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þegn
In later Anglo-Saxon England, a thegn or thane (Latin minister) was an aristocrat who ranked at the third level in lay society, below the king and ealdormen. 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; an approximately equivalent modern title may be that of baron. 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. Apparently unconnected to the German and Dutch word '' '' ('to serve'), H. M. Chadwick suggests "the sense of subordination must have been inherent... from the earliest time". It gradually expanded in meaning and use, to denote a member of a territorial nobility, while thegnhood was attain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anglo-Saxons
The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to Germanic peoples, Germanic settlers who became one of the most important cultural groups in Britain by the 5th century. The Anglo-Saxon period in Britain is considered to have started by about 450 and ended in 1066, with the Norman conquest of England, Norman Conquest. Although the details of Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, their early settlement and History of Anglo-Saxon England, political development are not clear, by the 8th century an Anglo-Saxon cultural identity which was generally called had developed out of the interaction of these settlers with the existing Romano-British culture. By 1066, most of the people of what is now England spoke Old English, and were considered English. Viking and Norman invasions chang ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sub-Roman Britain
Sub-Roman Britain, also called post-Roman Britain or Dark Age Britain, is the period of late antiquity in Great Britain between the end of Roman rule and the founding of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. The term was originally used to describe archaeological remains found in 5th- and 6th-century AD sites that hinted at the decay of locally made wares from a previous higher standard under the Roman Empire. It is now used to describe the period that began with the recall of Roman troops from Britannia to Gaul by Constantine III in 407 and ended with the Battle of Deorham in 577. This period has attracted a great deal of academic and popular debate, in part because of the lack of written records from the time. Meaning of terms The period of sub-Roman Britain traditionally covers the history of the parts of Britain that had been under Roman rule from the end of Roman imperial rule, traditionally dated to be in 410, to the arrival of Saint Augustine in 597. The date taken for the end ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weregeld
Weregild (also spelled wergild, wergeld (in archaic/historical usage of English), weregeld, etc.), also known as man price ( blood money), was a precept in some historical legal codes whereby a monetary value was established for a person's life, to be paid as a fine or as compensatory damages to the person's family if that person was killed or injured by another. Etymology and terminology The compound noun weregild means "remuneration for a man", from Proto-Germanic "man, human" and "retaliation, remuneration". In the south Germanic area, this is the most common term used to mean "payment for killing a man" (Old High German , Langobardic , Old English ), whereas in the North Germanic area, the more common term is Old Norse , with the same meaning. Wolfgang Haubrichs argues that wergild is "undoubtably a West Germanic word" which spread throughout the various Germanic-speaking peoples, but which in the north was replaced with since the meaning of the element "wer-" had been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mund (law)
The is a principle in Germanic law that can be crudely translated as 'protection' and which grew as the prerogative of a Germanic tribal king or leader. It has been Latinized in . The word comes from Proto-Germanic (cf. Old English/Old Norse , 'hand; protection'). Family law The is basically the leadership of an ancestor of a family, a family which is understood as all the people related by blood to this ancestor, exerted over all and each of the family members. The ancestor's responsibility is more aimed at the family as a whole than towards each member individually. It is the responsibility to defend the family's well-being and existence from all dangers and offenses (be they against the body or the honour). The manifests itself as a disciplinary power upon the members of the family; the tenant of the had to watch over the women's chastity and faithfulness to prevent the family honour from being harmed; whether a bride was not a virgin at the time of her departure from t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comitatus (warband)
In history writing, a ''comitatus'', which is Latin for a group of companions (''comites''), is an armed escort or retinue, especially in the context of Germanic warrior culture, where warbands were tied to a leader by an oath of fealty.S. H. Steinberg, ''A New Dictionary of British History'' (London 1963) p.b78 The concept describes the relations between a lord and his retainers. Traditionally scholars have seen such Germanic warbands as the origin of later, medieval European institutions involving nobles and their armed retainers. On the other hand, many scholars today consider the Roman era report of these warbands as more of a literary trope rather. Scholars Bruce Mitchell and Fred C. Robinson describe the ''comitatus'' more fully:A heroic warrior brought up in this 'comitatus''tradition would show a reckless disregard for his life. Whether he was doomed or not, courage was best, for the brave man could win ''lof'' lory among menwhile the coward might die before his time. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Retinue
A retinue is a body of persons "retained" in the service of a noble, royal personage, or dignitary; a ''suite'' (French "what follows") of retainers. Etymology The word, recorded in English since circa 1375, stems from Old French ''retenue'', itself from ''retenir'', from the Latin ''retenere'': to hold back or retain. Employment Such retainers were not necessarily in the domestic service or otherwise normally close to the presence of their lord, but also include others who wore his livery (a kind of uniform, in distinctive colours) and claimed his protection, such as musicians and tutors. Some were a source of trouble and abuse in the 15th and early 16th century. Often their real importance was very different from their rank: on the one hand, sinecures and supernumerary appointments allowed enjoying benefits without performing full service. On the other hand, "having the ear" of the master can allow one to act as a confidant in an informal capacity; or in some cases, eve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comes
''Comes'' (plural ''comites''), translated as count, was a Roman title, generally linked to a comitatus or comital office. The word ''comes'' originally meant "companion" or "follower", deriving from "''com-''" ("with") and "''ire''" ("go"). The special lasting meaning derives from the position of a follower within a ''comitatus'', which was a retinue, or group of followers, such as those of magnates. In some instances these were sufficiently large and/or formal to justify specific denomination, such as a "''cohors amicorum''". The word ''comes'' is the origin of the much later terms for counts within the medieval nobility, and counties as their territorial jurisdictions. Ancient Roman religion ''Comes'' was a common epithet or title that was added to the name of a hero or god in order to denote relation with another god. The coinage of Constantine I (emperor), Roman Emperor Constantine I declared him "''comes''" to Sol Invictus ("Unconquered Sun") ''qua'' god. Imperial Ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eorl , in the Proto-Norse language
{{Disambiguation ...
