Earl () is a rank of the
nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...
in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the
peerage
A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks.
Peerages include:
A ...
, ranking below a
marquess
A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wid ...
and above a
viscount
A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty.
In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...
. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used.
The title originates in the
Old English
Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
word , meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the
Scandinavian form ''
jarl
Jarl was a rank of the nobility in Scandinavia during the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages. The institution evolved over time and varied by region. In Old Norse, it meant "chieftain", specifically one appointed to rule a territory in a king's stea ...
''. After the
Norman Conquest
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
, it became the equivalent of the continental
count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
. In Scotland, it assimilated the concept of
mormaer
In early medieval Scotland, a mormaer was the Gaelic name for a regional or provincial ruler, theoretically second only to the King of Scots, and the senior of a '' Toísech'' (chieftain). Mormaers were equivalent to English earls or Continenta ...
. Since the 1960s, earldoms have typically been created only for members of the
royal family
A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family.
The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...
. The last non-royal earldom,
Earl of Stockton
Earl of Stockton is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 24 February 1984 for Harold Macmillan, the former Conservative prime minister (from 1957 to 1963), less than three years before his death in 1986. At the same tim ...
, was created in 1984 for
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986), was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Nickn ...
, prime minister from 1957 to 1963.
Alternative names for the rank equivalent to "earl" or "count" in the nobility structure are used in other countries, such as the ''
hakushaku
The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Const ...
'' (伯爵) of the post-restoration
Japanese Imperial era
The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...
.
Etymology
In the 7th century, the common
Old English
Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
terms for nobility was or . However, this was later replaced by the term ''
thegn
In later Anglo-Saxon England, a thegn or thane (Latin minister) was an aristocrat who ranked at the third level in lay society, below the king and ealdormen. He had to be a substantial landowner. Thanage refers to the tenure by which lands were ...
''. In the 11th century, under Danish influence, the Old English title ''
ealdorman
Ealdorman ( , )"ealdorman"
''Collins English Dictionary''. was an office in the Government ...
'' became ''earl'', from the
Old Norse
Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
word . Proto-Norse ''eril'', or the later Old Norse , came to signify the rank of a leader.
The
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norma ...
-derived equivalent ''count'' (from Latin ) was not introduced following the
Norman Conquest
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
of England though ''countess'' was and is used for the female title. Geoffrey Hughes writes, "It is a likely speculation that the
Norman French
Norman or Norman French (, , Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a '' langue d'oïl'' spoken in the historical and cultural region of Normandy.
The name "Norman French" is sometimes also used to describe the administrative languages of '' Angl ...
title 'Count' was abandoned in England in favour of the Germanic 'Earl'
..precisely because of the uncomfortable
phonetic
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds or, in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians ...
proximity to
cunt
"Cunt" () is a vulgar word for the vulva in its primary sense, and it is used in a variety of ways, including as a term of disparagement. "Cunt" is often used as a disparaging and obscene term for a woman in the United States, an unpleas ...
".
In the other languages of Great Britain and Ireland, the term is translated as:
Welsh ,
Irish and
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...
,
Scots , or ,
Cornish .
England
Anglo-Saxon period
Ealdorman
The office of earl evolved from the ealdorman, an office within
Anglo-Saxon government
Government in Anglo-Saxon England covers English government during the Anglo-Saxon period from the 5th century until the Norman Conquest in 1066. See Government in medieval England for developments after 1066.
Until the 9th century, England ...
. The
English king
This list of kings and reigning queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, who initially ruled Wessex, one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which later made up modern England. Alfred styled himself king of the Anglo-Sax ...
appointed the ealdorman to be the chief officer in a
shire
Shire () is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries. It is generally synonymous with county (such as Cheshire and Worcestershire). British counties are among the oldes ...
. He commanded the local
fyrd
A fyrd was a type of early Anglo-Saxon army that was mobilised from freemen or paid men to defend their Shire's lords estate, or from selected representatives to join a royal expedition. Service in the fyrd was usually of short duration and part ...
and presided over the
shire court
A shire court or shire moot was an Anglo-Saxon government institution, used to maintain law and order at a local level, and perform various administrative functions, including the collection of taxes for the central government.
The system origina ...
alongside the
bishop
A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
. As compensation, he received the
third penny
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system
Places
* 3rd Street (dis ...
: one-third of the shire court's profits and the
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
...
s' revenues. Initially, the ealdorman governed a single shire. Starting with
Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder (870s?17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death in 924. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousi ...
(), it became customary for one ealdorman to administer three or four shires together as an ealdormanry.
Cnut the Great

During
Cnut
Cnut ( ; ; – 12 November 1035), also known as Canute and with the epithet the Great, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rul ...
's reign (1016–1035), ''ealdorman'' changed to ''earl'' (related to Old English and Scandinavian ). Cnut's realm, the
North Sea Empire
The North Sea Empire, also known as the Anglo-Scandinavian Empire, was the personal union of the kingdoms of England, Denmark and Norway for most of the period between 1013 and 1042 towards the end of the Viking Age. This ephemeral Norse-ruled ...
, extended beyond England, forcing him to delegate power to earls. Earls were governors or
viceroy
A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory.
