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In later Anglo-Saxon England, a thegn or thane^[1] (Latin minister^[2]) was an aristocrat who ranked at the third level in lay society, below the king and ealdormen.^[3] He had to be a substantial landowner. Thanage refers to the tenure by which lands were held by a thane as well as the rank.

The term thane was also used in early medieval Scandinavia for a class of retainers, and thane was a title given to local royal officials in medieval eastern Scotland, equivalent in rank to the child of an earl.

Etymology

Thegn is only used once in the laws before the reign of King Æthelstan (924-939), but more frequently in charters.^[4] Apparently unconnected to the German and Dutch word dienen ('to serve'), H. M. Chadwick suggests "the sense of subordination must have been inherent... from the earliest time".^[5] It gradually expanded in meaning and use, to denote a member of a territorial nobility, while thegnhood was attainable by fulfilling certain conditions.^[4]

An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary describes a thane as "one engaged in a king's or a queen's service, whether in the household or in the country". It adds: "the word... seems gradually to acquire a technical meaning... denoting a class, containing several degrees".^[4]

Origins

The word *gesith*/*gesiþ* (plural *gesithum*/*gesiðum*), the precursor of *thegn*, used in the Old English epic poem *Beowulf*

In the 5th century, Germanic peoples collectively known as Anglo-Saxons migrated to sub-Roman Britain and came to dominate the east and southeast of the island. Based on archaeological evidence (such as burials and buildings), these early communities appear to have lacked any social elite. Around half the population were free, independent farmers (Old English: ceorlas) who cultivated a hide of land (enough to provide for a family). Slaves, mostly native Britons, made up the other half.^[6]

By the late 6th century, the archeological evidence (grander burials and buildings) suggests the development of a social elite. This period coincided with the Late Antique Little Ice Age and the Plague of Justinian. These events would have caused famine and other societal disruptions that may have increased violence and led previously independent farmers to submit to the rule of strong lords. The Old English word for lord is hlaford ('loaf-guardian' or 'bread-giver').^[7]

The early law codes of Kent use the Old English word eorl ('high born', 'noble') to describe a nobleman. By the 8th century, the word gesith ('companion'; Latin: comes) had replaced eorl as the common term for a nobleman.^[8]^[9] There were both land-owning and landless gesiths.^[10] A landless gesith would serve as a retainer in the comitatus of a king, queen, or lord. In return, they were provided protection (Old English: mund) and gifts of gold and silver. Young nobles were raised with the children of kings to someday become their gesith.^[11] A gesith might be granted an estate in reward for loyal service.^[8]

By the 10th century, Anglo-Saxon society was divided into three main social classes: slaves, ceorlas ('free men'), and þegnas ('thegns', 'aristocrats').^[12] Thegn (Old English: þeġn) meant servant or warrior, and it replaced the term gesith.^[8] Law codes assigned a weregeld or man price of 200 shillings for a ceorl and 1,200s for a thegn.^[13]

Ranks and functions

Thegns were divided into three ranks: ealdormen (later earl), king's thegns, and median thegns.^[14] Below ealdormen were king's thegns, so called because they only served the king. The lowest thegnly rank were the median thegns who owed service to other thegns. The higher a thegn's rank, the greater the heriot he paid to the king.^[14]

Thegns were the backbone of local government and the military. Sheriffs were drawn from this class, and thegns were required to attend the shire court and give judgment. For these reasons, historian David Carpenter described thegns as "the country gentry of Anglo-Saxon England".^[15] Although their exact role is unclear, the twelve senior thegns of the hundred played a part in the development of the English system of justice. Under a law of Aethelred they "seem to have acted as the judicial committee of the court for the purposes of accusation".^[16] This suggests some connection with the modern jury trial.

Social mobility

Children inherited thegnly status from their father, and a thegnly woman who married a ceorl retained her noble status.^[13] A successful thegn might hope to be promoted to earl.^[4]

A prosperous ceorl could become a landlord in his own right and aspire to thegnly rank. In the legal tract Geþyncðo, Archbishop Wulfstan of York (1002–1023) detailed the criteria for attaining thegnhood: "And if a ceorl prospered, that he possessed fully five hides of his own, a belhus and a burhgeat [a defensible manor house], a seat and special office in the king’s hall, then was he henceforth entitled to the rights of a thegn."^[17] The legal text Norðleoda laga ('law of the Northern People') also included the five-hide qualification but added that the land had to be kept for three generations.^[18]

Thegnhood was also attainable to the merchant who "fared thrice over the wide sea by his own means."^[19]

