earl [OE] In Anglo-Saxon days an earl was a man of noble rank, as opposed to a churl (source of churlish, Old English in a literal sense, Late Middle English in the sense ‘rude’), or ordinary peasant, or a thane, who was a man granted land by the king. At the time of King Canute’s rule in the early 11th century, the governor of a large division of England such as Wessex was called an earl. As the court started to be influenced by the Normans, the word was applied to any nobleman who held the continental title of *count. See also duke.