|
Thegns
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 at ... [...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] |
Thanage
A thanage was an area of land held by a thegn in Anglo-Saxon England. Thanage can also denote the rank held by such a thegn 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 .... In medieval Scotland David I, an Anglophile, introduced " thanes" to replace the Gaelic "''tòiseach''". Therefore Scottish thanage denotes the land and duties held and undertaken by the thanes. References Anglo-Saxon thegns {{Scotland-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beowulf - Ge Sithum
''Beowulf'' (; ) is an Old English poem, an epic in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. The date of composition is a matter of contention among scholars; the only certain dating is for the manuscript, which was produced between 975 and 1025 AD. Scholars call the anonymous author the "''Beowulf'' poet". The story is set in pagan Scandinavia in the 5th and 6th centuries. Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, whose mead hall Heorot has been under attack by the monster Grendel for twelve years. After Beowulf slays him, Grendel's mother takes revenge and is in turn defeated. Victorious, Beowulf goes home to Geatland and becomes king of the Geats. Fifty years later, Beowulf defeats a dragon, but is mortally wounded in the battle. After his death, his attendants cremate his body and erect a barrow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Churl
A churl ( Old High German ), in its earliest Old English (Anglo-Saxon) meaning, was simply "a man" or more particularly a "free man", but the word soon came to mean "a non-servile peasant", still spelled , and denoting the lowest rank of freemen. According to the '' Oxford English Dictionary'', it later came to mean the opposite of nobility and royalty, "a common person". Says Chadwick: This meaning held through the 15th century, but by then the word had taken on negative overtones, meaning "a country person" and then "a low fellow". By the 19th century, a new and pejorative meaning arose, "one inclined to uncivil or loutish behaviour"—hence "churlish" (cf. the pejorative sense of the term ''boor'', whose original meaning of "country person" or "farmer" is preserved in Dutch and Afrikaans and German , although the latter has its own pejorative connotations such as those prompting its use as the name for the chess piece known in English as a pawn; also the word villain ... [...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] |
