greater barons a special summons to the council, while the lesser barons,
it is stipulated in Magna Carta (1215), were to be summoned only through
the sheriffs. Thus was introduced a definite distinction, which eventually
had the effect of restricting to the greater barons the rights and
privileges of peerage.

Thus far the baron's position was connected with the tenure of land; in
theory the barons were those who held their lands of the king; in practice,
they were those who so held a large amount of land. The great change in
their status was effected when their presence in that council of the realm
which became the House of Lords was determined by the issue of a writ of
summons, dependent not on the tenure of land, but only on the king's will.
Camden's statement that this change was made by Henry III. after "the
Barons' War" was long and widely accepted, but it is now assigned, as by
Stubbs, to Edward I., and the earliest writs accepted as creating
hereditary baronies are those issued in his reign. It must not, however, be
supposed that those who received such summons were as yet distinguished
from commoners by any style or title. The only possible prefix at that time
was _Dominus_ (lord), which was regularly used by simple knights, and writs
of summons were still issued to the lowest order of peers as knights
(_chevaliers_) only. The style of baron was first introduced by Richard II.
in 1387, when he created John de Beauchamp, by patent, Lord de Beauchamp
and baron of Kidderminster, to make him "unum parium et baronum regni
nostri." But it was not till 1433 that the next "baron" was created, Sir
John Cornwall being then made baron of Fanhope. In spite, however, of these
innovations, the former [v.03 p.0422] was only summoned to parliament by
the style of "John Beauchamp of Kidderminster," and the latter by that of
"John Cornwall, knight." Such creations became common under Henry VI., a
transition period in peerage styles, but "Baron" could not evict "Sire,"
"Chevalier" and "Dominus." Patents of creation contained the formula "Lord
A. (and) Baron of B.," but the grantee still styled himself "Lord" only,
and it is an historically interesting fact that to this day a baron is
addressed in correspondence, not by that style, but as "the Lord A.,"
although all peers under the rank of Duke are spoken of as "lords," while
they are addressed in correspondence by their proper styles. To speak of
"Baron A." or "Baron B." is an unh