# Thingmen

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{{Short description|Standing army in the service of the Kings of England, 1013–1051}}
{{Use shortened footnotes|date=September 2022}}
{{Anglo-Saxon status}}
The '''Thingmen''' ({{langx|ang|Þingalið}}) was a unit (or a body of men) in the service of the [Kings of England](/source/House_of_Denmark) during the period 1013–1051. The unit was financed by direct taxation which had its origins in the tribute known as [Danegeld](/source/Danegeld).<ref name="Pritsak410"/> It consisted mostly of men of [Scandinavian](/source/Scandinavia) descent and it had an initial strength of 3,000 [housecarl](/source/housecarl)s and a fleet of 40 ships, which was subsequently reduced. The last remnant of a Thingmen was disbanded by [Edward the Confessor](/source/Edward_the_Confessor) in 1051.<ref>Swanton,<!-- Make clear that this refers to the edition cited in bibliography. The Chronicles don't otherwise have a standard pagination --> ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicles'', pp. 171–173</ref>

In the 11th century, three courts outside Scandinavia were particularly prominent in recruiting Scandinavian troops:<ref name="Pritsak386">Pritsak 1981:386</ref> [Novgorod](/source/Novgorod)-[Kiev](/source/Kiev) ([Kievan Rus'](/source/Kievan_Rus')) c. 980–1060,<ref name="Pritsak386"/> [Constantinople](/source/Byzantine_Empire) (the [Varangian Guard](/source/Varangian_Guard)) 988–1204,<ref name="Pritsak386"/><ref>Although after 1066, the [Varangian Guard](/source/Varangian_Guard) mostly consisted of Englishmen, see Pritsak 1981:386</ref> and [England](/source/England) 1018–1051.<ref name="Pritsak386"/> [Scandinavia](/source/Scandinavia) was however also a recruiting area for attacks against [England](/source/England) and this is why a defence needed to be organized by the Danish king [Cnut the Great](/source/Cnut_the_Great).<ref name="Pritsak410">Pritsak 1981:410</ref><ref name="Pritsak411">Pritsak 1981:411</ref><ref>Pritsak 1981:410 refers here to the [runestone U 617](/source/Hakon_Jarl_Runestones).</ref> The Thingmen attracted Swedish mercenaries, and probably some Norwegian as well.<ref name="Pritsak410"/>

==History==
===Formation and structure===

In 1012 King [Æthelred the Unready](/source/%C3%86thelred_the_Unready) of England ended several years of devastating attacks by a Danish army led by [Thorkell the Tall](/source/Thorkell_the_Tall) by making a huge payment of Danegeld. Most of the raiders dispersed, but Thorkell himself entered English service with 45 ships and their crews. This force, based at [Greenwich](/source/Greenwich), was paid with money collected through the tax system established to raise Danegeld. They remained loyal to Æthelred during the Danish invasion led by King [Swein Forkbeard](/source/Swein_Forkbeard) in 1013, which eventually drove Æthelred to flee the country. 

When Æthelred was restored to power in England in 1014, after the death of Swein, he retained or regained the services of Thorkell and his men, who continued to receive large sums of money.<ref>''Anglo-Saxon Chronicles'', pp. 139-45</ref> However, in 1015 Thorkell, accompanied by 9 ships, joined the fresh invasion of England being prepared by Swein's son Cnut. 

According to a later saga tradition this defection was due to the massacre of a separate force of Danish troops brought to England by Swein and commanded by Thorkell's brother Hemming.<ref>Stenton 1971, p. 388</ref> The chronicle of [Florence of Worcester](/source/Florence_of_Worcester) claims that the 40 ships which deserted Æthelred to join Cnut's invasion force after its arrival in England, under the leadership of [Ealdorman](/source/Ealdorman) [Eadric Streona](/source/Eadric_Streona) of [Mercia](/source/Mercia), were manned by Danish crews. If so, these may have been the residue of Thorkell's former followers who had remained in Æthelred's service when their leader left.<ref>''Anglo-Saxon Chronicles'', p. 146</ref>

While the upheavals of 1015 thus ended, this experiment of keeping a standing, tax-funded force of Scandinavian [mercenaries](/source/mercenaries) in England set a precedent which was followed by Cnut after his conquest of England, completed in 1016. Most of his invasion army was dismissed and returned home, but 40 ships and their crews were retained in the king's service. 