The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...
s, ruling in the king's name, keeping the peace, dispensing justice, and raising armies. Like the earlier ealdormen, they received the third penny from their jurisdictions. Earls ranked above
thegn
In later Anglo-Saxon England, a thegn or thane (Latin minister) was an aristocrat who ranked at the third level in lay society, below the king and ealdormen. He had to be a substantial landowner. Thanage refers to the tenure by which lands were ...
s in precedence and were the chief counselors in the
witan
The witan () was the king's council in the Anglo-Saxon government of England from before the 7th century until the 11th century. It comprised important noblemen, including ealdormen, thegns, and bishops. Meetings of the witan were sometimes c ...
(king's council).
The office of earl was not hereditary. While sons of earls could expect to inherit their father's office, this was not automatic. Only the king could make someone an earl.
Initially, Cnut kept Wessex for himself and divided the rest of England into three earldoms. He gave the
earldom of East Anglia to
Thorkell the Tall
Thorkell the Tall, also known as Thorkell the High in the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' (Old Norse: Þorke(ti)ll inn hávi; ; Swedish: ''Torkel Höge''; ), was a prominent member of the Jomsviking order and a notable lord. He was a son of the Scan ...
and the
earldom of Northumbria
Earl of Northumbria or Ealdorman of Northumbria was a title in the late Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Scandinavian and early Anglo-Norman period in England. The ealdordom was a successor of the Norse Kingdom of York. In the seventh century, the Anglo-Saxo ...
to
Eric
The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization).
The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-N ...
.
Eadric Streona
Eadric Streona (died 1017) was Ealdorman of Mercia from 1007 until he was killed by King Cnut. Eadric was given the epithet "Streona" (translated as "The Acquisitive”) in '' Hemming's Cartulary'' because he appropriated church land and funds ...
retained the
earldom of Mercia (having been unified with western Mercia in the tenure of earldorman Ælfhere), which he had held since 1007. Cnut gave Godwin the
earldom of Wessex in 1018. Eventually Godwin was also granted the
earldom of Kent. Thorkell vanished from the records after 1023, and Godwin became the leading earl.
Earldoms were not permanent territorial divisions; kings could transfer shires from one earldom to another. The fact that there was no local government administration beyond the shire also limited the autonomy of the earls. They could not raise taxation, mint coins, issue
charters, or hold their own courts (the shire courts that earls presided over were held in the king's name).
F. W. Maitland wrote, "with the estates of the earls, we find it impossible to distinguish between private property and official property". He noted the existence of "
manors of the shire" and "comital
vill
Vill is a term used in English, Welsh and Irish history to describe a basic rural land unit, roughly comparable to that of a parish, manor, village or tithing.
Medieval developments
The vill was the smallest territorial and administrative unit� ...
s" that belonged to the office rather than the officeholder.
Stephen Baxter argued that given the evidence, it must be "assumed that the 'comital manors' in each shire could be transferred by the king from one earl to another with relative ease". However, not all scholars agree with the existence of such "comital" property.
Edward the Confessor
During the reign of
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex.
Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...
(1042–1066), the earls were still royal officers governing their earldoms in the king's name. However, they were developing more autonomy and becoming a threat to royal power. Three great aristocratic families had emerged: the
Godwins of Wessex,
Leofric of Mercia, and
Siward of Northumbria
Siward ( or more recently ; ) or Sigurd (, ) was an important earl of 11th-century northern England. The Old Norse nickname ''Digri'' and its Latin translation ''Grossus'' ("the stout") are given to him by near-contemporary texts. It is possibl ...
.
In theory, earls could be removed by the king. Edward deliberately broke the hereditary succession to Northumbria when Earl Siward died in 1055. He ignored the claims of Siward's son,
Waltheof, and appointed
Tostig Godwinson
Tostig Godwinson ( 102925 September 1066) was an Anglo-Saxon Earl of Northumbria and brother of King Harold Godwinson. After being exiled by his brother, Tostig supported the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada's invasion of England, and was killed ...
as earl. The earldom of East Anglia appears to have been used as a training ground for new earls. Nevertheless, the earldoms of Wessex and Mercia were becoming hereditary. For four generations, Mercia was passed from father to son:
Leofwine,
Leofric,
Ælfgar Ælfgar is an Anglo-Saxon masculine personal name, from ''ælf'' "elf" and ''gar'' "spear", that may refer to:
*Ælfgar of Lichfield (died c. 947), bishop of Lichfield
*Ælfgar of Elmham (died 1021), bishop of Elmham
*Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia (103 ...
, and
Edwin
The name Edwin means "wealth-friend". It comes from (wealth, good fortune) and (friend). Thus the Old English form is Ēadwine, a name widely attested in early medieval England. Edwina is the feminine form of the name.
Notable people and char ...
.
To reward Godwin for his support, Edward made his eldest son,
Sweyn Sweyn is a Scandinavian masculine given name. Notable people with the surname include:
Kings:
* Sweyn Forkbeard (960–1014), King of Denmark, England, and Norway as Sweyn I
* Sweyn or Svein Knutsson (c. 1016–1035), King of Norway as Sweyn II
* S ...
, an earl in 1043.
Harold, Godwin's second oldest son, was made the earl of East Anglia. In 1045, an earldom was created for Godwin's nephew,
Beorn Estrithson
Beorn Estrithson (died 1049) was the son of Jarl Ulf and Estrid Svendsdatter, sister of Cnut the Great.
Life
Beorn established himself in England where many of his relatives held high positions. He held an Earldom (Huntingdon) in what is now ...
