Definition of jarl in English:

noun

• A Norse or Danish chief.

  ‘the great jarl Thorfinn’

  More example sentences

  • ‘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.’