Households

A noble household included a number of retainers, termed cniht ('young man', 'retainer'; from which the modern word knight derives) or huscarl ('housecarl', 'man of the household'). Thegnly wills can be used to reconstruct noble households. Thurstan Lustwine's will, written c. 1043, left land to his cnihtes and his two chaplains (who in addition to religious duties would also have performed secretarial work). The will of a noblewoman named Leofgifu left land to her three stewards, two reeves, a chaplain, and her cnihtes. Another household officer identified in wills is that of huntsman (hunta).^[20]

Just as king's thegns served in the royal household, lesser thegns served as the seneschals, chamberlains, and stewards of king's thegns and ealdorman. These were considered honourable posts rather than servile positions. Vagn, the leader of Earl Leofric's housecarls, owned 54 hides of land with his main manor at Wootton Wawen ('Vagn's Wootton'). High ranking men such as Vagn would have formed the inner circle of the lord's household.^[21]

Post-conquest England

In 1066, there were an estimated 5,000 thegns in England.^[22] After the Norman conquest of England in 1066, William the Conqueror replaced the Anglo-Saxon aristocracy with Normans, who replaced the previous terminology with their own names for such social ranks. Those previously known as thegns became part of the knightly class.^[4]

Runestones

During the later part of the tenth and in the eleventh centuries in Denmark and Sweden, it became common for families or comrades to raise memorial runestones. Approximately fifty of these note that the deceased was a thegn. Examples of such runestones include Sö 170 at Nälberga, Vg 59 at Norra Härene, Vg 150 at Velanda, DR 143 at Gunderup, DR 209 at Glavendrup, and DR 277 at Rydsgård.

References

Citations

^ Britannica 1998.
^ Licence 2020, p. 99.
^ Keynes 2014, pp. 459–461.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Holland 1911, p. 743.
^ Chadwick 1905, pp. 84–85.
^ Morris 2021, pp. 49–50.
^ Morris 2021, pp. 50–55.
^ ^a ^b ^c Loyn 1955, p. 530.
^ Williams 2008, p. 5.
^ Loyn 1955, p. 532.
^ Jolliffe 1961, p. 14–15.
^ Williams 2008, p. 2.
^ ^a ^b Williams 2008, p. 1.
^ ^a ^b Williams 2008, p. 3.
^ Carpenter 2003, p. 66 quoted in Huscroft 2016, p. 28.
^ Holdsworth 1903, p. 7.
^ Liebermann 1905, pp. 456–458; Whitelock 1955, no. 52(A), p. 432; quoted in Williams 2008, pp. 2–3.
^ Williams 2008, p. 4.
^ Stubbs 1895, p. 65.
^ Williams 2008, pp. 63 & 66.
^ Williams 2008, p. 67.
^ Huscroft 2016, p. 29.

