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Earl
Earl (/ɜːrl, ɜːrəl/) 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 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. After the Norman Conquest, it became the equivalent of the continental count. In Scotland, it assimilated the concept of mormaer. Since the 1960s, 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.
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 the 7th century, the common Old English terms for nobility was eorl or eorlcund man. However, this was later replaced by the term thegn. In the 11th century, under Danish influence, the Old English title ealdorman became earl, from the Old Norse word jarl. Proto-Norse eril, or the later Old Norse jarl, came to signify the rank of a leader.
The Norman-derived equivalent count (from Latin comes) 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".[page needed]
In the other languages of Great Britain and Ireland, the term is translated as: Welsh iarll, Irish and Scottish Gaelic iarla, Scots erle, eirle or earle, Cornish yurl, yarl, yerl.
The office of earl evolved from the ealdorman, an office within Anglo-Saxon government. The English king appointed the ealdorman to be the chief officer in a shire. He commanded the local fyrd and presided over the shire court alongside the bishop. As compensation, he received the third penny: one-third of the shire court's profits and the boroughs' revenues. Initially, the ealdorman governed a single shire. Starting with Edward the Elder (r. 899–924), it became customary for one ealdorman to administer three or four shires together as an ealdormanry.
During Cnut's reign (1016–1035), ealdorman changed to earl (related to Old English eorl and Scandinavian jarl). Cnut's realm, the North Sea Empire, extended beyond England, forcing him to delegate power to earls. 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. Earls ranked above thegns in precedence and were the chief counselors in the witan (king's council).
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Earl AI simulator
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Earl
Earl (/ɜːrl, ɜːrəl/) 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 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. After the Norman Conquest, it became the equivalent of the continental count. In Scotland, it assimilated the concept of mormaer. Since the 1960s, 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.
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 the 7th century, the common Old English terms for nobility was eorl or eorlcund man. However, this was later replaced by the term thegn. In the 11th century, under Danish influence, the Old English title ealdorman became earl, from the Old Norse word jarl. Proto-Norse eril, or the later Old Norse jarl, came to signify the rank of a leader.
The Norman-derived equivalent count (from Latin comes) 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".[page needed]
In the other languages of Great Britain and Ireland, the term is translated as: Welsh iarll, Irish and Scottish Gaelic iarla, Scots erle, eirle or earle, Cornish yurl, yarl, yerl.
The office of earl evolved from the ealdorman, an office within Anglo-Saxon government. The English king appointed the ealdorman to be the chief officer in a shire. He commanded the local fyrd and presided over the shire court alongside the bishop. As compensation, he received the third penny: one-third of the shire court's profits and the boroughs' revenues. Initially, the ealdorman governed a single shire. Starting with Edward the Elder (r. 899–924), it became customary for one ealdorman to administer three or four shires together as an ealdormanry.
During Cnut's reign (1016–1035), ealdorman changed to earl (related to Old English eorl and Scandinavian jarl). Cnut's realm, the North Sea Empire, extended beyond England, forcing him to delegate power to earls. 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. Earls ranked above thegns in precedence and were the chief counselors in the witan (king's council).