By John Watson- Taylor. 



381 



It is probable, therefore, that the correct explanation of " Erie " 

 is that which is most simple, and that it was the old English form 

 of the title Earl. In Anglo-Saxon it was spelt " Eorl," and was a 

 word adapted from the Danish "jarl," which is said to have been 

 introduced into England by the Jutes and to have gradually taken 

 the place of the older word ealdorman, signifying a nobleman, or 

 one holding high office under the King, in which senses it is fre- 

 quently found used in Anglo-Saxon documents. If, as seems to 

 be the case, it was added in the latter part of the twelfth century, 

 erle is the form in which it would then be written, and the varia- 

 tions in the spelling, eorl, earl, and comitis, seem to show that this 

 is the meaning that has always been attributed to it. In Domesday 

 Book there are several examples of its use : Erlesholt, in Yorkshire, 

 held both at the time of the survey and of Edward the Confessor 

 by the Archbishop ; Erlestune, in Derbyshire, held by Henry de 

 Ferrers ; Erlide, in Staffordshire, held by Earl Eoger ; Erlingeha', 

 in Gloucestershire, and Erlestone in Northamptonshire, held by 

 the King ; and Erlham, in Norfolk, held by Godric the Sewer 

 and Alnot the Saxon. Of these the last two only occur in the 

 Book of Fees, where they are given as Herleston and Herlh'm, and 

 in the same record Erlega has become Herleg. In later times, 

 however, the " h " was dropped again, and Herlh'm, in Norfolk, 

 was called Jerlham or Earlham. This form seems to point to the 

 title as its origin from Anglo-Saxon times, for although Domesday 

 Book has no places with the prefix Jarl or Yarl the modern 

 Yarlingtons of Somersetshire and Yorkshire may yet belong to the 

 same category in their Domesday forms Gerlington and Girlington. 



The only earl who can be proved to have been connected with 

 Erlestoke is Earl Harold, who held Melksham at the time of 

 Edward the Confessor, no doubt by virtue of his office of Earl of 

 Wiltshire, and it may have been that the demesne land of the 

 parent manor was all situated at Stoke, but it is very unlikely 

 that of the enormous number of manors which he held in England 

 this small sub-manor should be the only one whose name owed its 

 origin to him. 



In later times the title of an owner was frequently added to 



