An
earl is a member of the
nobility. The title is
Anglo-Saxon, akin to the
Scandinavian form
jarl, and meant "
chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a
king's stead. In Scandinavia, it became obsolete in the
Middle Ages and was replaced with
duke (
hertig/
hertug). In later medieval Britain, it became the equivalent of the continental
count (in England in the earlier period, it was more akin to
duke; in Scotland it assimilated the concept of
mormaer). However, earlier in Scandinavia,
jarl could also mean sovereign
prince. For example, the rulers of several of the
petty kingdoms of Norway had in fact the title of
jarl and in many cases of no lesser power than their neighbours who had the title of king. Alternative names for the "Earl/Count" rank in the nobility structure are used in other countries, such as Hakushaku during the
Japanese Imperial era.