. After Sweyn left England in disgrace in 1047, some of his estates were taken over by Harold and Beorn.
Ralf of Mantes, Edward's Norman nephew, was made
earl of Hereford
Earl of Hereford is a title in the ancient feudal nobility of England, encompassing the region of Herefordshire, England. It was created six times.
The title is an ancient one. In 1042, Godwin, Earl of Wessex severed the territory of Herefordshir ...
, a territory formerly part of Sweyn's earldom.
In 1053, Harold succeeded his father, and Ælfgar, son of Earl Leofric, became earl of East Anglia. A major reshuffle occurred after both Leofric and Ralf died in 1057. Ælfgar succeeded his father in Mercia, and
Gyrth Godwinson
Gyrth Godwinson (Old English: ''Gyrð Godƿinson''; 1032 – 14 October 1066) was the fourth son of Earl Godwin, and thus a younger brother of Harold Godwinson. He went with his eldest brother Sweyn into exile to Flanders in 1051, but unlike ...
took East Anglia. An earldom was created for
Leofwine Godwinson
Leofwine Godwinson (c. 1035 – 14 October 1066) was a younger brother of King Harold Godwinson, the fifth son of Earl Godwin.
When the Godwin family was exiled from England in 1051 he went with Harold to Ireland, where they were sheltered an ...
out of the south-eastern shires belonging to Harold. In exchange, Harold received Ralf's earldom.
In 1065, a rebellion deposed Tostig and recognised
Morcar
Morcar (or Morcere) (, ) (died after 1087) was the son of Ælfgār (earl of Mercia) and brother of Ēadwine. He was the earl of Northumbria from 1065 to 1066, when William the Conqueror replaced him with Copsi.
Dispute with the Godwins
Morcar ...
, the brother of Earl Edwin of Mercia, as Northumbria's new earl. The king accepted this, and Tostig was expelled from England.
In 1066, according to the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
, the Godwin family estates were valued at £7,000, Earl Leofric of Mercia at £2,400, and Earl Siward of Northumbria at £350. In comparison, the king's lands were valued at £5,000. This concentration of land and wealth in the hands of the earls, and one family in particular, weakened the Crown's authority. The situation was reversed when Harold Godwinson became king, and he was able to restore the Crown's authority.
Norman Conquest

The
Norman Conquest
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
of 1066 introduced a new
Anglo-Norman aristocracy that gradually replaced the old Anglo-Saxon elite. In
Normandy
Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy.
Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
, a
duchy
A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition.
There once existed an important differe ...
in the
Kingdom of France
The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...
, the equivalent of an earl was a
count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
. The definition and powers of French counts varied widely. Some counts were nearly independent rulers who gave only nominal loyalty to the
King of France
France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions.
Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...
. In Normandy, counts were junior members of the
Norman dynasty
The House of Normandy ( ) was a noble family originating from the Duchy of Normandy. The House of Normandy's lineage began with the Scandinavian Rollo who founded the Duchy of Normandy in 911.
The House of Normandy includes members who were d ...
with responsibility for guarding border regions. In 1066, there were three Norman counts:
Richard of Évreux,
Robert of Eu, and
Robert of Mortain
Robert, Count of Mortain, first Earl of Cornwall of 2nd creation (–) was a Norman nobleman and the half-brother (on their mother's side) of King William the Conqueror. He was one of the very few proven companions of William the Conqueror at t ...
.
William the Conqueror
William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...
() reduced the size of earldoms; those created after 1071 had responsibility for one shire. Like Norman counts, earls became military governors assigned to vulnerable border or coastal areas. To protect the
Welsh Marches
The Welsh Marches () is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods.
The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ''Marchia W ...
, the king made
Roger de Montgomery
Roger de Montgomery (died 1094), also known as Roger the Great, was the first Earl of Shrewsbury, and Earl of Arundel, in Sussex. His father was Roger de Montgomery, seigneur of Montgomery, a member of the House of Montgomery, and was probab ...
the
earl of Shrewsbury
Earl of Shrewsbury () is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the Peerage of England. The second earldom dates to 1442. The holder of the Earldom of Shrewsbury also holds the title of Earl of Waterford (1446) in the Peerage of Ireland ...
and
Hugh d'Avranches
Hugh d'Avranches ( 1047 – 27 July 1101), nicknamed ''le Gros'' (the Large) or ''Lupus'' (the Wolf), was from 1071 the second Norman Earl of Chester and one of the great magnates of early Norman England.
Early life and career
Hugh d'Avra ...
the
earl of Chester
The Earldom of Chester () was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England, extending principally over the counties of Cheshire and Flintshire. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs apparent to the English throne, ...
. Likewise, the king's half-brother
Odo of Bayeux
Odo of Bayeux (died 1097) was a Norman nobleman who was a bishop of Bayeux in Normandy and was made Earl of Kent in England following the Norman Conquest. He was the maternal half-brother of duke, and later king, William the Conqueror, and w ...
was made
earl of Kent
The peerage title Earl of Kent has been created eight times in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. In fiction, the Earl of Kent is also known as a prominent supporting character in William Shakespeare's tragedy K ...
to guard the
English Channel
The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
.
After the
Revolt of the Earls
The Revolt of the Earls in 1075 was a rebellion of three earls against William I of England (William the Conqueror). It was the last serious act of resistance against William in the Norman Conquest.
