Earl

Earl ( br. [ ɜ: ɫ ], am [ ɜrɫ ] ) is a British aristocratic title, equivalent to the German count. Counts outside the British Isles is known in English as the Count. The feminine form of Earl - as well as to count - is " Countess ".

The term originated from the Danish Earl Jarl and was accepted since the conquest of England by the Anglo- Scandinavian King Canute in 1016 instead of the previously usual Saxon ealdorman. He called up to the mid-14th century the highest level of the English nobility.

After the Normans had taken over under William the Conqueror in 1066, the Kingdom of England, Earls had in fact only the rank of Count. When Edward III. 1355 his son Edward of Woodstock, the so-called " Black Prince ", to Duke ( Duke ) of Cornwall appointed, the Earls title fell to the second and, as in 1386 Richard II Robert de Vere raised to Marquess of Dublin, the third step down.

Today, the title of Earl is a pure registry award without any relationship to territorial violence. The Viscount and Baron Earl has the title Right Honourable.