# Thegn

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Medieval British and Scandinavian noble title

Ivory seal of Godwin, an unknown thegn – first half of eleventh century, [British Museum](/source/British_Museum)

In later [Anglo-Saxon England](/source/Anglo-Saxon_England), a **thegn**, or **thane**[1] ([Latin](/source/Latin_language): *minister*[2]), was an aristocrat who ranked at the third level in lay society, below the king and [ealdormen](/source/Ealdormen).[3] He had to be a substantial landowner. *[Thanage](/source/Thanage)* refers to the tenure by which lands were held by a thane as well as the rank; an approximately equivalent modern title may be that of [baron](/source/Baron).

The term *thane* was also used in [early medieval](/source/Early_Middle_Ages) [Scandinavia](/source/Scandinavia) for a class of retainers, and *[thane](/source/Thane_(Scotland))* was a title given to local royal officials in medieval eastern [Scotland](/source/Scotland), equivalent in rank to the child of an [earl](/source/Earl).

## Etymology

Anglo-Saxon status Cyning (sovereign) Ætheling (prince) Ealdorman (Earl) Hold / High-reeve Thegn Thingmen / Housecarl / Hearthweru (retainer) Reeve / Verderer (bailiff) Churl (free tenant) Villein (serf) Cottar (cottager) Þēow (slave) v t e

*Thegn* is only used once in the laws before the reign of King [Æthelstan](/source/%C3%86thelstan) (924–939), but more frequently in charters.[4] Apparently unconnected to the [German](/source/German_language) and [Dutch](/source/Dutch_language) word **dienen** ('to serve'), [H. M. Chadwick](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Old_English) epic poem *[Beowulf](/source/Beowulf)*

In the 5th century, [Germanic peoples](/source/Germanic_peoples) collectively known as [Anglo-Saxons](/source/Anglo-Saxons) migrated to [sub-Roman Britain](/source/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](/source/Churl)*) who cultivated a [hide](/source/Hide_(unit)) of land (enough to provide for a family). [Slaves](/source/Slavery_in_Britain), mostly native [Britons](/source/Celtic_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](/source/Late_Antique_Little_Ice_Age) and the [Plague of Justinian](/source/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](/source/Law_of_%C3%86thelberht) use the Old English word *[eorl](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/eorl)* ('high born', 'noble') to describe a nobleman. By the 8th century, the word **gesith** ('companion'; Latin: *[comes](/source/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](/source/Retinue) in the *[comitatus](/source/Comitatus_(warband))* of a king, queen, or lord. In return, they were provided protection (Old English: *[mund](/source/Mund_(law))*) 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](/source/Weregeld) or man price of 200 [shillings](/source/Shilling) for a *ceorl* and 1,200s for a thegn.[13]

## Ranks and functions

There were different ranks within the thegnhood. The lowest thegnly rank was the median thegn who owed service to other thegns. King's thegns ranked higher because they only served the king.[14] The king promoted the most favoured or important thegns to the office of [ealdorman](/source/Ealdorman) (later [earl](/source/Earl)).[15] The higher a thegn's rank, the greater [heriot](/source/Heriot) he paid to the king.[14]

Thegns were the backbone of local government and the military. [Sheriffs](/source/Sheriff) were drawn from this class, and thegns were required to attend the [shire court](/source/Shire_court) and give judgment. For these reasons, the historian [David Carpenter](/source/David_Carpenter_(historian)) described thegns as "the [country gentry](/source/Country_gentry) of Anglo-Saxon England".[16]

Although their exact role is unclear, the twelve senior thegns of the [hundred](/source/Hundred_(division)) played a part in the development of the English system of justice. Under a law of [Æthelred the Unready](/source/%C3%86thelred_the_Unready) they "seem to have acted as the judicial committee of the court for the purposes of accusation".[17] This suggests some connection with the modern [jury trial](/source/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](/source/Ge%C3%BEync%C3%B0o)*, Archbishop [Wulfstan](/source/Wulfstan_(died_1023)) 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](/source/Manor_house)], a seat and special office in the king’s hall, then was he henceforth entitled to the rights of a thegn."[18] The legal text *Norðleoda laga* ('law of the Northern People') also included the five-[hide](/source/Hide_(unit)) qualification but added that the land had to be kept for three generations.[19]

Thegnhood was also attainable to the merchant who "fared thrice over the wide sea by his own means."[20]

## Households

Further information on aristocratic retinues in Anglo-Saxon England: [Hearthweru](/source/Hearthweru)

Further information on medieval households and retinues in general: [Medieval household](/source/Medieval_household)

