Earl is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. 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 to rule a territory in a king's stead. After the Norman Conquest, it became the equivalent of the continental count. Alternative names for the rank equivalent to "earl" or "count" in the nobility structure are used in other countries, such as the hakushaku (伯爵) of the post-restoration Japanese Imperial era.
Robert, Count of Mortain, first Earl of Cornwall of 2nd creation was a Norman nobleman and the half-brother of King William the Conqueror. He was one of the very few proven companions of William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings and as recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 was one of the greatest landholders in his half-brother's new Kingdom of England.
Duke of Somerset, from the county of Somerset, is a title that has been created five times in the peerage of England. It is particularly associated with two families: the Beauforts, who held the title from the creation of 1448, and the Seymours, from the creation of 1547, in whose name the title is still held. The present dukedom is unique, in that the first holder of the title created it for himself in his capacity of Lord Protector of the Kingdom of England, using a power granted in the will of his nephew King Edward VI.
Earl of Huntingdon is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. The medieval title was associated with the ruling house of Scotland.
Earl of March is a title that has been created several times, respectively, in the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of England. The title derives from the "marches" or borderlands between England and either Wales or Scotland, and it was held by several great feudal families which owned lands in those districts. Later, however, the title came to be granted as an honorary dignity, and ceased to carry any associated power in the marches.
The County of Aumale, later elevated to a duchy, was a medieval fief in Normandy, disputed between France and England during parts of the Hundred Years' War.
Odo of Rennes, Count of Penthièvre, was the youngest of the three sons of Duke Geoffrey I of Brittany and Hawise of Normandy, daughter of Richard I of Normandy. Eudon married Agnes of Cornouaille, the daughter of Alan Canhiart, Count of Cornouaille and sister of Hoel II, Duke of Brittany who was married in 1066 to Eudon's niece Hawise, Duchess of Brittany.
Reginald de Dunstanville was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and an illegitimate son of King Henry I (1100–1135). He became Earl of Cornwall and High Sheriff of Devon.
William of Mortain was Count of Mortain and the second Earl of Cornwall of 2nd creation.
Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter, 2nd Earl of Devon, KG, PC, feudal baron of Okehampton, feudal baron of Plympton, of Tiverton Castle, Okehampton Castle and Colcombe Castle all in Devon, was a grandson of King Edward IV, nephew of the queen consort, Elizabeth of York and a first cousin of King Henry VIII. Henry Courtenay was a close friend of Henry VIII, having "been brought up of a child with his grace in his chamber".
Sir Hugh de Courtenay, 2nd/10th Earl of Devon, 2nd Baron Courtenay, feudal baron of Okehampton and feudal baron of Plympton, played an important role in the Hundred Years War in the service of King Edward III. His chief seats were Tiverton Castle and Okehampton Castle in Devon. The ordinal number given to the early Courtenay Earls of Devon depends on whether the earldom is deemed a new creation by the letters patent granted 22 February 1334/5 or whether it is deemed a restitution of the old dignity of the de Redvers family. Authorities differ in their opinions, and thus alternative ordinal numbers exist, given here.
Condor was a legendary Cornish nobleman. The first known mentions of Condor are from heralds and antiquarians in the late sixteenth century, who recorded claims that he had been earl of Cornwall at the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066, and paid homage to William the Conqueror to keep his position. William Hals speculated that he may have supported the rebels at the Siege of Exeter (1068) and lost his earldom; much of Cornwall was given to William's Norman supporters soon afterwards. Condor's son Cadoc may have regained the title under Henry I, and later passed it through his daughter to Reginald de Dunstanville.
Trematon Castle is situated near Saltash in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It was the caput of the feudal barony of Trematon. It is similar in style to the later Restormel Castle, with a 12th-century keep. Trematon Castle overlooks Plymouth Sound and was built probably by Robert, Count of Mortain on the ruins of an earlier Roman fort: it is a motte-and-bailey castle and dates from soon after the Norman conquest. It occupies a sentinel position one and a half miles south-east of Trematon village.
Brian of Brittany was a Breton nobleman who fought in the service of William I of England. A powerful magnate in south-western England, he was the first post-Conquest earl of Cornwall.
Sir Philip Courtenay of Powderham, Devon, was the senior member of a junior branch of the powerful Courtenay family, Earls of Devon.
The feudal barony of Okehampton was a very large feudal barony, the largest mediaeval fiefdom in the county of Devon, England, whose caput was Okehampton Castle and manor. It was one of eight feudal baronies in Devonshire which existed during the mediaeval era.
The Feudal barony of Trematon was one of the three feudal baronies in Cornwall which existed during the mediaeval era. Its caput was at Trematon Castle, Cornwall. In 1166 it comprised 60 knight's fees, thus about 60 separate manors.
The manor of Broad Hempston was a historic manor situated in Devon, England, about 4 miles north of Totnes. The present village known as Broadhempston was the chief settlement within the manor and remains the location of the ancient parish church of St Peter and St Paul.
