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101-567: Just as instrumental to their conception were other issues, particularly discontent with the king's favourite , Piers Gaveston , whom the barons subsequently banished from the realm. Edward II accepted the Ordinances only under coercion, and a long struggle for their repeal ensued that did not end until Earl Thomas of Lancaster , the leader of the Ordainers, was executed in 1322. When Edward II succeeded his father Edward I on 7 July 1307,

202-407: A Gascon of relatively humble origins, with whom the king had developed a particularly close relationship. Among the honours Edward heaped upon Gaveston was the earldom of Cornwall , a title which had previously only been conferred on members of the royal family. The preferential treatment of an upstart like Gaveston, in combination with his behaviour that was seen as arrogant, led to resentment among

303-568: A marquess ); and the (alleged) murderer John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan . 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

404-612: A bed of excrement . The King's favourite Piers Gaveston is a "night-grown mushrump" (mushroom) to his enemies in Christopher Marlowe 's Edward II . Their falls could be even more sudden, but after about 1650, executions tended to give way to quiet retirement. Favourites who came from the higher nobility, such as Leicester , Lerma , Olivares , and Oxenstierna , were often less resented and lasted longer. Successful minister-favourites also usually needed networks of their own favourites and relatives to help them carry out

505-611: A certain amount of danger for the participants. There were many English plays on the subject; amongst the best known are Marlowe's Edward II , in which Piers Gaveston is a leading character, and Sejanus His Fall (1603), for which Ben Jonson was called before the Privy Council , accused of "Popery and treason", as the play was claimed by his enemies to contain allusions to the contemporary court of James I of England . Sejanus , whose career in Ancient Rome under Tiberius

606-499: A coup against the younger Cecil . Cardinal Wolsey was one figure who rose through the administrative hierarchy, lived extremely ostentatiously, then fell suddenly from power. In the Middle Ages in particular, many royal favourites were promoted in the church, English examples including Saints Dunstan and Thomas Becket ; Bishops William Waynflete , Robert Burnell and Walter Reynolds . Cardinal Granvelle , like his father,

707-484: A demand to the king for the appointment of a commission of reform. On 16 March 1310, the king agreed to the appointment of Ordainers, who were to be in charge of the reform of the royal household. The Ordainers were elected by an assembly of magnates, without representation from the commons. They were a diverse group, consisting of eight earls , seven bishops and six barons – twenty-one in all. There were faithful royalists represented as well as fierce opponents of

808-449: A favourite in the usual sense, although his relationship with Charles became very close. He was also from a well-established family, with powerful relations. After several years in power, Strafford was impeached by a Parliament now very hostile to him. When that process failed, it passed a bill of attainder for his execution without trial, and it put enough pressure on Charles that, to his subsequent regret, Charles signed it, and Strafford

909-423: A few exceptions, the default rank of the peerage to which a former prime minister was elevated. The last prime minister to accept an earldom was Harold Macmillan , who became earl of Stockton in 1984. A British earl is entitled to a coronet bearing eight strawberry leaves (four visible) and eight silver balls (or pearls ) around the rim (five visible). The actual coronet is rarely, if ever, worn except at

1010-468: A moderating influence on the more extreme members of the group, but with his death in February 1311, leadership passed to his son-in-law and heir Thomas of Lancaster . Lancaster – the king's cousin – was now in possession of five earldoms which made him by far the wealthiest man in the country, save the king. There is no evidence that Lancaster was in opposition to the king in the early years of

1111-423: A period of virtual control of the government by Lancaster, yet increasingly – particularly after the death of Warwick in 1315 – he found himself isolated. In August 1318, the so-called " Treaty of Leake " established a modus vivendi between the parties, whereby the king was restored to power while promising to uphold the Ordinances. Lancaster still had differences with the king, though—particularly with

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1212-557: A rebellion deposed Tostig and recognised Morcar , the brother of Earl Edwin of Mercia, as Northumbria's new earl. The king accepted this, and Tostig was expelled from England. In 1066, according to the Domesday Book , the Godwin family estates were valued at £7,000, Earl Leofric of Mercia at £2,400, and Earl Siward of Northumbria at £350. In comparison, the king's lands were valued at £5,000. This concentration of land and wealth in

1313-543: A region, the more influence an earl had. The most powerful were the earls of Chester, who by the middle of the 13th century were described as earls palatine . Their power derived from owning most of the land in Cheshire. As a result, the shire court and the earl's honour court were identical, and the sheriff answered to the earl. The earl of Oxford possessed less than an acre of land in Oxfordshire (most of his land