A noble household included a number of retainers, termed *cniht* ('young man', 'retainer'; from which the modern word *[knight](/source/Knight)* derives) or *huscarl* ('[housecarl](/source/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](/source/Chaplain) (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](/source/Reeve_(England)), a chaplain, and her *cnihtes*. Another household officer identified in wills is that of [huntsman](/source/Hunter) (*hunta*).[21]

Just as king's thegns served in the [royal household](/source/Royal_Households_of_the_United_Kingdom#Anglo-Saxon_period_(871–1066)), lesser thegns served as the [seneschals](/source/Dish-bearers_and_butlers_in_Anglo-Saxon_England), [chamberlains](/source/Chamberlain_(office)), and stewards of king's thegns and ealdormen. These were considered honourable posts rather than servile positions. Vagn, the leader of [Earl Leofric's](/source/Leofric%2C_Earl_of_Mercia) housecarls, owned 54 [hides](/source/Hide_(unit)) of land with his main [manor](/source/Manorialism) at [Wootton Wawen](/source/Wootton_Wawen) ('Vagn's Wootton'). High ranking men such as Vagn would have formed the inner circle of the lord's household.[22]

## Post-conquest England

[Scandinavian](/source/Scandinavia) [runestones](/source/Runestone) of *thegns* are marked in red, those using the junior position "drengr" in blue.

In 1066, there were an estimated 5,000 thegns in England.[23] After the [Norman conquest of England](/source/Norman_conquest_of_England) in 1066, [William the Conqueror](/source/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](/source/Denmark) and [Sweden](/source/Sweden), it became common for families or comrades to raise memorial [runestones](/source/Runestones). Approximately fifty of these note that the deceased was a thegn. Examples of such runestones include [Sö 170](/source/S%C3%B6dermanland_Runic_Inscription_170) at Nälberga, [Vg 59](/source/Norra_H%C3%A4rene_Runestone) at Norra Härene, [Vg 150](/source/Velanda_Runestone) at Velanda, [DR 143](/source/Gunderup_Runestone) at Gunderup, [DR 209](/source/Glavendrup_stone) at Glavendrup, and [DR 277](/source/Rydsg%C3%A5rd_Runestone) at Rydsgård.

## See also

- [Abthain](/source/Abthain)

- [Fyrd](/source/Fyrd)

- [Thain](/source/Thain)

- [Thane (Scotland)](/source/Thane_(Scotland))

- [Trinoda necessitas](/source/Trinoda_necessitas)

## References

### Citations

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBritannica1998_1-0)** [Britannica 1998](#CITEREFBritannica1998).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTELicence202099_2-0)** [Licence 2020](#CITEREFLicence2020), p. 99.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKeynes2014459–461_3-0)** [Keynes 2014](#CITEREFKeynes2014), pp. 459–461.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEHolland1911743_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEHolland1911743_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEHolland1911743_4-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEHolland1911743_4-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEHolland1911743_4-4) [Holland 1911](#CITEREFHolland1911), p. 743.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEChadwick190584–85_5-0)** [Chadwick 1905](#CITEREFChadwick1905), pp. 84–85.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEMorris202149–50_6-0)** [Morris 2021](#CITEREFMorris2021), pp. 49–50.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEMorris202150–55_7-0)** [Morris 2021](#CITEREFMorris2021), pp. 50–55.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTELoyn1955530_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTELoyn1955530_8-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTELoyn1955530_8-2) [Loyn 1955](#CITEREFLoyn1955), p. 530.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWilliams20085_9-0)** [Williams 2008](#CITEREFWilliams2008), p. 5.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTELoyn1955532_10-0)** [Loyn 1955](#CITEREFLoyn1955), p. 532.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEJolliffe196114–15_11-0)** [Jolliffe 1961](#CITEREFJolliffe1961), p. 14–15.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWilliams20082_12-0)** [Williams 2008](#CITEREFWilliams2008), p. 2.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWilliams20081_13-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWilliams20081_13-1) [Williams 2008](#CITEREFWilliams2008), p. 1.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWilliams20083_14-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWilliams20083_14-1) [Williams 2008](#CITEREFWilliams2008), p. 3.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKeynes2014460_15-0)** [Keynes 2014](#CITEREFKeynes2014), p. 460.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** [Carpenter 2003](#CITEREFCarpenter2003), p. 66 quoted in [Huscroft 2016](#CITEREFHuscroft2016), p. 28.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEHoldsworth19037_17-0)** [Holdsworth 1903](#CITEREFHoldsworth1903), p. 7.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** [Liebermann 1905](#CITEREFLiebermann1905), pp. 456–458; [Whitelock 1955](#CITEREFWhitelock1955), no. 52(A), p. 432; quoted in [Williams 2008](#CITEREFWilliams2008), pp. 2–3.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWilliams20084_19-0)** [Williams 2008](#CITEREFWilliams2008), p. 4.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEStubbs189565_20-0)** [Stubbs 1895](#CITEREFStubbs1895), p. 65.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWilliams200863_&_66_21-0)** [Williams 2008](#CITEREFWilliams2008), pp. 63 & 66.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWilliams200867_22-0)** [Williams 2008](#CITEREFWilliams2008), p. 67.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEHuscroft201629_23-0)** [Huscroft 2016](#CITEREFHuscroft2016), p. 29.

