The difference between a Lord, Earl and Duke
The Title of Earl
I am sure that I am not alone when it comes to reading history that it is very confusing when an Earl is
referenced in a text. While an Earl is well defined what is not is that there are often multiple creations
of an Earldom and most texts assume, or appear to, that you know what creation they refer.
In addition, it seems to be a short form and it obviates the use of the full name of the Earl in question.
In my research I refer to the Earls of Essex and Oxford quite extensively. Oxford is possibly easier as the
Earls of Oxford are normally a de Vere of some generation. Essex and other earldoms are not quite so straight-forward.
Earl of Pembroke
Earl of Pembroke is a title in the Peerage of England that was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title, which is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, has been recreated ten times from its original inception.
Earl of Hereford
Humphrey de Bohun - 4th Earl (
The title is an ancient one. In 1042, Godwin, Earl of Wessex severed the territory of Herefordshire and its Welsh dependencies from the Kingdom of Mercia. He immediately granted it to his eldest son Sweyn Godwinson. The earldom included the counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Somerset. In 1047, Sweyn attempted to take Eadgifu, Abbess of Leominster, from her nunnery by force with the intention of marrying her. However, the Archbishop of Canterbury and King Edward the Confessor intervened and stopped him. As punishment, King Edward banished Sweyn from England.
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