1414-605: A rising politician under Elizabeth I: It is a strange thing to observe, how high a rate great kings and monarchs do set upon this fruit of friendship, whereof we speak: So great, as they purchase it, many times, at the hazard of their own safety and greatness. For princes, in regard of the distance of their fortune from that of their subjects and servants, cannot gather this fruit, except (to make themselves capable thereof) they raise some persons to be, as it were, companions and almost equals to themselves, which many times sorteth to inconvenience. The modern languages give unto such persons

1515-505: A title (unless he has one in his own right). 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, prior to his father's elevation to the Dukedom of Edinburgh, the eldest son of the Earl of Wessex was styled as James, Viscount Severn . The eldest son of the eldest son of an earl

1616-596: A training ground for new earls. Nevertheless, the earldoms of Wessex and Mercia were becoming hereditary. For four generations, Mercia was passed from father to son: Leofwine , Leofric , Ælfgar , and Edwin . To reward Godwin for his support, Edward made his eldest son, Sweyn , an earl in 1043. Harold , Godwin's second oldest son, was made the earl of East Anglia. In 1045, an earldom was created for Godwin's nephew, Beorn Estrithson . After Sweyn left England in disgrace in 1047, some of his estates were taken over by Harold and Beorn. Ralf of Mantes , Edward's Norman nephew,

1717-600: A year. Parallel to these decisions were reforms of the royal finances. The Ordinances banned what was seen as extortionate prises and customs, and at the same time declared that revenues were to be paid directly into the Exchequer . This was a reaction to the rising trend of receiving revenues directly into the royal household; making all royal finances accountable to the exchequer allowed greater public scrutiny. Other articles dealt with punishing specific persons, foremost among these, Piers Gaveston. Article 20 describes at length

1818-583: Is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom . 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. 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 . After

1919-421: 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). There is no difference between the courtesy titles given to the children of earls and the children of countesses in their own right, provided

2020-481: The Norman Conquest , it became the equivalent of the continental count . In Scotland, it assimilated the concept of mormaer . Since the 1960s, earldoms have typically been created only for members of the royal family . The last non-royal earldom, Earl of Stockton , was created in 1984 for Harold Macmillan , prime minister from 1957 to 1963. Alternative names for the rank equivalent to "earl" or "count" in

2121-488: The North Sea Empire , extended beyond England, forcing him to delegate power to earls. Earls were governors or viceroys , ruling in the king's name, keeping the peace, dispensing justice, and raising armies. Like the earlier ealdormen, they received the third penny from their jurisdictions. Earls ranked above thegns in precedence and were the chief counselors in the witan (king's council). The office of earl

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2222-467: The Peerage of Ireland . Notable among those who agreed to this policy of " surrender and regrant " were Ulick na gCeann Burke, 1st Earl of Clanricarde , Murrough O'Brien, 1st Earl of Thomond , Donald McCarthy, 1st Earl of Clancare , Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell , Randal MacDonnell, 1st Earl of Antrim and Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone . The earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnell later rebelled against

2323-545: The Scottish nobles revolted against him and hanged him and other low-born favourites of James III of Scotland . Melchior Klesl , minister-favourite of Emperor Matthias (1609-1618) and cardinal, was the son of a Protestant baker in Vienna. Olivier le Daim , the barber of Louis XI , acquired a title and important military commands before he was executed on vague charges brought by nobles shortly after his master died, without

2424-582: The Stamford parliament in July later that year by receiving a papal annulment of the threat of excommunication. The king agreed to the so-called "Statute of Stamford" (which in essence was a reissue of the Articuli super Cartas that his father had signed in 1300), and Gaveston was allowed to return. The earls who agreed to the compromise were hoping that Gaveston had learned his lesson. Yet upon his return, he

2525-444: The coronation of a new monarch, but in heraldry an earl may bear his coronet of rank on his coat of arms above the shield. 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

2626-740: The earl of Gloucester . After the Conquest, new earldoms tended to be named for the city and castle in which they were based. Some titles became attached to the family name rather than location. For example, the holder of the earldom of Surrey was more commonly called "Earl Warenne". The same was true of the earldom of Buckingham , whose holder was called "Earl Gifford". These earls may have preferred to be known by family names that were older and more prestigious than their newer territorial designations. The number of earls rose from seven in 1135 to twenty in 1141 as King Stephen ( r.  1135–1154 ) created twelve new earls to reward supporters during

2727-415: The 13th century earls had a social rank just below the king and princes, but were not necessarily more powerful or wealthier than other noblemen. The only way to become an earl was to inherit the title or to marry into one—and the king reserved a right to prevent the transfer of the title. By the 14th century, creating an earl included a special public ceremony where the king personally tied a sword belt around

