English feudal earldom

An English feudal earldom is an ancient title of nobility that, along with its land, was held per baroniam, which means that the land-holder owed the service of being one of the king's barons. Feudal earldoms are very rare. As well, in a very few instances, the holder of a feudal earldom may be different than the holder of a peerage title of the same name. A peer is invariably addressed as 'Lord Placename' or 'Lord Such-and-so', whilst those holding a feudal earldom are addressed 'Earl of Placename'.

History[change | change source]

In Anglo-Saxon England, feudal earls had authority over their own regions and right of judgment in provincial courts, as delegated by the king. They collected fines and taxes and in return received a "third penny", one-third of the money they collected. In wartime they led the king's armies. Some shires were grouped together into larger units known as earldoms, headed by an ealdorman or earl. Under Edward the Confessor earldoms like Wessex, Mercia, East Anglia and Northumbria - names that represented earlier independent kingdoms - were much larger than any shire. The Earls originally functioned essentially as royal governors. Though the title of Earl was nominally equal to the continental duke, unlike them earls were not de facto rulers in their own right.

After the Norman Conquest, William the Conqueror tried to rule England using the traditional system but eventually modified it to his own liking. Shires became the largest secular subdivision in England and earldoms disappeared. The Normans did create new earls like those of Herefordshire, Shropshire, and Cheshire but they were associated with only a single shire at most. Their power and regional authority was limited to that of the Norman counts. There was no longer any administrative layer larger than the shire, and shires became "counties". Earls no longer aided in tax collection or made decisions in country courts and their numbers were small.

King Stephen increased the number of earls to reward those loyal to him in his war with his cousin Empress Mathilda. He gave some earls the right to hold royal castles or control the sheriff and soon other earls assumed these rights themselves. By the end of his reign, some earls held courts of their own and even minted their own coins, against the wishes of the king. It fell to Stephen's successor Henry II to again curtail the power of earls. He took back the control of royal castles and even demolished castles that earls had built for themselves. He did not create new earls or earldoms. No earl was allowed to remain independent of royal control. The English kings had found it dangerous to give additional power to an already powerful aristocracy, so gradually sheriffs assumed the governing role.

The details of this transition remain hidden, since earls in more peripheral areas, such as the Scottish Marshes and Welsh Marshes and Cornwall, retained some viceregal powers long after other earls had lost them. The loosening of central authority during the Anarchy also complicates any smooth description of the change over. 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 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", were regarded as supporters of the king's power. They showed that power for the first time in 1327 when they deposed Edward II. They would later do the same with other kings they disapproved of. Still, the number of earls remained the same until 1337 when Edward III declared that he intended to create six new earldoms.

Current status[change | change source]

English feudal earldoms, like the title of Lord of the Manor, continue to exist today in English customary law and property law as "estates in land". These earldoms are part of England's feudal heritage, dating back to the reign of King William I or even before the Norman Conquest. The feudal titles derive their authority from the monarch.

The origins of these earldoms remain closely tied to the British monarchy, even though they are not noble titles like those in the peerage. Feudal earls are rightfully referred to as "Earl", but they are distinct from the earls who have the right to sit in the House of Lords. An English feudal earldom is unique as the only comital (earldom) title in England that is a dignity, meaning it can be legally assigned and alienated from the previous holder's bloodline.

In the present day, feudal earldoms are viewed as historical relics. While they are not part of the British peerage system, they are considered titles of the gentry, the landed upper class below the nobility.

A notable instance would be the feudal Earldom of Arundel (besides being parliamentary earldom), a feudal title which is protected in the Law of Property Act 1922 and is held by the Duke of Norfolk. The Duke's ancestor, William de Albini (Albany), married Adeliza, widow of Henry I and daughter of Godfrey Duke of Lorraine. Adeliza had in dower Arundel Castle, Sussex, and William became Earl of Arundel in 1139 by this marriage. The feudal Earldom of Arundel came into the Howard family in 1580, on the death of Henry FitzAlan, 18th feudal Earl of Arundel, whose daughter and heiress, Mary, was mother to Philip FitzAlan-Howard, 19th feudal Earl. It was not until the passing of an Act of Parliament in 1628 that Thomas FitzAlan-Howard, 20th feudal Earl of Arundel, also became parliamentary Earl of Arundel. The Duke's feudal Earldom is vested in property. The parliamentary earldom would descend to the Duke's successors as specified in the Act and subsequent Acts and patents; but, presumably, were the family to part with Arundel Castle, there would be a feudal Earl of Arundel in addition to a parliamentary earl of the same name.^[1]