‘But the name earl gradually merged with the Danish jarl and, after the reign of Alfred, earls took over the responsibilities of ealdormen.’
‘The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle suggests that the Viking armies were led by jarls as often as kings.’
‘From the hill folk, I had heard Cyneric was begotten to a Danish woman by a famous jarl named Sigólfr, a name Cyneric bore whether or not the tale was false.’
‘In the early period there is little clear difference between powerful jarls and the many petty kings who flourished in Denmark and Norway.’
‘Later, in the eleventh century, under kings such as Harald Hardrada, the power-broking jarls were crushed.’
Origin
Old Norse, literally ‘man of noble birth’; related to earl.
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