What are female Earls called?
countessIn 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.
What do you call the spouse of an earl?
The wife of an earl is a countess; she is "Right Honourable" and is styled "My Lady."
Why is an Earls wife called a countess?
In the English nobility the title Earl developed as an equivalent to the title of Count. The Norman-derived equivalent “count” was not introduced following the Norman Conquest of England though “countess” was introduced at the time and was used for the female title.
What title does an Earls wife hold?
countessThe wife of a substantive peer is legally entitled to the privileges of peerage: she is said to have a "life estate" in her husband's dignity. Thus a duke's wife is titled a "duchess", a marquess's wife a "marchioness", an earl's wife a "countess", a viscount's wife a "viscountess" and a baron's wife a "baroness".
Does an Earls wife have a title?
An Earl is the third highest grade of the peerage. A wife of an Earl is styled Countess. -Formally addressed as 'Lord Courtesy' and 'Lady Courtesy'.
Is the daughter of an earl a Lady?
The daughters of a duke, marquess or earl have the courtesy title of "Lady" before their forename and surname.
Is a countess higher than a duchess?
The Duchess is the highest rank below the monarch. However, the countess is the third rank in the peerage.
What is a female viscount called?
viscount, feminine viscountess, a European title of nobility, ranking immediately below a count, or earl.
How do you address the daughter of an earl?
Lady Mary Crawley: as a daughter of an earl, she uses the “Lady Given name” style, but never “Lady Crawley.” She does not use “Grantham.” Servants address her as “Lady Mary” or “my lady,” and refer to her as “Lady Mary” or “her ladyship.” Her sisters, Lady Edith and Lady Sybil, follow the same usage.
What is the order of titles in England?
peerage, Body of peers or titled nobility in Britain. The five ranks, in descending order, are duke, marquess, earl (see count), viscount, and baron. Until 1999, peers were entitled to sit in the House of Lords and exempted from jury duty.
Is a baroness higher than a dame?
The higher honours confer noble titles: “Sir” and “Dame” in the case of knighthoods; “Lord” and “Baron” or “Lady” and “Baroness” in the case of life peerages; and one of the ranks of the hereditary nobility in the case of hereditary peerages.
How are Earls addressed?
When an earldom has a compound name, '(name one)' of/and '(name two)', use name one when (name) is specified and the full compound name when the (complete name) is specified. The given name of the titled person is never used in formal address.
Who was Patricia Knatchbull?
The late Patricia Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma was the eldest daughter of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma. Earl Mountbatten died without sons so Patricia inherited the title in her own right (not usual but occasionally happens).
Can an untitled male marry a titled peer?
I doubt that it happens anymore, but there are many instances throughout history when an untitled male would marry the sole heiress of a titled peer. With the daughter unable to inherit the title, and the last name in danger of extinction, and if it was considered to be a grand name (historical, etc.), then the male might be obliged to take his wife's family name in order to continue the line.
Do barons have a place name?
Historically, the lowest rank of peers, the barons, hardly ever had a title with a place name: their titles reflected the family name. A few take the form Baron X of Y, and a few of the very oldest have the form Baron de X (which generally predates the use of family names). The senior peers, the Dukes, have always used a place name as a title. The oldest earldoms also used place names, but from the 18th century some started to use family names, sometimes with the addition of a place name in the form Earl X of Y. Earl Spencer was actually the fourth to take that form - and it became more common
What is an earl in Britain?
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.
What does the name Earl mean?
Earl ( / ɜːrl, ɜːrəl /) is a rank of the nobility in Britain. 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, and meant " chieftain ", particularly a chieftain set ...
What did the Earls do?
In Anglo-Saxon England (5th to 11th centuries), 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 ( r. 1042–1066) earldoms like Wessex, Mercia, East Anglia and Northumbria —names that represented earlier independent kingdoms—were much larger than any individual shire.
Where did the Earldom originate?
The oldest earldoms in Scotland (with the exception of the Earldom of Dunbar and March) originated from the office of mormaer, such as the Mormaer of Fife, of Strathearn, etc.; subsequent earldoms developed by analogy. The principal distinction between earldom and mormaer is that earldoms were granted as fiefs of the King, while mormaers were virtually independent. The earl is thought to have been introduced by the anglophile king David I. While the power attached to the office of earl was swept away in England by the Norman Conquest, in Scotland earldoms retained substantial powers, such as regality throughout the Middle Ages.
What is the difference between Earl's children and the children of countesses?
If her husband has a higher rank, their children will be given titles according to his rank.
What title does the eldest son of an earl use?
The eldest son of an earl, though not himself a peer, is entitled to use a courtesy title, usually the highest of his father's lesser titles (if any). For instance, the eldest son of The Earl of Wessex is styled as James, Viscount Severn. The eldest son of the eldest son of an earl is entitled to use one of his grandfather's lesser titles, normally the second-highest of the lesser titles. Younger sons are styled The Honourable [ Forename] [ Surname ], and daughters, The Lady [ Forename] [ Surname] ( Lady Diana Spencer being a well-known example).
What is the title of the Earl of X?
An earl has the title Earl of [X] when the title originates from a placename, or Earl [X] when the title comes from a surname. In either case, he is referred to as Lord [X], and his wife as Lady [X].
Overview
Earls in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth
An earl has the title Earl of [X] when the title originates from a placename, or Earl [X] when the title comes from a surname. In either case, he is referred to as Lord [X], and his wife as Lady [X]. A countess who holds an earldom in her own right also uses Lady [X], but her husband does not have a title (unless he has one in his own right).
Etymology
The term earl has been compared to the name of the Heruli, and to runic erilaz. Proto-Norse eril, or the later Old Norse jarl, came to signify the rank of a leader.
In Anglo-Saxon Britain, the term Ealdorman was used for men who held the highest political rank below King. Over time the Danish eorl became substituted for Ealdorman, which evolved into the modern form of the name.
Scandinavia
In later medieval Norway, the title of jarl was the highest rank below the king. There was usually no more than one jarl in mainland Norway at any one time, sometimes none. The ruler of the Norwegian dependency of Orkney held the title of jarl, and after Iceland had acknowledged Norwegian overlordship in 1261, a jarl was sent there, as well, as the king's high representative. In mainland Norway, the title of jarl was usually used for one of two purposes:
In fiction
Earls have appeared in various works of fiction.
See also
• Count
• List of earldoms
External links
• Media related to Earls at Wikimedia Commons