Definition: In the Middle Ages, the term baron referred to any nobleman who pledged his loyalty and service to a superior in return for land that he could pass on to his heirs. The monarch was usually the superior in question, although each baron could parcel out some of his land to subordinate barons. The initial meaning of the term baron was "man"; someone who had paid homage (from the French word for man, homme) to his lord.
Today a baron is a title of nobility ranking just below a viscount (or, in countries where there are no viscounts, just below a count), but in the Middle Ages, there was no specific rank associated with the term.
Examples:
When Lord Bigg pledged to fight for King Leroy, he became the king's baron, and was able to hire Sir Knobbly as a man-at-arms.His barons forced King John to affix his seal to the Magna Carta.