Sources

Chadwick, Hector Munro (1905). Studies on Anglo-Saxon Institutions. Cambridge University Press.
Carpenter, David (2003). The Struggle for Mastery: Britain 1066–1284. Penguin History of Britain. Penguin Books. ISBN 0140148248.
Huscroft, Richard (2016). Ruling England, 1042-1217 (2nd ed.). Routledge. ISBN 978-1138786554.
Holdsworth, William Searle (1903). A History of English Law. Vol. 1. London: Methuen & Co.
Holland, Arthur William (1911). "Thegn" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). p. 743.
Jolliffe, J. E. A. (1961). The Constitutional History of Medieval England from the English Settlement to 1485 (4th ed.). Adams and Charles Black.
Keynes, Simon (2014). "Thegn". In Lapidge, Michael; Blair, John; Keynes, Simon; Scragg, Donald (eds.). The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England (2nd ed.). Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley Blackwell. pp. 459–461. ISBN 978-0-470-65632-7.
Licence, Tom (2020). Edward the Confessor: Last of the Royal Blood. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-21154-2.
Liebermann, F. (1905). Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen. Vol. 1. Halle: M. Niemeyer.
Loyn, HR (1955). "Gesiths and Thegns in Anglo-Saxon England from the Seventh to Tenth Century". The English Historical Review. 70 (277): 529–549. doi:10.1093/ehr/LXX.CCLXXVII.529. JSTOR 558038.
Morris, Marc (2021). The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England: 400–1066. Pegasus Books. ISBN 978-1-64313-312-6.
Stubbs, William (1895). Select Charters and Other Illustrations of English Constitutional History, from the Earliest Times to the Reign of Edward the First (8th ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press.
"Thane". Encyclopedia Britannica. 20 July 1998.
Whitelock, Dorothy, ed. (1955). English Historical Documents c. 500–1042. Vol. 1. London: Eyre and Spottiswood.
Williams, Ann (2008). The World Before Domesday: The English Aristocracy, 900–1066. London: Continuum. ISBN 9781847252395.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|Medieval British and Scandinavian noble title}}
-{{about|the medieval class or rank||thane (disambiguation)}}
+{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
-[[File:Godwin the thane seal first half 11th century.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Seal of Godwin the thegn (''minister''), first half of 11th century. [[British Museum]].]]
-[[File:Map of thegn runestones.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Map of [[Scandinavia]] indicating with a red dot the location of [[runestone]]s describing the deceased as a thegn. Blue dots indicate stones that mention the junior position "drengr".]]
+[[File:Godwin the thane seal first half 11th century.jpg|thumb|Ivory seal of Godwin, an unknown thegn{{dash}}first half of eleventh century, [[British Museum]]]]
-{{Anglo-Saxon status}}
-The term '''''thegn''''' ('''thane''' or '''thayn''' in [[Shakespearean English]]), from [[Old English]] {{lang|ang|þegn}}, {{lang|ang|ðegn}}, "servant, attendant, retainer", "one who serves",<ref name="MossValestuk2001">{{cite book |author1=Joyce Moss |author2=Lorraine Valestuk |title=British and Irish literature and its times: Celtic migrations to the Reform Bill (beginnings–1830s) |page=231 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xH4jAQAAIAAJ |access-date=7 December 2012 |year=2001 |publisher=Gale Group |isbn=978-0-7876-3728-6 }}</ref> is commonly used to describe either an aristocratic [[Retainer (medieval)|retainer]] of a king or [[nobility|nobleman]] in [[Anglo-Saxon England]], or, as a class term, the majority of the aristocracy below the ranks of [[ealdormen]] and [[high-reeve]]s. It is also the term for an [[Early Middle Ages|early medieval]] [[Scandinavia]]n class of retainers.
+In later [[Anglo-Saxon England]], a '''thegn''' or '''thane'''{{Sfn|Britannica|1998}} (Latin '''minister'''{{sfn|Licence|2020|p=99}}) was an aristocrat who ranked at the third level in lay society, below the king and [[ealdormen]].{{sfn|Keynes|2014|pp=459-461}} He had to be a substantial landowner. [[Thanage]] refers to the tenure by which lands were held by a thane as well as the rank.
+The term ''thane'' was also used in [[Early Middle Ages|early medieval]] [[Scandinavia]] for a class of retainers, and ''[[thane (Scotland)|thane]]'' was a title given to local royal officials in medieval eastern [[Scotland]], equivalent in rank to the child of an [[earl]].
 == Etymology ==
+{{Anglo-Saxon status}}