Cause
The revolt was caused by the king's re ...
in 1075, only four earldoms remained, all held by Anglo-Normans: Kent, Shrewsbury, Chester, and Northumbria. This number was reduced to three after 1082 when Odo of Bayeux was arrested and deprived of Kent. At the death of
William Rufus
William II (; – 2 August 1100) was King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Normandy and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales. The third son of William the Co ...
in 1100, there were five earldoms: Chester, Shrewsbury,
Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
(or Warrenne),
Warwick
Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...
, and
Huntingdon
Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by John, King of England, King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver C ...
–
Northampton
Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...
. In 1122,
Henry I Henry I or Henri I may refer to:
:''In chronological order''
* Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936)
* Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955)
* Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018)
* Henry I of France (1008–1060)
* Henry ...
made his
illegitimate
Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce.
Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...
son
Robert
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...
the
earl of Gloucester
The title of Earl of Gloucester was created several times in the Peerage of Peerage of England, England. A fictional earl is also a character in William Shakespeare's play ''King Lear.''
Earls of Gloucester, 1st Creation (1121)
*Robert, 1st Earl ...
.
After the Conquest, new earldoms tended to be named for the city and castle in which they were based. Some titles became attached to the family name rather than location. For example, the holder of the
earldom of Surrey was more commonly called "Earl Warenne". The same was true of the
earldom of Buckingham, whose holder was called "Earl Gifford". These earls may have preferred to be known by family names that were older and more prestigious than their newer territorial designations.
Stephen and Matilda
The number of earls rose from seven in 1135 to twenty in 1141 as King
Stephen
Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...
()
created twelve new earls to reward supporters during
the Anarchy
The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Duchy of Normandy, Normandy between 1138 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adel ...
, the civil war fought with his cousin
Empress Matilda
Empress Matilda (10 September 1167), also known as Empress Maud, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter and heir of Henry I, king of England and ruler of Normandy, she went to ...
for the English throne. In 1138, Stephen created eight new earldoms:
#
Waleran de Beaumont, who was already
Count of Meulan
In the Middle Ages, the county of Meulan was a county of Île-de-France.
Geography
The geographical extent of the county associated with the castle and town of Meulan becomes evident in the time of Robert I (1081–1118) and Waleran de Beaumo ...
in Normandy and the twin brother of the
2nd Earl of Leicester, was made
earl of Worcester
Earl of Worcester is a title that has been created five times in the Peerage of England. Worcester is a cathedral city in Worcestershire, England.
Five creations
The first creation came in 1138 in favour of the Norman noble Waleran de Beaumon ...
.
# Waleran's younger brother
Hugh de Beaumont was made
earl of Bedford
Earl of Bedford is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of England and is currently a subsidiary title of the Dukes of Bedford. The first creation came in 1138 in favour of Hugh de Beaumont. He appears to have been degraded ...
.
#
Gilbert de Clare was made
earl of Pembroke
Earl of Pembroke is a title in the Peerage of England that was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title, which is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, has been recreated ten times from its origin ...
.
#
Gilbert de Clare, nephew of the Earl of Pembroke, was made
earl of Hertford
Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...
.
#
William de Aumale was made
earl of York
In Anglo-Saxon England, the Earl of York or Ealdorman of York was the ruler of the southern half of Northumbria. The titles ealdorman and earl both come from Old English. The ealdormanry (earldom) seems to have been created in 966 following a peri ...
in reward for service during the
Battle of the Standard
The Battle of the Standard, sometimes called the Battle of Northallerton, took place on 22 August 1138 on Cowton Moor near Northallerton in Yorkshire, England. English forces under William of Aumale repelled a Scottish army led by King Davi ...
.
#
Robert de Ferrers was made
earl of Derby
Earl of Derby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the en ...
in reward for service during the Battle of the Standard.
#
William d'Aubigny was made
earl of Lincoln
Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the peerage of England, most recently in 1572. The Hereditary peerage, earldom was held as a subsidiary title by the Duke of Newcastle, Dukes of Newcastle-under-Lyne, from 1768 to 1 ...
.
#
William de Roumare
William de Romare (born c. 1096) (also Roumare or Romayre or Romay) was the Earl of Lincoln, 2nd Baron of Kendal, Lord of Bolingbroke.
He was the son of Roger FitzGerold (de Roumare), 1st Baron of Kendal, Lord of Bolingbroke and Lucy of Boling ...
was made
earl of Cambridge
The title of Earl of Cambridge was created several times in the Peerage of England, and since 1362 the title has been closely associated with the Royal family (see also Duke of Cambridge, Marquess of Cambridge).
The first Earl of the fourth cre ...
.
In 1140, Roumare was given the earldom of Lincoln in exchange for Cambridge, and William d'Aubigny received the
earldom of Sussex (commonly known as Arundel). The same year,
Geoffrey de Mandeville was made
earl of Essex
Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...
, and his is the oldest surviving charter of creation. Around the same time,
Hugh Bigod was made
earl of Norfolk
Earl of Norfolk is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. Created in 1070, the first major dynasty to hold the title was the 12th and 13th century Bigod family, and it then was later held by the Mowbrays, who we ...
.
