Earl of East Anglia

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The Earls of East Anglia were rulers of the former Kingdom of East Anglia between the 10th and 12th centuries. They were instituted after the death of Guthrum II the last Danish King of East Anglia, and the submission of the kingdom to King Edward of Wessex in 917.

Anglo-Saxon Ealdormen of East Anglia

In 917 the East Anglian Danes had accepted Edward as king. It is not clear who replaced Guthrum II as the local ruler, but it is probable that the Ealdorman Æthelfrith of south east Mercia may have been granted authority over the newly restored area by Edward. He died in c.927 and was succeeded by his son, Æthelstan Half-King, a very powerful ruler who ruled an extensive territory and witnessed numerous charters from 932, and who established a ruling dynasty after him.

The approximate succession of Anglo-Saxon Ealdormen of East Anglia are (including ):

• Æthelfrith (c.917-c.927) (possible, see above)
• Æthelstan Half-King, son (c.927-c.956)
• Æthelwald, son (c.956-c.962)
• Æthelwine, brother (c.962-c.992)
• Ulfcytel Snylling (c.992-c.1016)

In October 1016 Ulfcytel was killed at the Battle of Ashingdon, in Essex, by the Danes.

Danish Earls, or Jarls

The Jarls of East Anglia were an Anglo-Danish institution of Canute the Great. His conquest meant he had to divide the Kingdom of England into easily manageable regions, and he appointed Thorkell the Tall the Jarl of East Anglia in 1017. There is scant evidence of these Jarls after Thorkell and his family were outlawed by Canute in 1021, only to be pardoned again in 1023. It is unlikely that his son Harald Thorkellson succeeded him as he is only described as the king's hostage or fosterson in England.

• Thorkell Strut-Haraldsson the Tall (c.1017-c.1021)
• Unknown descent
• Thuri (c.1038-c.1044) (possibly as 'Earl of the middle peoples' in the east midlands)

Anglo-Danish and Norman Earls

Anglo-Saxon rule of England was restored with the accession of King Edward the Confessor in 1042. Subsequent earls included Ælfgar who was outlawed successively in 1055 and 1058, but pardoned each time.

• Harold Godwinson (c.1044-c.1051)
• Ælfgar (c.1051-c.1052)
• Harold Godwinson (c.1052-c.1053) (restored)
• Ælfgar (c.1053-c.1057) (restored)
• Gyrth Godwinson (c.1057-c.1066)

Gyrth is killed fighting alongside his brother Harold at the Battle of Hastings on 14 Oct 1066, and William the Conqueror installs the half-English, half-Breton Ralph de Guader as Earl.

• Ralph de Guader (c.1069-c.1075)
• Roger Bigod the Sheriff (c.1075-c.1107)

After Ralph's failed plot to murder William the Conqueror (known as the Revolt of the Earls), the king subsequently splits East Anglia into smaller estates including Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridge. The Earldom ceased to exist after Roger Bigod, who was the last to be styled Earl of East Anglia, although in practice he was appointed Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk, and sometimes known as the 1st Earl of Norfolk. His son Hugh Bigod was entitled only as Earl of Norfolk.

References

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Last updated on Sunday February 03, 2008 at 05:12:07 PST (GMT -0800)
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