+Thegn is only used once in the laws before the reign of King [[Æthelstan]] (924-939), but more frequently in charters.{{Sfn|Holland|1911|p=743}} Apparently unconnected to the [[German language|German]] and [[Dutch language|Dutch]] word '' {{lang|de|dienen}}'' ('to serve'), [[H. M. Chadwick]] suggests "the sense of subordination must have been inherent... from the earliest time".{{sfn|Chadwick|1905|pp=84–85}} It gradually expanded in meaning and use, to denote a member of a territorial nobility, while thegnhood was attainable by fulfilling certain conditions.{{Sfn|Holland|1911|p=743}}
+''[[An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary]]'' describes a thane as "one engaged in a king's or a queen's service, whether in the household or in the country". It adds: "the word... seems gradually to acquire a technical meaning... denoting a class, containing several degrees".{{Sfn|Holland|1911|p=743}}
-[[Old English]] '''{{lang|ang|þeġ(e)n}}''' ({{IPA-ang|ˈθej(e)n|IPA}}, "servant, attendant, retainer") is [[cognate (etymology)|cognate]] with [[Old High German]] {{lang|goh|degan}} and [[Old Norse]] {{lang|non|þegn}} ("thane, [[franklin (class)|franklin]], freeman, man").<ref>[http://www.northvegr.org/zoega/509.php Northvegr - Zoëga's A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
+== Origins ==<!-- The page "Gesith" redirects to this section. If you change the section name, please update the "Gesith" page. -->
-The '''thegn''' had a military significance, and its usual [[Latin]] translation was ''miles'', meaning soldier, although ''minister'' was often used. [[Joseph Bosworth]]<ref>''Anglo-Saxon Dictionary'' edited by Joseph Bosworth, T. Northcote Toller and Alistair Campbell (1972), Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|0-19-863101-4}}.</ref> describes a thegn as "one engaged in a king's or a queen's service, whether in the household or in the country", and adds: "the word in this case seems gradually to acquire a technical meaning, and to become a term denoting a class, containing, however, several degrees".<ref name=EB1911>{{EB1911 |wstitle=Thegn |volume=26 |page=743 |first= Arthur William |last=Holland |inline=1}}</ref>
+[[File:Beowulf - ge sithum.jpg|thumb|right|The word ''gesith''/''gesiþ'' (plural ''gesithum''/''gesiðum''), the precursor of ''thegn'', used in the [[Old English]] epic poem ''[[Beowulf]]'']]
+In the 5th century, [[Germanic peoples]] collectively known as [[Anglo-Saxons]] migrated to [[sub-Roman Britain]] and came to dominate the east and southeast of the island. Based on archaeological evidence (such as burials and buildings), these early communities appear to have lacked any social elite. Around half the population were free, independent farmers (Old English: {{lang|ang|[[Churl|ceorlas]]}}) who cultivated a [[Hide (unit)|hide]] of land (enough to provide for a family). [[Slavery in Britain|Slaves]], mostly native [[Celtic Britons|Britons]], made up the other half.{{Sfn|Morris|2021|pp=49–50}}
-But, like all other words of the kind, the word ''thegn'' was slowly changing its meaning, and, "the very name, like that of the ''gesith'', has different senses in different ages and kingdoms, but the original idea of military service runs through all the meanings of ''thegn'', as that of personal association is traceable in all the applications of ''gesith''".<ref name=EB1911/> After the [[Norman conquest of England]] in 1066, [[William the Conqueror]] replaced the Anglo-Saxon aristocracy with Normans and the new Norman ruling class replaced the Anglo-Saxon terminology with Norman. In this process, king's thegns became barons, and the lower thegn class merged with the Norman [[knight]] class and made up most of it.<ref>William Stubbs, ''Constitutional History'', vol i.</ref>
+By the late 6th century, the archeological evidence (grander burials and buildings) suggests the development of a social elite. This period coincided with the [[Late Antique Little Ice Age]] and the [[Plague of Justinian]]. These events would have caused famine and other societal disruptions that may have increased violence and led previously independent farmers to submit to the rule of strong lords. The Old English word for ''lord'' is {{lang|ang|hlaford}} ({{gloss|loaf-guardian}} or {{gloss|bread-giver}}).{{Sfn|Morris|2021|pp=50–55}}
-== Gesith and thegns ==
+The early [[Law of Æthelberht|law codes of Kent]] use the Old English word {{Lang|ang|[[wikt:eorl|eorl]]}} ({{gloss|high born}}, {{gloss|noble}}) to describe a nobleman. By the 8th century, the word '''gesith''' ({{gloss|companion}}; Latin: {{lang|la|[[comes]]}}) had replaced {{Lang|ang|eorl}} as the common term for a nobleman.{{sfn|Loyn|1955|p=530}}{{Sfn|Williams|2008|p=5}} There were both land-owning and landless gesiths.{{sfn|Loyn|1955|p=532}} A landless gesith would serve as a [[Retinue|retainer]] in the {{Lang|la|[[Comitatus (warband)|comitatus]]}} of a king, queen, or lord. In return, they were provided protection (Old English: {{lang|ang|[[Mund (law)|mund]]}}) and gifts of gold and silver. Young nobles were raised with the children of kings to someday become their gesith.{{Sfn|Jolliffe|1961|p=14–15}} A gesith might be granted an estate in reward for loyal service.{{sfn|Loyn|1955|p=530}}
