Hold (or Hauld) was a title of

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

, used in early medieval

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

and the English

Danelaw The Danelaw (, ; ; ) was the part of History of Anglo-Saxon England, England between the late ninth century and the Norman Conquest under Anglo-Saxon rule in which Danes (tribe), Danish laws applied. The Danelaw originated in the conquest and oc ...

History

Holds were described as "noblemen of exalted rank" in Viking

Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...

Frank Stenton Sir Frank Merry Stenton FBA (17 May 1880 – 15 September 1967) was an English historian of Anglo-Saxon England, a professor of history at the University of Reading (1926–1946), president of the Royal Historical Society (1937–1945), Readi ...

, with a wergild of 4000 thrymsas, equivalent to a king's

high-reeve High-reeve () was a title taken by some Anglo-Saxon, English magnates during the 10th and 11th centuries, and is particularly associated with the Earls, ealdormen and high-reeves of Bamburgh, rulers of Bamburgh. It was not however only used by ru ...

. Hold is described as a title just below the

earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...

in ''Oxford Dictionary of Surnames''.

References

{{reflist

External links

Eystein Eggen 2005
(Norwegian, Aftenposten) Noble titles Norwegian noble titles