Eorl may refer to: * Eorl Crabtree (born 1982), an English rugby league player * an Anglo-Saxon title of nobility, see Earl See also * Cirion and Eorl (or ''Cirion and Eorl and the Friendship of Gondor and Rohan''), one of the ''Unfinished Tales'' by J. R. R. Tolkien * Erilaz ''Erilaz'' or ''Erilaʀ'' is a Migration period Proto-Norse word attested on various Elder Futhark inscriptions, which has often been interpreted to mean " magician" or "rune master",* i.e., one who is capable of writing runes to magical effect. H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Law Of Æthelberht
The Law of Æthelberht is a set of legal provisions written in Old English, probably dating to the early 7th century. It originates in the kingdom of Kent, and is the first Germanic-language law code. It is also thought to be the earliest example of a document written in English, or indeed in any form of a surviving Germanic language, though extant only in an early 12th-century manuscript, '' Textus Roffensis''. The code is concerned primarily with preserving social harmony through compensation and punishment for personal injury, typical of Germanic-origin legal systems. Compensations are arranged according to social rank, descending from king to slave. The initial provisions of the code offer protection to the church. Though the latter were probably innovations, much of the remainder of the code may be derived from earlier legal custom transmitted orally. Manuscript, editions and translations There is only one surviving manuscript of Æthelberht's law, '' Textus Roffensis' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plague Of Justinian
The plague of Justinian or Justinianic plague (AD 541–549) was an epidemic of Plague (disease), plague that afflicted the entire Mediterranean basin, Mediterranean Basin, Europe, and the Near East, especially the Sasanian Empire and the Byzantine Empire. The plague is named for the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565) who, according to his Court (royal), court historian Procopius, contracted the disease and recovered in 542, at the height of the epidemic which killed about a fifth of the population in the imperial capital Constantinople, Constantinople. The contagion arrived in Roman Egypt in 541, spread around the Mediterranean Sea until 544, and persisted in Northern Europe and the Arabian Peninsula until 549. By 543, the plague had spread to every corner of the empire. The plague's severity and impact remain debated. Some scholars assert that as the first episode of the first plague pandemic, it had profound economic, social, and political effects across Europe an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Late Antique Little Ice Age
The Late Antique Little Ice Age (LALIA) was a long-lasting Northern Hemispheric cooling period in the 6th and 7th centuries AD, during the period known as Late Antiquity. The period coincides with three large volcanic eruptions in 535/536, 539/540 and 547. The volcanic winter of 536 was the early phenomenon of the century-long global temperature decline. One study suggested a global cooling of . The period contributed to the decline of the Roman Empire and influenced the second wave migration period, primarily of the early Slavs. Term The term and concept were first coined and described in February 2016, in the '' Nature Geoscience'' article titled "Cooling and societal change during the Late Antique Little Ice Age from 536 to around 660 AD" by Ulf Büntgen, et al. Eruptions The existence of a cooling period was proposed as a theory in 2015, and subsequently confirmed as the period from AD 536 to about 660. Volcanic eruptions, meteorites striking the Earth's surface, and come ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Celtic Britons
The Britons ( *''Pritanī'', , ), also known as Celtic Britons or Ancient Britons, were the Celtic people who inhabited Great Britain from at least the British Iron Age until the High Middle Ages, at which point they diverged into the Welsh, Cornish, and Bretons (among others). They spoke Common Brittonic, the ancestor of the modern Brittonic languages. The earliest written evidence for the Britons is from Greco-Roman writers and dates to the Iron Age. Ancient Britain was made up of many tribes and kingdoms, associated with various hillforts. The Britons followed an ancient Celtic religion overseen by druids. Some of the southern tribes had strong links with mainland Europe, especially Gaul and Belgica, and minted their own coins. The Roman Empire conquered most of Britain in the 1st century AD, creating the province of Britannia. The Romans invaded northern Britain, but the Britons and Caledonians in the north remained unconquered, and Hadrian's Wall became the edge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