In February 1141, Stephen was captured at the
Battle of Lincoln, and Empress Matilda elected "Lady of the English" in April. At this time, she created three earldoms for her own supporters. Her illegitimate brother
Reginald de Dunstanville was made
earl of Cornwall
The title of Earl of Cornwall was created several times in the Peerage of England before 1337, when it was superseded by the title Duke of Cornwall, which became attached to heirs-apparent to the throne.
Condor of Cornwall
*Condor of Cornwall, ...
.
Baldwin de Redvers was made
earl of Devon
Earl of Devon is a title that has been created several times in the Peerage of England. It was possessed first (after the Norman Conquest of 1066) by the Redvers family (''alias'' de Reviers, Revieres, etc.), and later by the Courtenay famil ...
, and
William de Mohun,
lord of Dunster, was made
earl of Somerset
Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used.
The titl ...
.
Aubrey de Vere was made
earl of Oxford
Earl of Oxford is a dormant title in the Peerage of England, first created for Aubrey de Vere, 1st Earl of Oxford, Aubrey de Vere by the Empress Matilda in 1141. De Vere family, His family was to hold the title for more than five and a half cen ...
in 1142. Sometime around 1143, Matilda's constable
Patrick of Salisbury was made
earl of Salisbury
Earl of Salisbury is a title that has been created several times in English and British history. It has a complex history and is now a subsidiary title to the marquessate of Salisbury.
Background
The title was first created for Patrick de Sa ...
.
During the Anarchy, earls took advantage of the power vacuum to assume Crown rights. Robert of Gloucester, Patrick of Salisbury,
Robert of Leicester, and
Henry of Northumbria all minted their own coinage. Earls and
barons Barons may refer to:
*Baron (plural), a rank of nobility
*Barons (surname), a Latvian surname
*Barons, Alberta, Canada
* ''Barons'' (TV series), a 2022 Australian drama series
* ''The Barons'', a 2009 Belgian film
Sports
* Birmingham Barons, a Min ...
had also built
adulterine castle
Adulterine castles were fortifications built in England during the 12th century without royal approval, particularly during the civil war of the Anarchy between 1139 and 1154.
Details
During the civil war of the Anarchy, fought between the fact ...
s (castles built without royal permission).
Plantagenets

It fell to Stephen's successor
Henry II
Henry II may refer to:
Kings
* Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014
*Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154
*Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...
() to again curtail the power of earls. He confiscated or demolished illegal castles. He
reduced the number of earldoms by allowing them to die with their holders and did not create new ones. During his reign, "the title became a mark of rank, rather than a substantive office: the real power lay with the king's sheriffs and justices."
The real power possessed by any individual earl in this period depended on the amount of land and wealth he possessed that could be translated into patronage and influence. The more land and resources concentrated in a region, the more influence an earl had. The most powerful were the earls of Chester, who
by the middle of the 13th century were described as
earls palatine
In England, Wales and Ireland a county palatine or palatinate was an area ruled by a hereditary nobleman enjoying special authority and autonomy from the rest of a kingdom. The name derives from the Latin adjective ''palātīnus'', "relating t ...
. Their power derived from owning most of the land in Cheshire. As a result, the shire court and the earl's
honour court were identical, and the sheriff answered to the earl. The
earl of Oxford
Earl of Oxford is a dormant title in the Peerage of England, first created for Aubrey de Vere, 1st Earl of Oxford, Aubrey de Vere by the Empress Matilda in 1141. De Vere family, His family was to hold the title for more than five and a half cen ...
possessed less than an acre of land in Oxfordshire (most of his land was in Essex), and therefore possessed no power in the county.
An earldom along with its land was inherited generally according to
primogeniture
Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn Legitimacy (family law), legitimate child to inheritance, inherit all or most of their parent's estate (law), estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some childre ...
. If the only heirs were female, then the land would be partitioned equally between co-heirs with the eldest co-heir receiving the title. In 1204,
Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester
Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester (died circa 21 October 1204) ( Latinized to ''de Bellomonte'' ("from the beautiful mountain")) was an English nobleman, the last of the Beaumont earls of Leicester. He is sometimes known as Robert FitzP ...
, died without children. His heirs were his sisters,
Amice
The amice is a liturgical vestment used mainly in the Catholic Church, Roman Catholic church, Western Orthodox church, Lutheranism , Lutheran church, and some Anglicanism , Anglican, Armenian Catholic , Armenian, and Polish National Catholic C ...
and Margaret. Amice's son,
Simon de Montfort, succeeded as earl of Leicester, and Margaret's husband,
Saer de Quincy, was created the
earl of Winchester
Earl of Winchester was a title that was created three times in the Peerage of England during the Middle Ages. The first was Saer de Quincy, who received the earldom in 1207/8 after his wife inherited half of the lands of the Beaumont earls of Le ...
in 1207. This was the first new hereditary earldom created since the reign of Stephen.
An earldom could be dramatically impacted upon by multiple partitions. In 1232,
Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester
Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester and 1st Earl of Lincoln (1170 – 26 October 1232), known in some references as the 4th Earl of Chester (in the second lineage of the title after the original family line was broken after the 2nd Earl) ...
died childless. His lands were divided between his four sisters with the title going to the eldest's son,
John of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon
John of Scotland (or John de Scotia or John le Scot), 9th Earl of Huntingdon and 7th Earl of Chester (c. 12076 June 1237), sometimes known as "the Scot", was an Anglo-Scottish magnate, the son of David of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon by his wife ...
