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Earnanæs (Old English), Aranæs (Old Swedish) and Årnäs (Swedish language) is the name of at least two locations, in what is today southern Sweden, which are known from history and legend. The names are variations of the same name, and this has aroused the interest of scholars since the 19th century.
In the early 14th century, it was the property of the marshal and Swedish regent Torkel Knutsson. In this castle, King Birger Magnusson signed a reconciliation treaty with his brothers, the dukes Erik and Valdemar Magnusson. After the two dukes had poisoned the king's mind against his faithful marshal, Torkel was captured and taken to Stockholm, where he was beheaded. The once magnificent stronghold was demolished and the land was given to the convent of Gudhem, on the condition that the nuns should move to Aranæs within a year. The move appears to have been delayed, and instead they moved to Rackeby, in 1349, when they received the estate from King Magnus IV of Sweden. The king renewed his father's endowment of Aranæs to the nuns, and two years later a convent was founded there. The nuns lived at Aranæs for a decade, until the estate passed to the king.
King Albert of Sweden gave the estate to Gerhard Snakenborg in exchange for the castle Axevalla House, in 1366. In 1371, it was given by king Magnus to bishop Nils of Skara. It was the property of the Diocese of Skara until the Reformation. In 1683, Årnäs passed from the King to private owners. The castle has been the object of several recent archaeological excavations, which have shown that the castle was much larger than was previously expected. Its size is still not known.
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