-[[File:Beowulf - ge sithum.jpg|thumb|left|A mention of gesiths in the ''[[Beowulf]]'']]
-The precursor of the thegn was the ''gesith'', the companion of the king or great lord, a member of his [[Comitatus (classical meaning)|''comitatus'']], and the word thegn began to be used to describe a military ''gesith''.<ref name=EB1911/><ref>H. R. Loyn, "Gesiths and Thegns in Anglo-Saxon England from the Seventh to the Tenth Century", ''The English Historical Review'' '''70''', no. 277 (Oct. 1955), pp. 529–549, traces the evolution of ''gesith'' to ''thegn''.</ref>
+By the 10th century, Anglo-Saxon society was divided into three main social classes: slaves, {{lang|ang|ceorlas}} ({{gloss|free men}}), and {{lang|ang|þegnas}} ({{gloss|thegns}}, {{gloss|aristocrats}}).{{Sfn|Williams|2008|p=2}} ''Thegn'' (Old English: {{lang|ang|þeġn}}) meant servant or warrior, and it replaced the term ''gesith''.{{sfn|Loyn|1955|p=530}} Law codes assigned a [[weregeld]] or man price of 200 [[shilling]]s for a {{lang|ang|ceorl}} and 1,200s for a thegn.{{Sfn|Williams|2008|p=1}}
-It is only used once in the laws before the time of [[Athelstan of England|Aethelstan]] ({{circa| 895–940}}), but more frequently in the charters. [[H. M. Chadwick]] says that "the sense of subordination must have been inherent in the word from the earliest time",<ref name="Chadwick">{{Cite book |last=Chadwick |first=Hector Munro |authorlink=Hector Munro Chadwick |title=Studies on Anglo-Saxon Institutions |publisher= |year=1905 |location= |pages=84–85 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BK08AAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false |isbn= }}</ref> but it has no connection with the [[German language|German]]/[[Dutch language|Dutch]]'' {{lang|de|dienen}}'', to serve. In the course of time it extended its meaning and was more generally used. The thegn became a member of a territorial nobility, and the dignity of thegnhood was attainable by those who fulfilled certain conditions.<ref name=EB1911/> The nobility of pre-Conquest England was ranked according to the [[heriot]] they paid in the following descending order: earl, king's thegn, median thegn. In Anglo-Saxon hierarchic society, a king's thegn attended in person upon the king, bringing with him his men and resources. A "median" thegn did not hold his land directly from the king but through an intermediary lord.
-== Status ==
+== Ranks and functions ==
+Thegns were divided into three ranks: [[ealdormen]] (later [[earl]]), king's thegns, and median thegns.{{Sfn|Williams|2008|p=3}} Below ealdormen were king's thegns, so called because they only served the king. The lowest thegnly rank were the median thegns who owed service to other thegns. The higher a thegn's rank, the greater the [[heriot]] he paid to the king.{{Sfn|Williams|2008|p=3}}
+Thegns were the backbone of local government and the military. [[Sheriff]]s were drawn from this class, and thegns were required to attend the [[shire court]] and give judgment. For these reasons, historian [[David Carpenter (historian)|David Carpenter]] described thegns as "the [[country gentry]] of Anglo-Saxon England".<ref>{{harvnb|Carpenter|2003|p=66}} quoted in {{harvnb|Huscroft|2016|p=28}}.</ref> Although their exact role is unclear, the twelve senior thegns of the [[hundred (division)|hundred]] played a part in the development of the English system of justice. Under a law of [[Ethelred the Unready|Aethelred]] they "seem to have acted as the judicial committee of the court for the purposes of accusation".{{sfn|Holdsworth|1903|p=7}} This suggests some connection with the modern [[jury trial]].
-The thegn was inferior to the ''[[ætheling]]'', the member of a kingly family, but he was superior to the [[churl|ceorl]] and, says Chadwick, "from the time of Æthelstan the distinction between thegn and ceorl was the broad line of demarcation between the classes of society". His status is shown by his ''[[weregild]]''. Over a large part of England this was fixed at 1200 [[shilling]]s, or six times that of the ceorl. He was the ''twelfhynde'' man of the laws, sharply divided from the ''twyhynde'' man or ceorl.<ref name=EB1911/>
+== Social mobility ==
-=== ''Geþyncðo'', ''Rectitudines Singularum Personarum'' and ''Norðleoda laga'' ===
+Children inherited thegnly status from their father, and a thegnly woman who married a {{lang|ang|ceorl}} retained her noble status.{{Sfn|Williams|2008|p=1}} A successful thegn might hope to be promoted to earl.{{Sfn|Holland|1911|p=743}}
