English feudal earldom
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An English feudal earldom is an old title of nobility. Earldoms consisted of several smaller regions grouped together into larger units. These earldoms were led by an important person called an ealdorman or earl.
Feudal earldoms were not common. When they were given, they required the earl to serve as one of the King's barons in order to keep his title and the land that came with it.
In a few cases, a person might hold a feudal earldom under one name, while a separate person held a peerage title with the same name. Peers were always addressed as 'Lord Placename' or 'Lord Such-and-so', while people who held feudal earldoms were called 'Earl of Placename'.
History
[change | change source]The role of feudal earls
[change | change source]Feudal earls were powerful leaders in Anglo-Saxon England. The King gave them the authority to control their own lands and make judgments in local courts. Earls fined and taxed people living on their lands, receiving one-third of the money they collected as payment. During times of war, they led the King's armies on his behalf.
Although the title of Earl was technically the same as the title of Duke in other European countries, earls didn't have the same level of power and control as dukes did.
Timeline
[change | change source]Before the Norman invasion
[change | change source]See also: Norman conquest of England
During King Edward the Confessor's reign between 1042 and 1066, England's earldoms were much bigger than any smaller region. Large earldoms included Wessex, Mercia, East Anglia, and Northumbria. These had previously been separate kingdoms with their own names.
After the Norman invasion
[change | change source]Early on, earls were the governors of their earldoms, working on the King's behalf. But after the Norman Conquest, William the Conqueror attempted to govern England using the traditional system (though he eventually changed the system according to his own preferences). The largest divisions in England (called shires) became more important, while earldoms disappeared.
The Normans did establish new earls, such as those in Herefordshire, Shropshire, and Cheshire, but these earls were connected to just one shire at most. Their power and authority were limited. Shires, now called "counties," became the decision-makers. Earls no longer assisted in collecting taxes or making decisions in local courts, and their numbers were small.
Increased powers under King Stephen
[change | change source]During King Stephen's reign from 1135-1154, a civil war called The Anarchy raged in England and Normandy. Stephen granted the title of Earl to various people who remained loyal to him during the war. As a result, the number of earls in England grew during his reign.
Stephen gave some earls the right to own royal castles or control the sheriff, and soon other earls took these rights for themselves. By the end of his rule, some earls had their own courts and made their own coins, even though the king didn't want them to.
Reduced powers under Henry II
[change | change source]King Henry II succeeded King Stephen in 1154 and ruled until 1189. Feeling the earls had gotten too powerful, he reduced their power once again. He took back control of royal castles and even destroyed the castles that the earls had built for themselves. No earl was allowed to be independent from the king's control. He appointed no new earls and created no earldoms.
While earls had initially acted as governors, the English kings gradually realised that it was risky to give more power to an already powerful aristocracy. Gradually, sheriffs took on the governing role.
The Anarchy had weakened the authority of the king and his government. As a result, Henry II could not make all of these changes at once. In less central areas like the Scottish Marches, Welsh Marches, and Cornwall, some earls kept certain powers even after other earls lost them.
In the 13th and 14th centuries
[change | change source]By the 13th century, earls held a social rank just below the king and princes. They had influence, and were seen as "companions" (or supporters) of the king. However, they weren't necessarily wealthier or more powerful than other nobles.
A person could only become an earl by inheriting the title or marrying someone who had it. However, the king had the right to prevent the title from being transferred from the original owner to anyone else.
In the 14th century, new earls were granted their titles in a special public ceremony where the king personally tied a sword belt around the new earl's waist. This highlighted that the earl's rights came from the king.
However, earls did not always support the king and worked together to remove those they did not like. In 1327, they removed Edward II from the throne, and they would later do the same with other kings they disagreed with. However, the number of earls remained unchanged until 1337, when Edward III announced his plan to create six new earldoms.
Current status
[change | change source]Feudal earldoms in England, similar to the title of Lord of the Manor, still exist today in English law and property law as "estates in land". These earldoms are a part of England's feudal history, dating back before the Norman Conquest. The authority of these feudal titles comes from the King or Queen of England.