. John died in 1237, and once again the estate had to be divided between five co-heirs (the two daughters of his eldest sister and his three surviving sisters). Before the land could be divided, King
Alexander II of Scotland
Alexander II ( Medieval Gaelic: '; Modern Gaelic: '; nicknamed "the Peaceful" by modern historians; 24 August 1198 – 6 July 1249) was King of Alba (Scotland) from 1214 until his death. He concluded the Treaty of York (1237) which defined t ...
claimed the earldom of Huntingdon. While the king's council dismissed this claim, the Scottish king was granted the lands attached to Huntingdon but not the title. This reduced the land available to John's co-heirs and created the possibility of an earl who was virtually landless. Earl Ranulf had been the greatest landholder in England, but after two partitions in five years, the land granted to each co-heir was small.
William de Forz, husband of the senior co-heir, argued that as a county palatine the earldom of Chester should not be partitioned, but this argument was rejected by the king's court. Ultimately, the king himself gained possession of all the lands attached to the Chester earldom through a series of land exchanges with the co-heirs.
In 1227,
Henry III () granted his
justiciar
Justiciar is the English form of the medieval Latin term or (meaning "judge" or "justice"). The Chief Justiciar was the king's chief minister, roughly equivalent to a modern Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
The Justiciar of Ireland was ...
and
chief minister
A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...
,
Hubert de Burgh
Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent ( , ; – before 5 May 1243) was an English nobleman who served as Chief Justiciar of England (1215–1232) and Justiciar of Ireland (1232) during the reigns of King John and his son and successor King Henry I ...
, the earldom of Kent. The terms of inheritance were unprecedented: the earldom was to pass to Hubert's son by his third wife
Margaret of Scotland, thereby passing over his eldest son by his first wife. It may have been thought that Margaret's royal blood made her children more worthy of inheritance.
By the 13th century earls had a social rank just below the king and princes, but were not necessarily more powerful or wealthier than other noblemen. The only way to become an earl was to inherit the title or to marry into one—and the king reserved a right to prevent the transfer of the title. By the 14th century, creating an earl included a special public ceremony where the king personally tied a sword belt around the waist of the new earl, emphasizing the fact that the earl's rights came from him.
Earls still held influence and, as "companions of the king", generally acted in support of the king's power. They showed their own power prominently in 1327 when they deposed King
Edward II
Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also known as Edward of Caernarfon or Caernarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the throne follo ...
. They would later do the same with other kings of whom they disapproved. In 1337
Edward III
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...
declared that he intended to
create six new earldoms.
Ireland
The first Irish earldom was the
Earl of Ulster
The title of Earl of Ulster has been created six times in the Peerage of Ireland and twice in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since 1928, the title has been held by the Duke of Gloucester and is used as a courtesy title by the Duke's el ...
, granted to the Norman knight
Hugh de Lacy in 1205 by
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
, King of England and
Lord of Ireland
The Lordship of Ireland (), sometimes referred to retrospectively as Anglo-Norman Ireland, was the part of Ireland ruled by the King of Kingdom of England, England (styled as "Lord of Ireland") and controlled by loyal Normans in Ireland, Anglo ...
. Other early earldoms were
Earl of Carrick
Earl of Carrick (or Mormaer of Carrick) is the title applied to the ruler of Carrick, Scotland, Carrick (now South Ayrshire), subsequently part of the Peerage of Scotland. The position came to be strongly associated with the Scottish crown when ...
(1315),
Earl of Kildare
Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used.
The titl ...
(1316),
Earl of Desmond
Earl of Desmond ( meaning Earl of South Munster) is a title of nobility created by the English monarch in the peerage of Ireland. The title has been created four times. It was first awarded in 1329 to Maurice FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Desmond, Maur ...
(1329) and
Earl of Waterford (1446, extant).
After the
Tudor reconquest of Ireland (1530s–1603), native
Irish kings
This page serves as an index of lists of kings of the Gaelic kingdoms of Ireland of the Early Medieval period
The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded b ...
and clan chiefs were encouraged to submit to the English king (now also
King of Ireland
Monarchical systems of government have existed in Ireland from ancient times. This continued in all of Ireland until 1949, when the Republic of Ireland Act removed most of Ireland's residual ties to the British monarch. Northern Ireland, as p ...
) and were, in return, granted noble titles in the
Peerage of Ireland
The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...
. Notable among those who agreed to this policy of "
surrender and regrant
During the Tudor conquest of Ireland (c.1540–1603), "surrender and regrant" was the legal mechanism by which Irish clans were to be converted from a power structure rooted in clan and kin loyalties, to a late-Feudalism, feudal system under t ...
" were
Ulick na gCeann Burke, 1st Earl of Clanricarde
Ulick na gCeann Burke, 12th Clanricarde or Mac William Uachtar, 1st Earl of Clanricarde ( ; died 1544; styled MacWilliam, and na-gCeann, meaning "of the Heads", "having made a mount of the heads of men slain in battle which he covered up with ...
,
Murrough O'Brien, 1st Earl of Thomond
Murrough O'Brien, 1st Baron of Inchiquin, 1st Earl of Thomond () (died 7 November 1551) was an Irish peer, Chief of Clan O'Brien, and the last King of Thomond.
Biography
Murrough was a lineal descendant of Brian Boru, High King of Ireland, and ...