+A prosperous {{lang|ang|ceorl}} could become a landlord in his own right and aspire to thegnly rank. In the legal tract ''[[Geþyncðo]]'', Archbishop [[Wulfstan (died 1023)|Wulfstan]] of York (1002–1023) detailed the criteria for attaining thegnhood: "And if a {{lang|ang|ceorl}} prospered, that he possessed fully five hides of his own, a ''belhus'' and a ''burhgeat'' [a defensible [[manor house]]], a seat and special office in the king’s hall, then was he henceforth entitled to the rights of a thegn."<ref>{{harvnb|Liebermann|1905|pp=456–458}}; {{harvnb|Whitelock|1955|loc=no. 52(A), p. 432}}; quoted in {{harvnb|Williams|2008|pp=2–3}}.</ref> The legal text ''Norðleoda laga'' ({{gloss|law of the Northern People}}) also included the five-[[Hide (unit)|hide]] qualification but added that the land had to be kept for three generations.{{Sfn|Williams|2008|p=4}}
-In a document known as ''[[Geþyncðo]]'' we learn: "And if a [[churl|ceorl]] throve, so that he had fully [[List of medieval land terms|five hides of his own land]], church and kitchen, bellhouse and burh-gate-seat, and special duty in the king's hail, then was he thenceforth of thegn-right worthy."<ref name="Stubbs">{{Cite book |last=Stubbs |first=William |authorlink =William Stubbs |title=Select Charters and Other Illustrations of English Constitutional History from the Earliest Times to the Reign of Edward the First |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1905 |location=Oxford |page=65 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ne0JAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false |isbn= }}</ref> A hide of land was considered sufficient to support a family. And again&mdash;"And if a merchant throve, so that he fared thrice over the wide sea by his own means, then was he thenceforth of thegn-right worthy."<ref name="Stubbs"/> In a similar manner a successful thegn might hope to become an [[earl]]. In addition to the thegns there were others who were thegns on account of their birth, and thus thegnhood was partly inherited and partly acquired.<ref name=EB1911/>
+Thegnhood was also attainable to the merchant who "fared thrice over the wide sea by his own means."{{sfn|Stubbs|1895|p=65}}
-==Thegns and local administration==
-The twelve senior thegns of the [[hundred (division)|hundred]] play a part, the nature of which is rather doubtful, in the development of the English system of justice. By a law of [[Ethelred the Unready|Aethelred]] they "seem to have acted as the judicial committee of the court for the purposes of accusation,"<ref>{{Cite book |last=Holdsworth |first=William Searle |authorlink= |title=A History of English Law |publisher=Little, Brown & Co |year=1922 |location=Boston |volume=I |pages=12–13 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DQF-ASQE7xAC&printsec=frontcover&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false |isbn= }}</ref> and thus they have some connection with the [[grand jury]] of modern times.<ref name=EB1911/>
-==Growing class==
+==Households==
+{{Further|Medieval household}}
-The increase in the number of thegns produced in time a subdivision of the order. There arose a class of king's thegns, corresponding to the earlier thegns, and a larger class of inferior thegns, some of them the thegns of bishops or of other thegns. A king's thegn was a person of great importance, the contemporary idea being shown by the Latin translation of the words as ''comes'' (compare "[[count]]"). He had certain special privileges. No one save the king had the right of jurisdiction over him, while by a law of [[Canute]] we learn that he paid a larger [[heriot]] than an ordinary thegn.<ref name=EB1911/>
+A noble household included a number of retainers, termed {{Lang|ang|cniht}} ({{gloss|young man}}, {{gloss|retainer}}; from which the modern word ''[[knight]]'' derives) or {{Lang|ang|huscarl}} ({{gloss|[[housecarl]]}}, {{gloss|man of the household}}). Thegnly wills can be used to reconstruct noble households. Thurstan Lustwine's will, written {{circa|1043}}, left land to his {{Lang|ang|cnihtes}} and his two [[chaplain]]s (who in addition to religious duties would also have performed secretarial work). The will of a noblewoman named Leofgifu left land to her three stewards, two [[Reeve (England)|reeves]], a chaplain, and her {{Lang|ang|cnihtes}}. Another household officer identified in wills is that of [[Hunter|huntsman]] ({{Lang|ang|hunta}}).{{Sfn|Williams|2008|pp=63 & 66}}
-==After the Conquest==