An English feudal earldom is special because it is the only earldom title in England that can be legally given to someone else and taken away from the previous holder's family line. However, today's title of Earl is not a noble title like the ones given in the peerage. Today's feudal earls are correctly called "Earl", but they are different from the earls who have the privilege to be part of the House of Lords.
In today's time, feudal earldoms are seen as surviving remnants from the past. Although they are not included in the British peerage system, they are considered titles of the gentry (the wealthy upper class who own land, but still rank below the noble class).
The Earldom of Arundel
[change | change source]The feudal Earldom of Arundel (also known as a parliamentary earldom) is an example of a surviving feudal earldom. This feudal title is protected by the Law of Property Act 1925 and is currently held by the Duke of Norfolk.
The Duke's ancestor, William de Albini (Albany), married Adeliza, who was the widow of Henry I and the daughter of Godfrey, Duke of Lorraine. Adeliza received Arundel Castle, located in Sussex, as part of her dowry. Through this marriage, William became the Earl of Arundel in 1139.
In 1580, the feudal Earldom of Arundel passed to the Howard family upon the death of Henry FitzAlan, the 18th feudal Earl of Arundel. His daughter and heiress, Mary, was the mother of Philip FitzAlan-Howard, the 19th feudal Earl. It was only in 1628, with the passing of an Act of Parliament, that Thomas FitzAlan-Howard, the 20th feudal Earl of Arundel, also became the parliamentary Earl of Arundel.
The Duke's feudal Earldom is tied to property ownership. The parliamentary earldom would be inherited by the Duke's successors as specified in the Act and subsequent Acts and patents. However, if the family were to sell Arundel Castle, there would still be a feudal Earl of Arundel in addition to a parliamentary earl with the same title.[1]
List
[change | change source] | This list is not complete; you can help by adding missing items. (May 2024) |
| Name of feudal earldom | County | Holder of the earldom | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earldom of Arundel | Sussex | Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk | [1][2][3] |
| Earldom of Devon (Honor of Plympton) | Devonshire | extinct | [4] |
| Earldom of East Anglia or Angles | Kevin Charles Norris | [5][6][7] | |
| Earldom of Hereford | Herefordshire | Nicolas Maurel-Lalague | [8][9][10] |
| Earldom of Mercia | Timor Charles Peltzer | [11][12] | |
| Earldom of Northumbria | Kevin Charles Norris | [13][14] | |
| Earldom of Richmond | Yorkshire | J. Eugene Ward | [11] |
See also
[change | change source]References
[change | change source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "A History of Lordships of the Manor". The Manorial Society of Great Britain. Retrieved 2024-05-19.
- ↑ "Earl of Arundel's Dignity and Estate Act 1627 - Deed Poll Office (D·P·O)". Deed Poll Office. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
- ↑ Burke, John (1843). A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the British Empire. Henry Colburn.
- ↑ Cokayne, George Edward (1916). The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom: Dacre to Dysart. St. Catherine Press, Limited.
- ↑ History Of The Earldom Of East Anglia.
- ↑ "Page 19730 | Issue 59572, 12 October 2010 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
- ↑ Hart, Cyril Roy (1992). The Danelaw. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-1-85285-044-9.
- ↑ "Page 12545 | Issue 64097, 26 June 2023 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
- ↑ Price, John (1796). An Historical Account of the City of Hereford: With Some Remarks on the River Wye, and the Natural and Artificial Beauties Contiguous to Its Banks, from Brobery to Wilton ... D. Walker.
- ↑ History Of Earldom Of Hereford.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Title Listing M - R | officialmanorialtitleregister". www.officialmanorialtitleregister.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
- ↑ "Earldom of Mercia | officialmanorialtitleregister". www.officialmanorialtitleregister.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-06-20.
- ↑ Northumbria History Table.
- ↑ "Page 7504 | Issue 59403, 27 April 2010 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-05-21.