# Baron of the Bachuil

Baron of the Bachuil is a title of nobility in the Baronage of Scotland. It is regarded as the oldest aristocratic title in the country and ecclesiastical (church) office, predating even the Archbishop of Canterbury, with origins tracing back to Saint Moluag, a Celtic saint who established 120 monasteries.
The Lord Lyon views him as a "sovereign lord" as his title dates back before the formation of the Kingdom of Scotland, therefore being the only person whose passport title includes the inscription “by the Grace of God,” a phrase that is so ancient it is typically associated only with the monarchy. While the King does not require a passport, this makes the Baron of Bachuil the sole individual in the country with such a title in official documentation.
The Baron of the Bachuil, has not depended on land ownership for centuries; the barony passes along with the possession of a certain ancient stick, "The Bachuil Mór", which was once the bishop's staff of Saint Moluag in the year 562. Unlike all other barons in Scotland, the lawful possessor of the stick is the Baron of the Bachuil, regardless of landholdings.

## Brief history

Isle of Lismore is a small island located in the Firth of Lorn, off the west coast of Scotland. It lies within the district of Lorne and the historic sheriffdom of Argyll, opposite the town of Oban. The island is approximately 10 miles long and 1 mile wide on average. Geologically, Lismore is characterised by a limestone formation, with some whin and trap dykes traversing the island. An ancient sea-margin surrounds much of the island, extending up to 100 yards wide in places.
In the early medieval period, Saint Moluag is said to have founded a monastery on Lismore. When the medieval Diocese of Argyll was established, Lismore was selected as the seat of the new bishopric, and a cathedral on the island was chosen as the seat.
The Livingstones of Bachuil were appointed as hereditary custodians of the bishop's pastoral staff (bachuill), granting them the title of "Baron of the Bachuil". This family played a prominent role in the island's history for centuries. In the 16th century, Sir Donald Campbell of Airds falsely accused the Livingstones of stealing a sheep and seized their lands south of Fuaran Frangaig.
On his deathbed, Sir Donald is said to have repeatedly called for the Baron of the Bachuil, but his wife prevented the Baron from coming to him. The Livingstones also had a long-standing association with the Stewarts of Appin. They risked their lives to recover the body of their friend, a Stewart of Appin, after he was killed by the Macleans of Duart.
The famous explorer and missionary Dr David Livingstone was a descendant of the Livingstones of Bachuil on Lismore. The gravestone of the Barons of the Bachuil can still be seen in the old burial ground of Lismore Cathedral, next to the site of the original medieval church. The earliest known charter granting lands and custody of the bishop's staff to the Barons of the Bachuil dates to 1544, though it refers to an even earlier charter establishing their position.

## Barons "by the Grace of God"

In 1556, the Scots Parliament took care to remind the Crown and people that the title of King of Scots signified that the sovereign was fundamentally and by common law a personal high king, not territorially the king of Scotland. The class of barons had origins partly in the allodial system of territorial tribalism where the patriarch held his land directly under God, and partly in the later feudal system – which itself represented a more advanced or evolved form of the tribal social organisation that existed in Western Europe – where land was held from and subject to the king within an organised parental kingdom.
The title of "baron" was superior to that of a feudal knight. Generally, a baron held his baronial lands feudally through grant from a higher lord or king. However, there were instances of barons who held their lands "by the Grace of God" – these noble barons held their lands allodially, meaning through ancestral family occupation of the lands rather than by any grant or as vassals to any sovereign lord. Their lands were held freely and not feudally in relation to any overlord.
There is an instance when the 10th Duke of Argyll addressed Livingstone of Lismore, the then Baron of the Bachuil, as "my Lord". This was not because the Duke considered the Baron to outrank him, but rather because as the Baron of the Bachuil, Livingstone held the oldest title in the realm as a baron of the ancient kingdom of Dál Riata. In a 1951 ruling, the Lord Lyon found that the Coarbs of St Moluag (Baron of the Bachuil) had existed for centuries without acknowledging any secular authority or hierarchical structure. In his view, during the Middle Ages the lands of Bachuil had no feudal overlord, and the original Baron of the Bachuil was, at first, similar to some old French barons who were essentially "barons by the Grace of God", without obligation to a higher feudal authority.
Baron of the Bachuil's heraldry often featured the representation of animal fur, such as squirrel fur, which was known as "vair". Vair was depicted heraldically as a pattern of blue and white shades, resembling the natural coloring of squirrel fur. This fur was associated with allodial lords or barons who held their lands "by the Grace of God".