Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word eorl, meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form jarl, and meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. After the Norman Conquest, it became the equivalent of the continental count (in England in the earlier period, it was more akin to a duke; in Scotland, it assimilated the concept of mormaer). Alternative names for the rank equivalent to "earl" or "count" in the nobility structure are used in other countries, such as the hakushaku (伯爵) of the post-restoration Japanese Imperial era.
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.
In modern times, earldoms have typically been created only for members of the royal family. The last non-royal earldom, Earl of Stockton, was created in 1984 for Harold Macmillan, prime minister from 1957 to 1963.
Etymology
The term earl has been compared to the name of the Heruli, and to runic erilaz. Proto-Norse eril, or the later Old Norse , came to signify the rank of a leader.
In Anglo-Saxon Britain, the term Ealdorman was used for men who held the highest political rank below King. Over time the Danish eorl became substituted for Ealdorman, which evolved into the modern form of the name.
The Norman-derived equivalent count (from Latin ) was not introduced following the Norman Conquest of England though countess was and is used for the female title. Geoffrey Hughes writes, "It is a likely speculation that the Norman French title 'Count' was abandoned in England in favour of the Germanic 'Earl' […] precisely because of the uncomfortable phonetic proximity to cunt".
In the other languages of Great Britain and Ireland, the term is translated as: Welsh , Irish and Scottish Gaelic , Scots , or , Cornish .
History
England
Anglo-Saxon period
In Anglo-Saxon England, the ealdorman was appointed by the English king to be the chief officer in a shire. He commanded the local fyrd and presided with the bishop over the shire court. As compensation, he received the third penny—one-third of the profits of royal justice and one-third of the revenues from boroughs under his jurisdiction.
By the late 900s, one ealdorman controlled multiple shires. During Cnut's reign (1016–1035), they became known as earls (from Old English meaning "noble"). He divided the kingdom into four earldoms: Wessex, East Anglia, Mercia, and Northumbria. Earls were governors or viceroys, 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; however, they could not mint coins or hold their own courts. Earls were the king's chief counselors in the Witan, and they ranked above thegns in precedence. In theory, earls could be removed and replaced by the king, but the office essentially became hereditary in the 11th century. Earls were an "élite within an élite", numbering at most 25 men at any one time between 1000 and 1300.
When Edward the Confessor () came to the throne, he inherited the royal estates of Harthacnut but lacked family lands of his own. As a result, the earls collectively possessed more land than the king, especially Earl Godwin of Wessex. In 1066, according to the Domesday Book, 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 earl in particular, weakened the Crown's authority. The situation was reversed when Godwin's son Harold became king, and he was able to restore the Crown's authority.
Norman Conquest
The Norman Conquest of 1066 introduced a new Anglo-Norman aristocracy that gradually replaced the old Anglo-Saxon elite. In Normandy, the equivalent of an earl was a count. In 1066, there were three counts in the Duchy of Normandy: Richard of Évreux, Robert of Eu, and Robert of Mortain. In Normandy, counts were junior members of the Norman dynasty with responsibility for guarding border regions. Elsewhere in France, the definition and powers of counts varied widely. Some counts were nearly independent rulers who gave only nominal loyalty to the King of France.