A Marcher Lord is the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman empire) Margrave is the English and French form of the German title Markgraf (from Mark march and Graf count) and certain equivalent nobiliary (princely) titles in other languages. ...

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 Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) is the hypothetical common ancestor of the Indo-European languages. ...

In English history, marcher lords were strong, trusted lords appointed by the king to guard the borders with Wales and Scotland. The greatest marcher lords along the Welsh border included the earls of Chester, Gloucester, Hereford, Pembroke, and Shrewsbury while the most powerful marcher lords on the Scottish border were the earls of Northumberland and bishops of Durham. Chester is the county town of Cheshire in North West England. ... Gloucester (pronounced ) is a city and district in south-west England, close to the Welsh border. ... Hereford Cathedral Hereford (pronounced hěr-ə-füd or hěr-i-füd) Welsh: Henffordd (pronounced Henforth) is a city in the west of England, close to the border with Wales and on the River Wye. ... Pembroke is the name of a number of towns around the world: Pembroke, Ontario, Canada Pembroke, Malta Pembroke, Bermuda Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, in west Wales, United Kingdom Pembroke, Georgia, United States of America Pembroke, Kentucky, United States of America Pembroke, Maine, United States of America Pembroke, Massachusetts, United States of America... Map sources for Shrewsbury at grid reference SJ4912 Porthill Bridge crossing the Severn at Shrewsbury Shrewsburys Old Market Hall and The Square Market Street, behind the Old Market Hall, with the Music Hall on the left Shrewsbury (pronounced either /ˈʃɹuːzbɹiː/ or /ˈʃɹəʊzbɹiː/) is a town of... Northumberland is a traditional, ceremonial and administrative county in northern England. ... Durham (IPA: locally, in RP) is a small city and main settlement of the City of Durham district of County Durham in North East England. ...

Marcher lords had special, privileged status with more rights and powers than other Anglo-Norman lords; in fact, they had nearly all of the rights that belonged to the king in other parts of the kingdom. For example, marcher lords could establish forests with forest laws, grant charters to towns, build castles without a royal license, raise armies and wage private wars, establish markets and fairs, and control weights and measures. Other royal rights enjoyed by marcher lords were the rights of wreck of the sea, royal fish, treasure trove, and estates forfeited by traitors. (A.C. Reeves, The Marcher Lords, Dyfed: Christopher Davies, 1983, p.15)

The word for such a lord's border demesne is march, also used to render the mark of a continental margrave. In one case, this very term is preserved in the comital title of Marcher Lords in one specific border area: Earl of March Mark or march (or various plural forms of these words) are derived from the Frankish word marka (boundary) and refer to an area along a border, e. ... Margrave is the English and French form of the German title Markgraf (from Mark march and Graf count) and certain equivalent nobiliary (princely) titles in other languages. ... The title Earl of March has been created several times in the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of England. ...

In a similar way, some strong earldoms in strategic border areas were granted the privileged status of county palatine, a term analogous with the continental count palatine (in German Pfalzgraf) but not so equivalent as the margrave A County palatine is an area ruled by an count palatine (or earl palatine); with special authority and autonomy from the rest of the kingdom. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

See also

• Welsh Marches