2828-457: The 17th-century was not coincidental, but reflected some change that was taking place at the time. J.H. Elliott and Laurence Brockliss 's work (that resulted in the collection of essays The World of the Favourite ), undertaken to explore the matter put forward by Bérenger, became the most important comparative treatment of this subject. Earl Earl ( / ɜːr l , ɜːr əl / )

2929-603: The Anarchy , the civil war fought with his cousin Empress Matilda for the English throne. In 1138, Stephen created eight new earldoms: In 1140, Roumare was given the earldom of Lincoln in exchange for Cambridge, and William d'Aubigny received the earldom of Sussex (commonly known as Arundel) . The same year, Geoffrey de Mandeville was made earl of Essex , and his is the oldest surviving charter of creation. Around

3030-524: The Conqueror ( r.  1066–1087 ) reduced the size of earldoms; those created after 1071 had responsibility for one shire. Like Norman counts, earls became military governors assigned to vulnerable border or coastal areas. To protect the Welsh Marches , the king made Roger de Montgomery the earl of Shrewsbury and Hugh d'Avranches the earl of Chester (see Marcher Lord ) . Likewise,

3131-688: 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. It is important to distinguish between the land controlled directly by

Ordinances of 1311 - Misplaced Pages Continue

3232-409: The Ordinances is dated 5 October, and contains forty-one articles. In the preamble, the Ordainers voiced their concern over what they perceived as the evil councilors of the king, the precariousness of the military situation abroad, and the danger of rebellion at home over the oppressive prises. The articles can be divided into different groups, the largest of which deals with limitations on the powers of

3333-509: The Scots, his son abandoned the war almost entirely. In this situation, the Scottish king Robert Bruce soon took the opportunity to regain what had been lost. This not only exposed the north of England to Scottish attacks, but also jeopardized the possessions of the English baronage in Scotland. The third and most serious problem concerned the king's favourite, Piers Gaveston . Gaveston was

3434-505: The act initially drove Lancaster and his adherents away from the centre of power, but the Battle of Bannockburn , in June 1314, returned the initiative. Edward was humiliated by his disastrous defeat, while Lancaster and Warwick had not taken part in the campaign, claiming that it was carried out without the consent of the baronage, and, as such, in defiance of the Ordinances. What followed was

3535-794: The aftermath of the Jacobite rising , the Heritable Jurisdictions Act brought the powers of the remaining ancient earldoms under the control of the sheriffs; earl is now simply a noble rank. Some of the most significant Earls ( Welsh : ieirll , singular iarll ) in Welsh history were those from the West of England. As Wales remained independent of any Norman jurisdiction, the more powerful Earls in England were encouraged to invade and establish effective " buffer states " to be run as autonomous lordships . These Marcher Lords included

3636-476: The army, but the overall direction was never delegated, and no subsequent French minister ever equalled the power of the two cardinals. In Spain under the Habsburgs , when Olivares was succeeded by his nephew Luis Méndez de Haro , the last real valido , the control of government into a single pair of hands had already been weakened. Favourites were the subject of much contemporary debate, some of it involving

3737-490: The attitude of his subjects was generally one of goodwill towards their new king. However, discontent was brewing beneath the surface. Some of this was due to existing problems left behind by the late king, while much was due to the new king's inadequacies. The problems were threefold. First there was discontent with the royal policy for financing wars. To finance the war in Scotland , Edward I had increasingly resorted to so-called prises – or purveyance – to provision

3838-518: The centuries progressed; one of the last families able to jump the widening chasm between servants and nobility was that of Louis XIV's valet, Alexandre Bontemps , whose descendants, holding the office for a further three generations, married into many great families, even eventually including the extended royal family itself. Queen Victoria's John Brown came much too late; the devotion of the monarch and ability to terrorise her household led to hardly any rise in social or economic position. In England,

3939-400: The centuries wore on, the term earl came to be disassociated from the office, and later kings started granting the title of earl without it, and gradually without even an associated comitatus . By the 16th century there started to be earls of towns, of villages, and even of isolated houses; it had simply become a label for marking status, rather than an office of intrinsic power. In 1746, in

4040-656: The conduct of the new favourite, Hugh Despenser the younger , and Hugh's father . In 1322, full rebellion broke out which ended with Lancaster's defeat at the Battle of Boroughbridge and his execution shortly after during March 1322. At the parliament of May in the same year, the Ordinances were repealed by the Statute of York . However, six clauses were retained that concerned such issues as household jurisdiction and appointment of sheriffs. Any restrictions on royal power were unequivocally annulled. The Ordinances were never again reissued, and therefore hold no permanent position in

