Marcher lord

A marcher lord (Welsh: barwn y mers) was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales.

This article is about the lords of the Welsh Marches. For the lords of the Scottish Marches, see Lord Warden of the Marches. For the term in an international context, see March (territory).

A marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in France) before the introduction of the title of "marquess" in Britain; no marcher lord ever bore the rank of marquess. In this context, the word march means a border region or frontier, and is cognate with the verb "to march", both ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *mereg-, "edge" or "boundary".

The greatest marcher lords included the earls of Chester, Gloucester, Hereford, Pembroke and Shrewsbury (see also English earls of March).

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