Earl Marshal of the Curia Regis, 12th Century, England

Earl Marshal is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the sovereign of the United Kingdom. He is the eighth of the great officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord High Constable of England and above the Lord High Admiral within the Curia regis.

After the Norman Conquest of 1066, the central governing body of the Kingdom of England was called the curia regis. Before the Conquest, the Anglo-Saxons called this body the witan. Members, particularly the king's household knights, were also known as the curiales regis.

The curia regis conducted the business of state. Its membership was the tenants-in-chief (i.e. the baronage, including bishops and abbots) along with the great officers of state, such as the chancellor, constable, treasurer or chamberlain, marshal, and steward. Occasionally, these would be summoned by the king to meet as a magnum concilium (Latin for "great council").