Viscount
a degree or title of nobility ranking next below an earl, and above a baron. It is the most recently established English title of nobility, havconferred by letters patent from Henry VI. on John Lord Beaumont, in A. D. 1440. The title of viscount is frequently held in England as the second title of an earl, and is borne by the eldest son as a courtesy title during the life of his father. The coronet of a viscount of England is composed of a circle of gold, chased, having on the edge 12, 14 or 16 pearls; the cap of crimson velvet, turned up with ermine, and closed at the top with a rich tassel of gold.