,
Donald McCarthy, 1st Earl of Clancare,
Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell
Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell (Irish language, Irish: ''Rudhraighe'' ''Ó Domhnaill''; 1575 – 28 July 1608), was an Gaelic Ireland, Irish Gaelic lord and the last lord of Tyrconnell prior to the Plantation of Ulster. He succeeded his ...
,
Randal MacDonnell, 1st Earl of Antrim
Randall MacSorley MacDonnell, 1st Earl of Antrim, PC (Ire) (died 10 December 1636), rebelled together with Tyrone and Tyrconnell in the Nine Years' War but having succeeded his brother, Sir James mac Sorley MacDonnell, as Lord of the Route a ...
and
Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone
Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone (; – 20 July 1616) was an Irish lord and key figure of the Nine Years' War. Known as the "Great Earl", he led the confederacy of Irish lords against the English Crown in resistance to the Tudor conquest of Ir ...
. The earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnell later rebelled against the crown and were forced to flee Ireland in 1607; their departure, along with about ninety followers, is famed in Irish history as the
, seen as the ultimate demise of native Irish monarchy.
Ireland became part of the United Kingdom in 1801, and the last Irish earldom was created in 1824. The
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
does not recognize titles of nobility.
Notable later Irish earls include Jacobite leader
Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan; Postmaster General
Richard Trench, 2nd Earl of Clancarty
Richard Le Poer Trench, 2nd Earl of Clancarty, 1st Marquess of Heusden (19 May 1767 – 24 November 1837), styled The Honourable from 1797 to 1803 and then Viscount Dunlo to 1805, was an Anglo-Irish peer, a nobleman in the Dutch nobility, and ...
; Prime Minister
William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne
William Petty Fitzmaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne (2 May 17377 May 1805), known as the Earl of Shelburne between 1761 and 1784, by which title he is generally known to history, was an Anglo-Irish Whig (British political party), Whig states ...
(later made a
marquess
A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wid ...
); and the (alleged) murderer
John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan
Richard John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan (born 18 December 1934 – disappeared 8 November 1974, declared dead 27 October 1999), commonly known as Lord Lucan, was a British peer and gambler who vanished in 1974 after being suspected of killing ...
.
Scotland

The oldest earldoms in
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
(with the exception of the
Earldom of Dunbar and March
The title Earl of Dunbar, also called Earl of Lothian or Earl of March, applied to the head of a comital lordship in south-eastern Scotland between the early 12th century and the early 15th century. The first man to use the title of Earl in this ...
) originated from the office of
mormaer
In early medieval Scotland, a mormaer was the Gaelic name for a regional or provincial ruler, theoretically second only to the King of Scots, and the senior of a '' Toísech'' (chieftain). Mormaers were equivalent to English earls or Continenta ...
, such as the
Mormaer of Fife
The Earl of Fife or Mormaer of Fife was the ruler of the province of Fife in medieval Scotland, which encompassed the modern counties of Fife and Kinross. Due to their royal ancestry, the earls of Fife were the highest ranking nobles in the re ...
,
of Strathearn, etc.; subsequent earldoms developed by analogy. The principal distinction between earldom and mormaer is that earldoms were granted as
fief
A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...
s of the King, while mormaers were virtually independent. The ''earl'' is thought to have been introduced by the
anglophile
An Anglophile is a person who admires or loves England, its people, its culture, its language, and/or its various accents.
In some cases, Anglophilia refers to an individual's appreciation of English history and traditional English cultural ico ...
king
David I David I may refer to:
* David I, Caucasian Albanian Catholicos c. 399
* David I of Armenia, Catholicos of Armenia (728–741)
* David I Kuropalates of Georgia (died 881)
* David I Anhoghin, king of Lori (ruled 989–1048)
* David I of Scotland ...
. While the power attached to the office of earl was swept away in England by the Norman Conquest, in Scotland earldoms retained substantial powers, such as
regality
A burgh of regality is a type of Scottish town.
They were distinct from royal burghs as they were granted to "Lords of Regality, lords of regality", leading noblemen. (In distinction, burgh of barony, burghs of barony were granted to a tenant-in- ...
throughout the Middle Ages.
It is important to distinguish between the land controlled directly by the earl, in a landlord-like sense, and the region over which he could exercise his office. Scottish use of Latin terms and makes the difference clear. Initially these terms were synonymous, as in England, but by the 12th century they were seen as distinct concepts, with ''comitatus'' referring to the land under direct control of the earl, and referring to the province; hence, the ''comitatus'' might now only be a small region of the . Thus, unlike England, the term ''county'', which ultimately evolved from the Latin , was not historically used for Scotland's main political subdivisions.
Sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...
s were introduced at a similar time to earls, but unlike England, where sheriffs were officers who implemented the decisions of the shire court, in Scotland they were specifically charged with upholding the king's interests in the region, thus being more like a
coroner
A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death. The official may also investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...
. As such, a parallel system of justice arose, between that provided by magnates (represented by the earls), and that by the king (represented by sheriffs), in a similar way to England having both
Courts Baron and
Magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...
s, respectively. Inevitably, this led to a degree of
forum shopping
Forum shopping is a Colloquialism, colloquial term for the practice of litigants taking actions to have their legal case heard in the court they believe is most likely to provide a favorable judgment. Some jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions hav ...
, with the king's offering – the Sheriff – gradually winning.
