Back in the 14th/15th centuries a 'laird' might NOT have been a 'landowner' in his own right but ''an Agent'' for the Crown's land.

Wikipedia:-
Etymology
The word laird, known to have been used as far back as the 15th century and further, is a shortened form of 'laverd', which is an old Scottish word that shares a similar root to an Anglo-Saxon term meaning lord and the Middle English word 'lard' also meaning lord; however the terms lord and lady have since become words chiefly associated with peerage dignities in Scotland,*** so the term laird has come to have a separate meaning.***
History and definition

A laird is a member of the gentry; historically lairds rank below a baron and above an esquire in the non-peerage table of precedence in the Statutes of 1592 and the Baronetcy Warrants of King Charles I. The designation is used by and about the owner of a substantial and distinctive landed estate in Scotland, not part of a village or town, that lies outwith a burgh.

***In the 15/16th century the designation was used for land owners holding directly of the Crown,*** and therefore were entitled to attend Parliament. Lairds reigned over their estates like princes, their castles forming a small court. Originally in the 16th and 17th centuries the designation was applied to the head chief of a highland clan and therefore was not personal property and had obligations towards the community.[2] The laird may possess certain local or feudal rights. A lairdship carried voting rights in the ancient pre-Union Parliament of Scotland, although such voting rights were expressed via two representatives from each county who were known as Commissioners of the Shires, who came from the laird class and were chosen by their peers to represent them. A certain level of landownership was a necessary qualification (40 shillings of old extent). A laird is said to hold a lairdship. A woman who holds a lairdship in her own right has been styled with the honorific "Lady".[3]

Though translated as Lord and historically signifying the same, laird is not a title of nobility. The designation of laird is a 'corporeal hereditament' (an inheritable property that has an explicit tie to the physical land), i.e. the designation can not be held in gross, and cannot be bought and sold without selling the physical land. <The designation does not entitle the owner to sit in the House of Lords and******* is the Scottish equivalent to an English squire******* in that it is not a noble title, more a courtesy designation meaning landowner with no other rights assigned to it.> A laird possessing a Coat of Arms registered in the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland is a member of Scotland's minor nobility. Such a person can be recognised as a laird, if not a Chief or Chieftain, or descendant of one of these, by the formal recognition of a territorial designation as a part of their name by the Lord Lyon.[4][5] The Lord Lyon is the ultimate arbiter as to determining entitlement to a territorial designation, and his right of discretion in recognising these, and their status as a name, dignity or title, have been confirmed in the Scottish courts.[6]

"Άρχοντας" θα πρότεινε ο Τριβώλης 100 τόσα χρόνια αργότερα, στο ποίημα: Ιστορία του ρε της Σκωτίας με την ρήγισσα της Εγγλητέρας :-)

[Προσοχή: το "ρε" από το ιταλικό re, όχι από το "μωρέ"]

Αξίζει ένα ξεφύλλισμα (ως πηγή μεταφραστικής έμπνευσης). Λέτε να έχουμε σύντομα και πάλι ρε της Σκότζιας;

Το κείμενο βλ. εδώ:

http://anemi.lib.uoc.gr/