+Just as king's thegns served in the [[Royal Households of the United Kingdom#Anglo-Saxon period (871–1066)|royal household]], lesser thegns served as the [[Dish-bearers and butlers in Anglo-Saxon England|seneschals]], [[Chamberlain (office)|chamberlains]], and stewards of king's thegns and ealdorman. These were considered honourable posts rather than servile positions. Vagn, the leader of [[Leofric, Earl of Mercia|Earl Leofric's]] housecarls, owned 54 [[Hide (unit)|hides]] of land with his main [[Manorialism|manor]] at [[Wootton Wawen]] ({{gloss|Vagn's Wootton}}). High ranking men such as Vagn would have formed the inner circle of the lord's household.{{Sfn|Williams|2008|p=67}}
-===''Taini'' in Domesday Book===
-In [[Domesday Book]], OE {{lang|ang|þegn}} has become {{lang|la|tainus}} in the [[Latin]] form, but the word does not imply high status. ''Domesday Book'' lists the {{lang|la|taini}} who hold lands directly from the king at the end of their respective counties, but the term became devalued, partly because there were so many thegns.
+== Post-conquest England ==
-==Analogies==
+[[File:Map of thegn runestones.jpg|thumb|[[Scandinavia]]n [[runestone]]s of ''thegns'' are marked in red, those using the junior position "drengr" in blue]]
-Compare the separate development of the concept of "[[vassal]]", from a warlord's [[henchman]] to one of [[Charlemagne]]'s great companions.
+In 1066, there were an estimated 5,000 thegns in England.{{Sfn|Huscroft|2016|p=29}} After the [[Norman conquest of England]] in 1066, [[William the Conqueror]] replaced the Anglo-Saxon aristocracy with Normans, who replaced the previous terminology with their own names for such social ranks. Those previously known as thegns became part of the knightly class.{{Sfn|Holland|1911|p=743}}
-==Runestones==
-During the later part of the 10th and in the 11th centuries in [[Denmark]] and [[Sweden]], it became common for families or comrades to raise memorial runestones, and approximately fifty of these note that the deceased was a thegn. Examples of such runestones include [[Greece runestones#Sö 170|Sö 170]] at Nälberga, [[Norra Härene Runestone|Vg 59]] at Norra Härene, [[Velanda Runestone|Vg 150]] at Velanda, [[Gunderup Runestone|DR 143]] at Gunderup, [[Glavendrup stone|DR 209]] at Glavendrup, and [[Rydsgård Runestone|DR 277]] at Rydsgård.
-==See also==
+== Runestones ==
+During the later part of the tenth and in the eleventh centuries in [[Denmark]] and [[Sweden]], it became common for families or comrades to raise memorial [[runestones]]. Approximately fifty of these note that the deceased was a thegn. Examples of such runestones include [[Södermanland Runic Inscription 170|Sö 170]] at Nälberga, [[Norra Härene Runestone|Vg 59]] at Norra Härene, [[Velanda Runestone|Vg 150]] at Velanda, [[Gunderup Runestone|DR 143]] at Gunderup, [[Glavendrup stone|DR 209]] at Glavendrup, and [[Rydsgård Runestone|DR 277]] at Rydsgård.
+== See also ==
 *[[Abthain]]
 *[[Fyrd]]
 *[[Thain]]
-*[[Thane (Scotland)]]
+*[[Trinoda necessitas]]
 ==References==
-{{reflist}}
-*Abels, Richard P. (1988), ''Lordship and Military Obligation in Anglo-Saxon England,'' British Museum Publications {{ISBN|0-7141-0552-X}}
-==External links==
+=== Citations ===
-*[http://www.roffe.co.uk/thegns.htm David Roffe, "The King's thegns on the eve of the Norman Conquest"]
+{{reflist|colwidth=20em}}
-*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071107171651/http://www.catshamans.se/essae/0thegn.htm Mats G. Larsson, "Rinkar, tegnar, karlar svenner" in ''Populär Historia'' April 2002] (Swedish)
-*[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1035Cnutrelf.html Canute, King of the English: Heriots and reliefs, c. 1016 - 1035 ]: the equivalent of "death duties" on the death of a thegn
+=== Sources ===
-*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040626022221/http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/business/sectors_services/markets_fairs/charter.htm Charter of Wolverhampton, 985 AD:] (in English)
+{{refbegin}}
-*[https://archive.org/details/constitutionalh04stubgoog] - Constitutional History of England
+* {{cite book | last = Chadwick | first = Hector Munro | author-link = Hector Munro Chadwick | title = Studies on Anglo-Saxon Institutions | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 1905 | pages = | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=tWcIAQAAMAAJ}}
+* {{cite book | last = Carpenter | first = David | author-link = David Carpenter (historian) | title = The Struggle for Mastery: Britain 1066–1284 | publisher = Penguin Books | series = [[Penguin History of Britain]] | year = 2003 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=FLbdk_L9TYQC | isbn = 0140148248}}
+* {{cite book | last = Huscroft | first = Richard | title = Ruling England, 1042-1217 | publisher = Routledge | edition = 2nd | year = 2016 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=tKNYCwAAQBAJ | isbn = 978-1138786554}}