4141-817: The crown and were forced to flee Ireland in 1607; their departure, along with about ninety followers, is famed in Irish history as the Flight of the Earls , seen as the ultimate demise of native Irish monarchy. Ireland became part of the United Kingdom in 1801, and the last Irish earldom was created in 1824. The Republic of Ireland does not recognise titles of nobility. Notable later Irish earls include Jacobite leader Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan ; Postmaster General Richard Trench, 2nd Earl of Clancarty ; Prime Minister William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne (later made

Ordinances of 1311 - Misplaced Pages Continue

4242-466: The death of Cardinal Mazarin in 1661, the 23-year-old Louis XIV determined that he would rule himself, and he did not allow the delegation of power to ministers that had happened during the previous 40 years. The absolute monarchy pioneered by Cardinal Richelieu , Mazarin's predecessor, was to be led by the monarch himself. Louis had many powerful ministers, notably Jean-Baptiste Colbert , in finances, and François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois ,

4343-670: The ealdorman to be the chief officer in a shire . He commanded the local fyrd and presided over the shire court alongside the bishop . As compensation, he received the third penny : one-third of the shire court's profits and the boroughs ' revenues. Initially, the ealdorman governed a single shire. Starting with Edward the Elder ( r.  899–924 ), it became customary for one ealdorman to administer three or four shires together as an ealdormanry. During Cnut 's reign (1016–1035), ealdorman changed to earl (related to Old English eorl and Scandinavian jarl ). Cnut's realm,

4444-401: The earl, in a landlord-like sense, and the region over which he could exercise his office. Scottish use of Latin terms provincia and comitatus makes the difference clear. Initially these terms were synonymous, as in England, but by the 12th century they were seen as distinct concepts, with comitatus referring to the land under direct control of the earl, and provincia referring to

4545-560: The earls of Chester , Gloucester , Hereford , Pembroke and Shrewsbury (see also English Earls of March ). The first Earldoms created within Wales were the Lordship of Glamorgan (a comital title) and the Earldom of Pembroke . Tir Iarll (English: Earl's land ) is an area of Glamorgan , which has traditionally had a particular resonance in Welsh culture . An earldom became, with

4646-427: The envy and loathing of the rest of the nobility , and monarchs were sometimes obliged by political pressure to dismiss or execute them; in the Middle Ages nobles often rebelled in order to seize and kill a favourite. Too close a relationship between monarch and favourite was seen as a breach of the natural order and hierarchy of society. Since many favourites had flamboyant "over-reaching" personalities, they often led

4747-576: The established peers of the realm. This resentment first came to the surface in a declaration written in Boulogne by a group of magnates who were with the king when he was in France for his marriage ceremony to the French king's daughter. The so-called Boulogne agreement was vague, but it expressed clear concern over the state of the royal court. On 25 February 1308, the new king was crowned. The oath he

4848-417: The estate had to be divided between five co-heirs (the two daughters of his eldest sister and his three surviving sisters). Before the land could be divided, King Alexander II of Scotland claimed the earldom of Huntingdon. While the king's council dismissed this claim, the Scottish king was granted the lands attached to Huntingdon but not the title. This reduced the land available to John's co-heirs and created

4949-464: The fight against the king. Although he was trying to appease Winchelsey, the king carried an old grudge against another prelate, Walter Langton , Bishop of Lichfield . Edward had Langton dismissed from his position as treasurer of the Exchequer and had his temporal possessions confiscated. Langton had been an opponent of Winchelsey during the previous reign, but Edward II's move against Langton drew

5050-511: The hands of the earls, and one family in particular, weakened the Crown's authority. The situation was reversed when Harold Godwinson became king, and he was able to restore the Crown's authority. The Norman Conquest of 1066 introduced a new Anglo-Norman aristocracy that gradually replaced the old Anglo-Saxon elite. In Normandy , a duchy in the Kingdom of France , the equivalent of an earl

5151-421: The king and his officials, and the substitution of these powers with baronial control. It was ordained that the king should appoint his officers only "by the counsel and assent of the baronage, and that in parliament." Furthermore, the king could no longer go to war without the consent of the baronage, nor could he make reforms of the coinage. Additionally, it was decided that parliament should be held at least once

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5252-665: The king's half-brother Odo of Bayeux was made earl of Kent to guard the English Channel . After the Revolt of the Earls in 1075, only four earldoms remained, all held by Anglo-Normans: Kent, Shrewsbury, Chester, and Northumbria. This number was reduced to three after 1082 when Odo of Bayeux was arrested and deprived of Kent. At the death of William Rufus in 1100, there were five earldoms: Chester, Shrewsbury, Surrey (or Warrenne), Warwick , and Huntingdon – Northampton . In 1122, Henry I made his illegitimate son Robert

