Earl of East Anglia

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 [ Walker, Ian W. "Mercia and the making of England" Sutton 2000 ISBN 0-7509-2131-5 p130] . He died in "c."927 [ [http://aemyers.net/genealogy/d0026/g0000025.html Aemyers Genealogy: Earl Athelfrith] Retrieved on 2008-01-13.] and was succeeded by his son, Æthelstan "Half-King", a very powerful ruler who ruled an extensive territory and witnessed numerous charters from 932 [ [http://www.pase.ac.uk/pase/apps/persons/CreatePersonFrames.jsp?personKey=9343 Prosopography of Anglo Saxon England: Æthelstan Half-King] Retrieved on 2008-01-13.] , and who established a ruling dynasty after him.

The approximate succession of Anglo-Saxon Ealdormen of East Anglia are (including [ [http://starnarcosis.net/obsidian/engl.html#East%20Anglia Regnal Chronologies: England, East Anglia] Retrieved on 2008-01-13.] [ [http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/chartwww/Prosopog/AS%20laymen.html: Witan Angelcynnes: Ealdormen, thegns, and other laymen] Retrieved on 2008-01-13.] ):

*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 [ [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/DANISH%20NOBILITY.htm Danish Nobility: Family of Thorkell the Tall] Retrieved on 2008-01-13.] or fosterson [ Lavelle, Ryan "The use and abuse of hostages in later Anglo-Saxon England" Early Medieval Europe, Vol 14 Iss 3, p269–296] 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) [ Falkus, Malcolm & Gillingham, John "Historical Atlas of Britain" Kingfisher 1989 ISBN 0-86272-395-0 p52]

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 Ælfgār who was outlawed successively in 1055 and 1058, but pardoned each time [ [http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/landownersd-f.html Domesday Book: East Anglia, Algar, Earl of] Retrieved on 2008-01-13.] .

*Harold Godwinson ("c."1044-"c."1051)
*Ælfgār ("c."1051-"c."1052)
*Harold Godwinson ("c."1052-"c."1053) (restored)
*Ælfgār ("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 [ [http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~pmcbride/rfc/gw10.htm#I7640 Rootsweb: Bigod] Retrieved on 2008-01-13.] , 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.

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