+* {{cite book | last = Holdsworth | first = William Searle | author-link = William Searle Holdsworth | title = A History of English Law | publisher = Methuen & Co. | volume = 1 | year = 1903 | place = London | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=vfsyAAAAIAAJ}}
+* {{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=Thegn |volume=26 |page=743 |first= Arthur William |last=Holland|date=1911 |short=1}}
+* {{cite book | last = Jolliffe | first = J. E. A. | title = The Constitutional History of Medieval England from the English Settlement to 1485 | publisher = Adams and Charles Black | edition = 4th | year = 1961 | url = https://archive.org/details/constitutionalhi0000joll |url-access=registration}}
+* {{cite encyclopedia|last= Keynes |first=Simon  |title=Thegn |pages=459–461|year=2014|editor1-first= Michael|editor1-last= Lapidge|editor2-first= John|editor2-last= Blair|editor3-first= Simon|editor3-last= Keynes |editor4-first= Donald|editor4-last= Scragg |encyclopedia=The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England|edition=2nd| publisher= Wiley Blackwell |location=Chichester, West Sussex |isbn=978-0-470-65632-7}}
+*{{cite book|last= Licence|first=Tom  |title=Edward the Confessor: Last of the Royal Blood |publisher= Yale University Press|location= New Haven, Connecticut |year=2020|isbn=978-0-300-21154-2}}
+* {{cite book | last = Liebermann | first = F. | author-link = Felix Liebermann | title = Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen | publisher = M. Niemeyer | volume = 1 | year = 1905 | place = Halle}}
+* {{cite journal |last=Loyn |first=HR | author-link = H. R. Loyn |title=Gesiths and Thegns in Anglo-Saxon England from the Seventh to Tenth Century |journal=The English Historical Review |date=1955 |volume=70 |issue=277| pages=529–549|doi=10.1093/ehr/LXX.CCLXXVII.529 |jstor = 558038}}
+* {{cite book | last = Morris | first = Marc | author-link = Marc Morris (historian) | title = The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England: 400–1066 | publisher = Pegasus Books | year = 2021 | isbn = 978-1-64313-312-6}}
+* {{cite book | last = Stubbs | first = William | author-link = William Stubbs | title = Select Charters and Other Illustrations of English Constitutional History, from the Earliest Times to the Reign of Edward the First | publisher = Clarendon Press | edition = 8th | year = 1895 | place = Oxford | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=zkgzAAAAIAAJ}}
+* {{cite encyclopedia | title = Thane | encyclopedia = Encyclopedia Britannica | url = https://www.britannica.com/topic/thane-feudal-lord | date = 20 July 1998 | ref = {{harvid|Britannica|1998}}}}
+* {{cite book | editor-last = Whitelock | editor-first = Dorothy | editor-link = Dorothy Whitelock | title = [[English Historical Documents]] c. 500–1042 | publisher = Eyre and Spottiswood | year = 1955 | place = London | volume = 1}}
+* {{cite book | last = Williams | first = Ann | author-link = Ann Williams (historian) | title = The World Before Domesday: The English Aristocracy, 900–1066 | publisher = Continuum | year = 2008 | place = London | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=lYCvAwAAQBAJ | isbn = 9781847252395}}
+{{refend}}
+== Further reading ==
-{{short description|Term describing an aristocratic class in Anglo-Saxon England and medieval Scandinavia or a member of that class}}
+{{refbegin}}
+* {{cite book | last = Stubbs | first = William | author-link = William Stubbs | title = The Constitutional History of England, in Its Origin and Development | publisher = Clarendon Press | volume = 1 | year = 1874 | place = Oxford | pages = 149–158 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=zycIAAAAQAAJ}}
+* {{cite journal | last = Sukhino-Khomenko | first = Denis | author-link = | title = Thegns in the Social Order of Anglo-Saxon England and Viking-Age Scandinavia: Outlines of a Methodological Reassessment | journal = Interdisciplinary and Comparative Methodologies | volume = 14 | pages = 25–50 | year = 2019 | url = https://www.helsinki.fi/assets/drupal/2022-12/rmn_14_methodologies.pdf | issn = 1799-4497 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240630032851/https://www.helsinki.fi/assets/drupal/2022-12/rmn_14_methodologies.pdf | archive-date = June 30, 2024 | url-status = live}}
+{{refend}}
 [[Category:Anglo-Saxon society]]
 [[Category:Anglo-Saxon thegns| ]]
 [[Category:Anglo-Norse England]]
-[[Category:Viking Age]]
 [[Category:Viking Age in Sweden]]

Anglo-Saxon status

Cyning (king)
Ealdorman (Earl after c.1000)
Hold / High-reeve
Thegn (thane)
Thingmen / housecarl (retainer)
Reeve / Verderer (bailiff)
Ceorl (churl, free tenant)
Villein (serf)
Cottar (cottager)
Þēow (thrall, slave)
v t e