5353-441: The king's household. Though it is difficult to say why these two received particular mention, it could be related to the central position of their possessions in the Scottish war. The Ordainers also took care to confirm and elaborate on existing statutes, and reforms were made to the criminal law. The liberties of the church were confirmed as well. To ensure that none of the Ordainers should be swayed in their decisions by bribes from

5454-501: The king's interests in the region, thus being more like a coroner . As such, a parallel system of justice arose, between that provided by magnates (represented by the earls), and that by the king (represented by sheriffs), in a similar way to England having both Courts Baron and Magistrates , respectively. Inevitably, this led to a degree of forum shopping , with the king's offering – the Sheriff – gradually winning. As in England, as

5555-575: The king's name. However, they were developing more autonomy and becoming a threat to royal power. Three great aristocratic families had emerged: the Godwins of Wessex, Leofric of Mercia , and Siward of Northumbria . In theory, earls could be removed by the king. Edward deliberately broke the hereditary succession to Northumbria when Earl Siward died in 1055. He ignored the claims of Siward's son, Waltheof , and appointed Tostig Godwinson as earl. The earldom of East Anglia appears to have been used as

5656-437: The king's reign, but by the time of the Ordinances it is clear that something had negatively affected his opinion of King Edward. Lancaster's main ally was Guy Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick . Warwick was the most fervently and consistently antagonistic of the earls, and remained so until his early death in 1315. Other earls were more amenable. Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester , was Gaveston's brother-in-law and stayed loyal to

5757-443: The king, restrictions were made on what royal gifts and offices they were allowed to receive during their tenure. The Ordinances were published widely on 11 October, with the intention of obtaining maximum popular support. The decade following their publication saw a constant struggle over their repeal or continued existence. Although they were not finally repealed until May 1322, the vigour with which they were enforced depended on who

5858-464: The king. Among the Ordainers considered loyal to Edward II was John of Brittany, Earl of Richmond who was also by this time one of the older remaining earls. John had served Edward I, his uncle, and was Edward II's first cousin. The natural leader of the group was Henry Lacy, Earl of Lincoln . One of the wealthiest men in the country, he was also the oldest of the earls and had proved his loyalty and ableness through long service to Edward I. Lincoln had

5959-400: The king. Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke , would later be one of the king's most central supporters, yet at this point he found the most prudent course of action was to go along with the reformers. Of the barons, at least Robert Clifford and William Marshall seemed to have royalist leanings. Among the bishops, only two stood out as significant political figures, the more prominent of whom

6060-564: The knowledge of the new king. It has been claimed that le Daim's career was the origin of the term, as favori (the French word) first appeared around the time of his death in 1484. Privado in Spanish was older, but was later partly replaced by the term valido ; in Spanish, both terms were less derogatory than in French and English. Spain had a succession of validos during the reigns of Philip II , Philip III , and Philip IV . Such rises from menial positions became progressively harder as

6161-573: The lands attached to the Chester earldom through a series of land exchanges with the co-heirs. In 1227, Henry III ( r.  1216–1272 ) granted his justiciar and chief minister , Hubert de Burgh , the earldom of Kent. The terms of inheritance were unprecedented: the earldom was to pass to Hubert's son by his third wife Margaret of Scotland , thereby passing over his eldest son by his first wife. It may have been thought that Margaret's royal blood made her children more worthy of inheritance. By

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6262-631: The late 17th century, the royal favourite as quasi- Prime Minister declined; in France, the King resolved to rule directly , while in Britain, as the power of the monarch relative to Parliament declined, executive power slowly passed to the new office of Prime Minister and other parliamentary ministers. The term is also sometimes employed by writers who want to avoid terms such as " royal mistress ", "friend", "companion", or "lover" (of either sex). Some favourites had sexual relations with their monarch (or

6363-549: The later Old Norse jarl , came to signify the rank of a leader. The Norman -derived equivalent count (from Latin comes ) was not introduced following the Norman Conquest of England though countess was and is used for the female title. Geoffrey Hughes writes, "It is a likely speculation that the Norman French title 'Count' was abandoned in England in favour of the Germanic 'Earl' [...] precisely because of

6464-417: The legal history of England in the way that Magna Carta , for instance, does. The criticism has been against the conservative focus of the barons' role in national politics, ignoring the ascendancy of the commons. Yet the document, and the movement behind it, reflected new political developments in its emphasis on how assent was to be obtained by the barons in parliament . It was only a matter of time before it

