a specific group of people, even if the abbey or diocese itself did not hold a traditional manor in that exact area. His "lordship" would be tied to his office or personal grant from the sovereign, rather than being derived from the direct ownership and control of a specific landed estate.

• In some feudal systems, a lord might have been granted the right to receive specific feudal dues or services (such as a portion of a harvest, a fixed payment, or military service) from a particular village or group of freeholders, without actually owning the land upon which those people resided. This lord's authority would be "in gross" because their entitlement to these services was a personal right or a right attached to their lineage, rather than being derived from the direct ownership and control of the manor where those individuals lived.