### Sources

- [Chadwick, Hector Munro](/source/Hector_Munro_Chadwick) (1905). [*Studies on Anglo-Saxon Institutions*](https://books.google.com/books?id=tWcIAQAAMAAJ). Cambridge University Press.

- [Carpenter, David](/source/David_Carpenter_(historian)) (2003). [*The Struggle for Mastery: Britain 1066–1284*](https://books.google.com/books?id=FLbdk_L9TYQC). [Penguin History of Britain](/source/Penguin_History_of_Britain). Penguin Books. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0140148248](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0140148248).

- Huscroft, Richard (2016). [*Ruling England, 1042-1217*](https://books.google.com/books?id=tKNYCwAAQBAJ) (2nd ed.). Routledge. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1138786554](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1138786554).

- [Holdsworth, William Searle](/source/William_Searle_Holdsworth) (1903). [*A History of English Law*](https://books.google.com/books?id=vfsyAAAAIAAJ). Vol. 1. London: Methuen & Co.

- Holland, Arthur William (1911). ["Thegn"](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Thegn). *[Encyclopædia Britannica](/source/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica_Eleventh_Edition)*. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). p. 743.

- Jolliffe, J. E. A. (1961). [*The Constitutional History of Medieval England from the English Settlement to 1485*](https://archive.org/details/constitutionalhi0000joll) (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](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-470-65632-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-470-65632-7).

- Licence, Tom (2020). *Edward the Confessor: Last of the Royal Blood*. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-300-21154-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-300-21154-2).

- [Liebermann, F.](/source/Felix_Liebermann) (1905). *Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen*. Vol. 1. Halle: M. Niemeyer.

- [Loyn, HR](/source/H._R._Loyn) (1955). "Gesiths and Thegns in Anglo-Saxon England from the Seventh to Tenth Century". *The English Historical Review*. **70** (277): 529–549. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1093/ehr/LXX.CCLXXVII.529](https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fehr%2FLXX.CCLXXVII.529). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [558038](https://www.jstor.org/stable/558038).

- [Morris, Marc](/source/Marc_Morris_(historian)) (2021). *The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England: 400–1066*. Pegasus Books. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-64313-312-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-64313-312-6).

- Stafford, Pauline (2014). "Ealdorman". 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. 156–157. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-470-65632-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-470-65632-7).

- [Stubbs, William](/source/William_Stubbs) (1895). [*Select Charters and Other Illustrations of English Constitutional History, from the Earliest Times to the Reign of Edward the First*](https://books.google.com/books?id=zkgzAAAAIAAJ) (8th ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press.

- ["Thane"](https://www.britannica.com/topic/thane-feudal-lord). *Encyclopedia Britannica*. 20 July 1998.

- [Whitelock, Dorothy](/source/Dorothy_Whitelock), ed. (1955). *[English Historical Documents](/source/English_Historical_Documents) c. 500–1042*. Vol. 1. London: Eyre and Spottiswood.

- [Williams, Ann](/source/Ann_Williams_(historian)) (2008). [*The World Before Domesday: The English Aristocracy, 900–1066*](https://books.google.com/books?id=lYCvAwAAQBAJ). London: Continuum. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781847252395](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781847252395).

## Further reading

- [Stubbs, William](/source/William_Stubbs) (1874). [*The Constitutional History of England, in Its Origin and Development*](https://books.google.com/books?id=zycIAAAAQAAJ). Vol. 1. Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. 149–158.

- Sukhino-Khomenko, Denis (2019). ["Thegns in the Social Order of Anglo-Saxon England and Viking-Age Scandinavia: Outlines of a Methodological Reassessment"](https://www.helsinki.fi/assets/drupal/2022-12/rmn_14_methodologies.pdf) (PDF). *Interdisciplinary and Comparative Methodologies*. **14**: 25–50. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1799-4497](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1799-4497). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240630032851/https://www.helsinki.fi/assets/drupal/2022-12/rmn_14_methodologies.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 30 June 2024.

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