As in England, as the centuries wore on, the term ''earl'' came to be disassociated from the office, and later kings started granting the title of ''earl'' without it, and gradually without even an associated ''comitatus''. By the 16th century there started to be earls of towns, of villages, and even of isolated houses; it had simply become a label for marking status, rather than an office of intrinsic power. In 1746, in the aftermath of the
Jacobite rising, the
Heritable Jurisdictions Act brought the powers of the remaining ancient earldoms under the control of the sheriffs; ''earl'' is now simply a noble rank.
Wales
Some of the most significant Earls (
Welsh: ''ieirll'', singular ''iarll'') in Welsh history were those from the West of England. As Wales remained independent of any Norman jurisdiction, the more powerful Earls in England were
encouraged to invade and establish effective "
buffer states" to be run as
autonomous lordships. These
Marcher Lords
A marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales.
A marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in France ...
included the earls of
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
,
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...
,
Hereford
Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...
,
Pembroke and
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...
(see also
English Earls of March).
The first Earldoms created within Wales were the
Lordship of Glamorgan
The Lordship of Glamorgan was one of the most powerful and wealthy of the Welsh Marcher Lordships. The seat was Cardiff Castle. It was established by the conquest of Glamorgan from its native Welsh ruler, by the Anglo-Norman nobleman Robert FitzH ...
(a comital title) and the
Earldom of Pembroke
Earl of Pembroke is a title in the Peerage of England that was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title, which is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, has been recreated ten times from its origin ...
.
Tir Iarll
; ), is the traditional name of an area of Glamorgan, Wales, which has long had a particular resonance in Welsh culture.
In medieval times Tir Iarll was a cwmwd covering the present-day parishes of Llangynwyd, Betws, Cynffig and Margam. It l ...
(English: ''Earl's land'') is an area of
Glamorgan
Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...
, which has traditionally had a particular resonance in
Welsh culture
The culture of Wales encompasses the Welsh language, customs, Traditional festival days of Wales, festivals, Music of Wales, music, Welsh art, art, Welsh cuisine, cuisine, Welsh mythology, mythology, History of Wales, history, and Politics of ...
.
United Kingdom
An earldom became, with a few exceptions, the default rank of the peerage to which a former
prime minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
was elevated. The last prime minister to accept an earldom was
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986), was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Nickn ...
, who became
earl of Stockton
Earl of Stockton is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 24 February 1984 for Harold Macmillan, the former Conservative prime minister (from 1957 to 1963), less than three years before his death in 1986. At the same tim ...
in 1984.
Insignia and forms of address
Coronet

A British earl is entitled to a
coronet
In British heraldry, a coronet is a type of crown that is a mark of rank of non-reigning members of the royal family and peers. In other languages, this distinction is not made, and usually the same word for ''crown'' is used irrespective of ra ...
bearing eight
strawberry
The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown Hybrid (biology), hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus ''Fragaria'', the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosaceae. The fruit ...
leaves (four visible) and eight
silver
Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
balls (or
pearl
A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...
s) around the rim (five visible). The actual coronet is rarely, if ever, worn except at the
coronation
A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...
of a new monarch, but in
heraldry
Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...
an earl may bear his coronet of rank on his
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
above the shield.
Forms of address
An earl has the title ''Earl of
' when the title originates from a placename, or ''Earl
' when the title comes from a surname. In either case, he is referred to as ''
Lord
Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...
', and his wife as ''
Lady
''Lady'' is a term for a woman who behaves in a polite way. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the female counterpart of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men.
"Lady" is al ...
'. A countess who holds an earldom in her own right also uses ''Lady
', but her husband does not have a title (unless he has one in his own right).
The eldest son of an earl, though not himself a
peer, is entitled to use a
courtesy title
A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title).
In some context ...
, usually the highest of his father's lesser titles (if any). For instance, prior to his father's elevation to the Dukedom of Edinburgh, the eldest son of the
Earl of Wessex
Earl of Wessex is a title that has been created twice in British history – once in the pre-Norman Conquest, Conquest Anglo-Saxon nobility of England, and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. In the 6th century AD the region of Wessex ( ...
was styled as
James, Viscount Severn. The eldest son of the eldest son of an earl is entitled to use one of his grandfather's lesser titles, normally the second-highest of the lesser titles. Younger sons are styled ''The Honourable''
'Forename'' 'Surname'' and daughters, ''The Lady''
'Forename'' 'Surname''(
Lady Diana Spencer
Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William ...
being a well-known example).
There is no difference between the courtesy titles given to the children of earls and the children of countesses in their own right, provided the husband of the countess has a lower rank than she does. If her husband has a higher rank, their children will be given titles according to his rank.
In the peerage of Scotland, when there are no courtesy titles involved, the heir to an earldom, and indeed any level of peerage, is styled ''Master of
', and successive sons as ''The Honourable
irstname Surname'.
List of earldoms
There are many earldoms, extant, extinct, dormant, abeyant, or forfeit, in the
peerage
A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks.
Peerages include:
A ...
s of
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
,
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
,
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
,
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
and the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
.
In fiction
Earls have appeared in various works of fiction.
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
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* 1st edition available at th
Internet Archive
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Further reading
*
External links
*
* Morris, Marc (December 2005)
"The King's Companions" ''History Today''.
{{British royal titles
Men's social titles
Peerages in the United Kingdom