Earl 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.
Odo of Bayeux, fighting in the Battle of Hastings as shown in the Bayeux Tapestry. Odo was later made Earl of Kent.
Hedingham Castle, seat of the Earls of Oxford, is in Essex where most of the earl's land was concentrated
The royal procession to the Parliament of England at Westminster on 4 February 1512. Left to right: The Marquess of Dorset (second from left), Earl of Northumberland, Earl of Surrey, Earl of Shrewsbury, Earl of Essex, Earl of Kent, Earl of Derby, Earl of Wiltshire. From Parliament Procession Roll of 1512.
Earl's coronation robes
Peerages in the United Kingdom
Peerages in the United Kingdom form a legal system comprising both hereditary and lifetime titles, composed of various ranks, and within the framework of the Constitution of the United Kingdom form a constituent part of the legislative process and the British honours system. The British monarch is considered the fount of honour and is notionally the only person who can grant peerages, though there are many conventions about how this power is used, especially at the request of the British government. The term peerage can be used both collectively to refer to the entire body of titled nobility, and individually to refer to a specific title. British peerage title holders are termed peers of the Realm.
Wax impression of the Great Seal of the Realm which is affixed to all letters patent creating new peerages
The House of Lords showing government, opposition and the cross benches
The Lord Speaker presiding from the woolsack
Courtroom of the Earl Marshall, Court of Chivalry, College of Arms, London
