Draft:English feudal earldom

An English feudal earldom is an ancient title of dignity that was held per baroniam, meaning the land associated with the title was held in exchange for the holder providing military service to the king as one of the king's barons. Feudal earldoms are exceedingly rare today, with only a handful still in existence.

In a few exceptional cases, the holder of a feudal earldom may be a different individual than the holder of a peerage title of the same geographic name. Peerages, which include titles such as duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron, invariably use the style "Lord Placename" or "Lord Such-and-so" when addressing the titleholder. In contrast, those who hold a feudal earldom are properly addressed as "Earl of Placename".

History

During the early medieval period in England, the kingdom was divided into distinct administrative regions called shires. While the shires served as the primary local subdivision, sometimes multiple shires would be grouped together into larger territorial units known as feudal earldoms. These earldoms generally corresponded to the boundaries of earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms that predated the unification of England.

The feudal earls functioned essentially as royal governors who were delegated authority by the king over their respective earldoms. As viceroys of the crown, feudal earls held responsibility for collecting taxes and fines from the regions under their control. In times of war, they would lead armies drawn from the manpower of their earldoms to fight on behalf of the king. In return for collecting revenue on the king's behalf, feudal earls were permitted to retain a portion of the funds for themselves.

Within their earldoms, feudal lords held provincial courts and administered local justice as representatives of the royal judiciary. Examples of major feudal earldoms under the rule of King Edward the Confessor included Wessex, Mercia, East Anglia, and Northumbria - historic kingdoms that predated English unification. These earldoms comprised groupings of multiple shires and covered much larger territorial areas than individual shires.

In 1066, the Norman Conquest brought profound changes to England's political structure and administration. William the Conqueror initially sought to rule through the existing system of feudal earldoms. However, he gradually modified the system to increase centralised royal authority. Over time, the shire emerged as the largest secular subdivision, while the larger earldoms disappeared from use.

The Normans did create some new feudal earldoms associated with single shires, such as Herefordshire, Shropshire, and Cheshire. However, these new earldoms had limited regional power and administration comparable to continental French counts, rather than the previous viceroy-style authority of Anglo-Saxon earldoms. Feudal earls no longer directly participated in tax collection or local court decisions. Their numbers declined and powers became restricted under strong Norman rulers.

Events during the Anarchy in the 12th century saw some feudal earls gain brief resurgences of authority as King Stephen sought to reward loyal allies. A small number were briefly granted rights over royal castles or sheriffs. However, his successor Henry II worked to reassert royal control, demolishing unauthorised castles and limiting independent powers.

By the late medieval period, feudal earldoms had been reduced to largely honorific titles of high rank below the king and peers. The sole means of attaining an earldom was inheritance or marriage. Kings still nominally retained the power to bar inheritance or appointment. Public ceremonies emphasised an earl's position came from and remained subject to the king. While still advisors, England's few remaining feudal earls no longer wielded significant governing powers by the 14th century. Their role had been gradually replaced by professionally administered royal authority at the shire level.

Modern status

English feudal earldoms are a unique legal and historical construct, closely tied to the history of the monarchy and the feudal system that prevailed in the country following the Norman Conquest. These earldoms are similar in nature to manorial lordships, and exist today as a part of English property law and custom law as estates in land/incorporeal hereditaments, meaning they can be legally assigned and alienated from the bloodline of their previous possessors.

Their origins can be traced back to the reign of the Conqueror or even earlier, to the pre-Conquest period. Feudal earls are rightfully addressed as "Earl", but they are distinct from peers of the realm and do not have the right to sit in the House of Lords.

Today, feudal earls are often viewed as relics of the Norman nobility, closely associated with the gentry class in England, the lower noble class.

A notable example is the feudal earldom of Arundel, which is a protected title under the Law of Property Act 1925. William d'Aubigny became Earl of Arundel in 1139 through his marriage to Adeliza of Louvain, the widow of Henry I. The feudal earldom later passed to the Howard family in 1580. It was not until 1628 that the feudal Earl of Arundel also became the parliamentary Earl of Arundel. The feudal earldom is tied to the ownership of Arundel Castle, while the parliamentary earldom can pass to the Duke of Norfolk's successors as specified by law.

List of English feudal earldoms

Provided below is an incomplete list of English feudal earldoms. Please assist by filling in the missing details, including relevant reference links.

Titles presented in italics are subsidiary titles held by the same earl. Titles that include The before the name indicate the holder's primary title.

Some peerage titles that originated in the feudal system may have an additional feudal title of the same name. This duplicate title may be held by the current peer or transferred to a new holder.

Title	C.	Enfeoffed	Arms	Incumbent	Heir	Notes
Earl of Arundel	1139	2002		Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk	Henry Fitzalan-Howard, Earl of Arundel	peer's title has feudal origins
The Earl of Devon	1141	extinct
Earl of East Anglia	930 AD	2010		Kevin Norris, 17th Earl of Northumbria, Earl of East Anglia
The Earl of Northumbria	1006
The Earl of Hereford	1042	2023		Nicolas Maurel-Lalague, Earl of Hereford, Baron of Curry Malet
Baron of Curry Malet
The Earl of Mercia	1066	2024		Timor Peltzer, Earl of Mercia
The Earl of Richmond		2023		Eugene Ward, Earl of Richmond

See also

• Earls, Marquises, and Dukes in the Baronage of Scotland
• English feudal barony
• Manorialism

Bibliography

• Ayton, Andrew. "Edward III and the English aristocracy at the beginning of the Hundred Years War". De Re Militari. The Society for Medieval Military History.