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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. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; ''countess'' is used as the equivalent feminine title. == Etymology == The term ''earl'' has been compared to the name of the Heruli, and to runic ''erilaz''.〔e.g. Järsberg Runestone (6th century) ''ek erilaz () runor waritu...''〕 Proto-Norse ''eril'', or the later Old Norse ''jarl'', came to signify the rank of a leader.〔Lindström (2006:113–115).〕 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 the uncomfortable phonetic proximity to cunt". 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Earl」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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