6565-453: The monarch through the social life of the court, rather than the business of politics or administration. Figures like William Cecil and Jean-Baptiste Colbert , whose accelerated rise through the administrative ranks owed much to their personal relations with the monarch , but who did not attempt to behave like grandees of the nobility, were also often successful. Elizabeth I had Cecil as Secretary of State and later Lord High Treasurer from

6666-536: The monarch's spouse), but this was far from universal. Many were favoured for their skill as administrators, while others were close friends of the monarch. The term has an inbuilt element of disapproval and is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "One who stands unduly high in the favour of a prince", citing Shakespeare : "Like favourites/ Made proud by Princes" ( Much Ado about Nothing , 3.1.9 ). Favourites inevitably tended to incur

6767-520: The name of favourites , or privadoes ... . And we see plainly that this hath been done, not by weak and passionate princes only, but by the wisest and most politic that ever reigned; who have oftentimes joined to themselves some of their servants; whom both themselves have called friends, and allowed other likewise to call them in the same manner; using the word which is received between private men. Lord Macaulay wrote in 1844 of George III 's old tutor, John Stuart , who became Prime Minister : "He

6868-567: The nobility structure are used in other countries, such as the hakushaku (伯爵) of the post-restoration Japanese Imperial era . In the 7th century, the common Old English terms for nobility was eorl or eorlcund man . However, this was later replaced by the term thegn . In the 11th century, under Danish influence, the Old English title ealdorman became earl , from the Old Norse word jarl . Proto-Norse eril , or

6969-576: The offences committed by Gaveston; he was once more condemned to exile and was to abjure the realm by 1 November. The bankers of the Italian Frescobaldi company were arrested, and their goods seized. It was held that the king's great financial dependence on the Italians was politically unfortunate. The last individuals to be singled out for punishment were Henry de Beaumont and his sister, Isabella de Vesci , two foreigners associated with

7070-488: The office rather than the officeholder. Stephen Baxter argued that given the evidence, it must be "assumed that the 'comital manors' in each shire could be transferred by the king from one earl to another with relative ease". However, not all scholars agree with the existence of such "comital" property. During the reign of Edward the Confessor (1042–1066), the earls were still royal officers governing their earldoms in

7171-434: The possibility of an earl who was virtually landless. Earl Ranulf had been the greatest landholder in England, but after two partitions in five years, the land granted to each co-heir was small. William de Forz , husband of the senior co-heir, argued that as a county palatine the earldom of Chester should not be partitioned, but this argument was rejected by the king's court. Ultimately, the king himself gained possession of all

7272-539: The power of earls. He confiscated or demolished illegal castles. He reduced the number of earldoms by allowing them to die with their holders and did not create new ones. During his reign, "the title became a mark of rank, rather than a substantive office: the real power lay with the king's sheriffs and justices." The real power possessed by any individual earl in this period depended on the amount of land and wealth he possessed that could be translated into patronage and influence. The more land and resources concentrated in

7373-525: The province; hence, the comitatus might now only be a small region of the provincia . Thus, unlike England, the term county , which ultimately evolved from the Latin comitatus , was not historically used for Scotland's main political subdivisions. Sheriffs were introduced at a similar time to earls, but unlike England, where sheriffs were officers who implemented the decisions of the shire court, in Scotland they were specifically charged with upholding

7474-447: The realm upon threat of excommunication . The king had no choice but to comply, and on 24 June, Gaveston left the country on appointment as Lieutenant of Ireland . The king immediately started plotting for his favourite's return. At the parliament of April 1309, he suggested a compromise in which certain of the earls' petitions would be met in exchange for Gaveston's return. The plan came to nothing, but Edward had strengthened his hand for

7575-473: The same time, Hugh Bigod was made earl of Norfolk . In February 1141, Stephen was captured at the Battle of Lincoln , and Empress Matilda elected "Lady of the English" in April. At this time, she created three earldoms for her own supporters. Her illegitimate brother Reginald de Dunstanville was made earl of Cornwall . Baldwin de Redvers was made earl of Devon , and William de Mohun , lord of Dunster ,

7676-426: The scope for giving political power to a favourite was reduced by the growing importance of Parliament . After the "mushroom" Buckingham was assassinated by John Felton in 1628, Charles I turned to Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford , who had been a leader of Parliamentary opposition to Buckingham and the King, but had become his supporter after Charles made concessions. Strafford can therefore hardly be called

