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East Anglia was not a dramatic change. In 1075, Ralph de Gael, son of Ralph the
Staller, lost his lands and position as earl in East Anglia, because of his revolt. 186
After that, until 1141, no new earl was appointed to East Anglia. 187 Understandably,
William I was perhaps unhappy with his experience of continued or revived Anglo-
Saxon earldoms after the revolt of Edwin and Morcar, and the revolt or disloyalty of
men like Ralph de Gael and Earl Waltheof in 1075. 188 Perhaps too the Conqueror
thought that he already had loyal, powerful men in the region, such as Roger Bigod
and Robert Malet. This is in turn may have something to do with the developing
office of sheriff.
The office of sheriff (shire-reeve) in the pre-Conquest period was that of an
executive agent of the king in the shire, chiefly in respect of the king’s property and
rights, though the sheriff also sometimes led the military forces of a shire. In the
shire court they were less important than earls and bishops. 189 The role of Norman
vicomté was similar enough to that of the English sheriff for the Norman conquerors
to use the word vicecomes as the Latin equivalent for sheriff. 190 Similarities between
the Continent and England in terms of sheriffs and vicomtes were already apparent
long before the Norman Conquest. In England in the post-Conquest period, the
sheriff became more important than before. By the end of William I’s reign the
sheriff was the main royal representative in most of the shires. In 1087 there were
earls only in three shires (Cheshire, Shropshire, Northumberland). 191 Also, as
ecclesiastical courts began to be separate, the power of bishop in the shire court
186
Douglas, William, pp. 232-3.
187
Davis, King Stephen, pp. 138-9.
188
For the earls Edwin and Morcar, see Douglas, William, p. 222; for Earl Waltheof, see ibid., pp.
218 (revolt in 1069), 232-3 (disloyalty in 1075 and execution in 1076).
189
Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 548-50; Loyn, Governance of Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 138-
40.
190
Bates, Normandy Before 1066, pp. 157-8.
191
Lewis, “Early Earls”, p. 215.
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