The 12th-century Danish chronicler [Sven Aggesen](/source/Sven_Aggesen) told a story of how these men were selected. According to this tale, Cnut had attracted a large number of men and many had not had the opportunity to distinguish themselves in battle.<ref name="Enoksen117">Enoksen 1998:117</ref> Consequently, he decided to select those that were the most prominent in origin or wealth<ref name="Enoksen117"/> in order to form a royal bodyguard.<ref name="Enoksen118">Enoksen 1998:118</ref> Therefore, he had a [herald](/source/herald) proclaim that only those who had especially valuable weapons would have the distinction of counting themselves among the king's [housecarls](/source/housecarls).<ref name="Enoksen118"/> After this proclamation, those who were less affluent retired while the successful warriors, who had gathered considerable amounts of [spoils of war](/source/Prize_of_war), used their wealth to embellish their weaponry with gold and silver.<ref name="Enoksen118"/> He selected 3,000 men who were thenceforth the Thingmen.<ref name="Enoksen118"/> 

The Thingmen had their own laws, which enforced quality within the unit, even going so far as to make the men equal to the king.<ref name="Enoksen118"/>

===Later development and dissolution===

Under Cnut, the system of direct taxation in silver, based on an assessment of land value, which had been used as an occasional expedient by Æthelred to raise individual lump sums of [Danegeld](/source/Danegeld), became a regular annual form of [levy](/source/Land_value_tax)  to support this standing force, a payment now known as [heregeld](/source/Taxation_in_medieval_England) (army-tax). Each man was paid 8 marks of silver, 12 marks for the helmsman who commanded each ship. As the new Danish dynasty consolidated its position, the number of troops employed was considerably diminished. By the reign of Cnut's son [Harold Harefoot](/source/Harold_Harefoot), who came to power in 1035, only 16 ships were kept in service.<ref>''Anglo-Saxon Chronicles'', p. 161</ref> 

Harold's half-brother [Harthacnut](/source/Harthacnut), who succeeded him in 1040 and arrived with a fleet from Denmark, dramatically increased the tax burden to pay for 60 or 62 ships in the first year of his rule in England, but reduced this force to 32 ships in 1041. This tax increase provoked violent unrest.<ref>''Anglo-Saxon Chronicles'', pp. 160-3</ref> 

Under [Edward the Confessor](/source/Edward_the_Confessor), who came to the throne in 1042, the standing force was further reduced and by 1050 he was employing only 14 ships. In that year 9 of these were dismissed and in 1051 the remaining force was disbanded and the heregeld was abolished.<ref>''Anglo-Saxon Chronicles'', pp. 171, 173</ref>

==Runestones==
Several of its members are commemorated on [runestone](/source/runestone)s, such as the [Viking Runestones](/source/Viking_Runestones) and the [England Runestones](/source/England_Runestones). One example is the [Komstad Runestone](/source/Hakon_Jarl_Runestones) which was raised in memory of the marshall Vrái, who had served in England with his brother Gunni, something that Vrái reported himself on the [Sävsjö Runestone](/source/England_Runestones).<ref name="Pritsak411"/> 

Other examples are the [Kålsta Runestone](/source/Viking_Runestones), where two sons report that their father was a member of the Assembly Retinue,<ref name="Pritsak410"/><ref name="Jansson34">Jansson 1980:34</ref> and the [Gåsinge Runestone](/source/Viking_Runestones) which was raised in memory of a warrior who served Cnut.<ref name="Pritsak410"/>

==See also==
{{Portal|England|History}}
* [Huskarl](/source/Huskarl)
* [Druzhina](/source/Druzhina)
* [Hird](/source/Hird)
* [Comitatus](/source/Comitatus_(classical_meaning))
* [Varangian Guard](/source/Varangian_Guard)
* [German Guard](/source/German_Guard)
* [Leidang](/source/Leidang)

==References==
===Inline citations===
{{reflist|3}}

===Sources referenced and external links===
{{Wiktionary}}
*Enoksen, Lars Magnar. (1998). ''Runor : historia, tydning, tolkning''. Historiska Media, Falun. {{ISBN|91-88930-32-7}}
*Jansson, Sven B. (1980). ''Runstenar''. STF, Stockholm. {{ISBN|91-7156-015-7}}
*[Morgan, Kenneth O.](/source/Morgan%2C_Kenneth_O.) (1984, 1997). ''The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain''. {{ISBN|0-19-285174-8}}
*[Pritsak, Omeljan](/source/Omeljan_Pritsak). (1981). ''The origin of Rus<nowiki>'</nowiki>''. [Cambridge, Mass.](/source/Cambridge%2C_Mass.): Distributed by [Harvard University Press](/source/Harvard_University_Press) for the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute. {{ISBN|0-674-64465-4}}
*F. M. Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', 3rd ed. (Oxford 1971)
*''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles'', ed. and tr. Michael Swanton (London 1996)

{{Viking|state=collapsed}}
{{Runes|state=collapsed}}
Category:Anglo-Norse England
Category:Conflict in Anglo-Saxon England
Category:England–Norway relations
Category:England–Sweden relations
Category:Military units and formations of the Middle Ages

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Thingmen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thingmen) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thingmen?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.