7777-443: The shire also limited the autonomy of the earls. They could not raise taxation, mint coins, issue charters , or hold their own courts (the shire courts that earls presided over were held in the king's name). F. W. Maitland wrote, "with the estates of the earls, we find it impossible to distinguish between private property and official property". He noted the existence of " manors of the shire" and "comital vills " that belonged to

7878-435: The tenure of earldorman Ælfhere), which he had held since 1007. Cnut gave Godwin the earldom of Wessex in 1018. Eventually Godwin was also granted the earldom of Kent . Thorkell vanished from the records after 1023, and Godwin became the leading earl. Earldoms were not permanent territorial divisions; kings could transfer shires from one earldom to another. The fact that there was no local government administration beyond

7979-452: The time she ascended the throne in 1558 until his death 40 years later. She had more colourful relationships with several courtiers; the most lasting and intimate one was with Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester , who was also a leading politician. Only in her last decade was the position of the Cecils, father and son, challenged, by Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex , when he fatally attempted

8080-409: The troops with victuals. The peers felt that the purveyance had become far too burdensome and compensation was in many cases inadequate or missing entirely. In addition, they did not like the fact that Edward II took prises for his household without continuing the war effort against Scotland, causing the second problem. While Edward I had spent the last decade of his reign relentlessly campaigning against

8181-469: The two Ordainers together. Six preliminary ordinances were released immediately upon the appointment of the Ordainers – on 19 March 1310 – but it was not until August 1311 that the committee had finished its work. In the meanwhile Edward had been in Scotland on an aborted campaign, but on 16 August, Parliament met in London , and the king was presented with the Ordinances. The document containing

8282-458: The uncomfortable phonetic proximity to cunt ". In the other languages of Great Britain and Ireland, the term is translated as: Welsh iarll , Irish and Scottish Gaelic iarla , Scots erle , eirle or earle , Cornish yurl, yarl, yerl . The office of earl evolved from the ealdorman, an office within Anglo-Saxon government . The English king appointed

8383-458: The waist of the new earl, emphasizing the fact that the earl's rights came from him. Earls still held influence and, as "companions of the king", generally acted in support of the king's power. They showed their own power prominently in 1327 when they deposed King Edward II . They would later do the same with other kings of whom they disapproved. In 1337 Edward III declared that he intended to create six new earldoms . The first Irish earldom

8484-470: The way to their own downfall with their rash behaviour. As the opinions of the gentry and bourgeoisie grew in importance, they too often strongly disliked favourites. Dislike from all classes could be especially intense in the case of favourites who were elevated from humble, or at least minor, backgrounds by royal favour. Titles and estates were usually given lavishly to favourites, who were compared to mushrooms because they sprang up suddenly overnight, from

8585-438: The work of government – Richelieu had his "créatures" and Olivares his "hechuras". Oxenstierna and William Cecil , who both died in office, successfully trained their sons to succeed them. The favourite can often not be easily distinguished from the successful royal administrator, who at the top of the tree certainly needed the favour of the monarch, but the term is generally used of those who first came into contact with

8686-415: Was Robert Winchelsey , Archbishop of Canterbury . Long a formidable presence in English public life, Winchelsey had led the struggle against Edward I to uphold the autonomy of the church, and for this he had paid with suspension and exile. One of Edward II's first acts as king had been to reinstate Winchelsey, but rather than responding with grateful loyalty, the archbishop soon reassumed a leadership role in

8787-504: Was a count . The definition and powers of French counts varied widely. Some counts were nearly independent rulers who gave only nominal loyalty to the King of France . In Normandy, counts were junior members of the Norman dynasty with responsibility for guarding border regions. In 1066, there were three Norman counts: Richard of Évreux , Robert of Eu , and Robert of Mortain . William

8888-565: Was a favourite, and favourites have always been odious in this country. No mere favourite had been at the head of the government since the dagger of Felton had reached the heart of the Duke of Buckingham". In 1974 Jean Bérenger published "Pour une enquête européenne, l'histoire du ministeriat au XVIIe siècle" in Annales , a seminal study on the subject. According to Bérenger, the simultaneous success of minister-favourites in several monarchies of

8989-473: Was a trusted Habsburg minister who lived grandly, but he was not really a favourite, partly because most of his career was spent away from the monarch. Some favourites came from very humble backgrounds: Archibald Armstrong , jester to James I of England infuriated everyone else at court but managed to retire a wealthy man; unlike Robert Cochrane , a stonemason (probably a senior one, more like an architect than an artisan ) who became Earl of Mar before

9090-431: Was created the earl of Winchester in 1207. This was the first new hereditary earldom created since the reign of Stephen. An earldom could be dramatically impacted upon by multiple partitions. In 1232, Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester died childless. His lands were divided between his four sisters with the title going to the eldest's son, John of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon . John died in 1237, and once again

