Raise the spirits of the Earl recently (5)
I believe the answer is:
elate
'raise the spirits' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'the earl recently' is the wordplay.
'the earl' becomes 'e'.
'recently' becomes 'late' (I've seen this in other clues).
'e'+'late'='ELATE'
'of' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for elate that I've seen before include "Inspirit, make exultant" , "Bring joy" , "Overjoy" , "Raise the spirits of" , "transport?" .)