9191-468: Was executed in 1641. There were later minister-favourites in England, but they knew that the favour of the monarch alone was not sufficient to rule, and most also had careers in Parliament. In 1721, the new office of Prime Minister was created, formalizing the replacement of ministers chosen by the monarch with a political head of government . In France, the movement was in the opposite direction. On

9292-848: Was generally acknowledged that the Commons were an integral part of that institution. Favourite A favourite was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In post-classical and early-modern Europe , among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated significant political power by a ruler. It was especially a phenomenon of the 16th and 17th centuries , when government had become too complex for many hereditary rulers with no great interest in or talent for it, and political institutions were still evolving. From 1600 to 1660 there were particular successions of all-powerful minister-favourites in much of Europe, particularly in Spain, England, France and Sweden. By

9393-573: Was in Essex), and therefore possessed no power in the county. An earldom along with its land was inherited generally according to primogeniture . If the only heirs were female, then the land would be partitioned equally between co-heirs with the eldest co-heir receiving the title. In 1204, Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester , died without children. His heirs were his sisters, Amice and Margaret. Amice's son, Simon de Montfort , succeeded as earl of Leicester, and Margaret's husband, Saer de Quincy ,

9494-452: Was in control of government. Before the end of the year, Gaveston had returned to England, and civil war appeared imminent. In May 1312, Gaveston was taken captive by the Earl of Pembroke, but Warwick and Lancaster had him abducted and executed after a mock trial. This affront to Pembroke's honour drove him irrevocably into the camp of the king, and thereby split the opposition. The brutality of

9595-537: Was made earl of Hereford , a territory formerly part of Sweyn's earldom. In 1053, Harold succeeded his father, and Ælfgar, son of Earl Leofric, became earl of East Anglia. A major reshuffle occurred after both Leofric and Ralf died in 1057. Ælfgar succeeded his father in Mercia, and Gyrth Godwinson took East Anglia. An earldom was created for Leofwine Godwinson out of the south-eastern shires belonging to Harold. In exchange, Harold received Ralf's earldom. In 1065,

9696-572: Was made earl of Somerset . Aubrey de Vere was made earl of Oxford in 1142. Sometime around 1143, Matilda's constable Patrick of Salisbury was made earl of Salisbury . During the Anarchy, earls took advantage of the power vacuum to assume Crown rights. Robert of Gloucester, Patrick of Salisbury, Robert of Leicester , and Henry of Northumbria all minted their own coinage. Earls and barons had also built adulterine castles (castles built without royal permission). It fell to Stephen's successor Henry II ( r.  1154–1189 ) to again curtail

9797-442: Was made to take at the coronation differed from that of previous kings in the fourth clause; here Edward was required to promise to maintain the laws that the community "shall have chosen" (" aura eslu "). Though it is unclear what exactly was meant by this wording at the time, this oath was later used in the struggle between the king and his earls. In the parliament of April 1308, it was decided that Gaveston should be banned from

9898-456: Was more arrogant than ever, conferring insulting nicknames on some of the greater nobles. When the king summoned a great council in October, several of the earls refused to meet due to Gaveston's presence. At the parliament of February in the following year, Gaveston was ordered not to attend. The earls disobeyed a royal order not to carry arms to parliament, and in full military attire presented

9999-498: Was not hereditary. While sons of earls could expect to inherit their father's office, this was not automatic. Only the king could make someone an earl. Initially, Cnut kept Wessex for himself and divided the rest of England into three earldoms. He gave the earldom of East Anglia to Thorkell the Tall and the earldom of Northumbria to Eric . Eadric Streona retained the earldom of Mercia (having been unified with western Mercia in

10100-587: Was the Earl of Ulster , granted to the Norman knight Hugh de Lacy in 1205 by John , King of England and Lord of Ireland . Other early earldoms were Earl of Carrick (1315), Earl of Kildare (1316), Earl of Desmond (1329) and Earl of Waterford (1446, extant). After the Tudor reconquest of Ireland (1530s–1603), native Irish kings and clan chiefs were encouraged to submit to the English king (now also King of Ireland ) and were, in return, granted noble titles in

10201-477: Was vividly described by Tacitus , was the subject of numerous works all around Europe. Shakespeare was more cautious, and with the exceptions of Falstaff , badly disappointed in his hopes of becoming a favourite, and Cardinal Wolsey in Henry ;VIII , he gives no major parts to favourites. Francis Bacon , almost a favourite himself, devoted much of his essay On Friendship to the subject, writing as

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