Re: thanes and carls

From: Roderick and Ellen Robertson <rjremr_at_jps.net>
Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2000 11:31:36 -0800


David Dunham wrote:

Gian Gero wrote:

>> weaponthanes were the professional warriors (opposed to the fyrd, militia
>> levy) during the anglo-saxon age pre 1000 a.d. in England.

>I'd love to see some reference for this -- so far as I know, Greg
>Stafford coined the term. (Certainly a quick search of the web didn't
>turn up "weaponthane" outside of a Gloranthan context.)

The word (in any form) does not appear in Clark Hall's Concise Anglo-Saxon dictionary.

It is a perfectly good example of an Anglo-Saxon wordform, it just doesn't seem to have been used in written documentation. What Gian may have been thinking of is just plain ol' "thegn" - the AS equivalent of a knight (ie, he holds land and is expected to serve in the military, providing heavy armor and his own equipment). The AS word that most comes close to "Huscarl" is "Heorthgeneat" (hearth-ye-neat, literally Hearth Companion). Huscarl is a norse-derived word, and comes from the Danish invasion era. They both have the meaning of "bodyguard for the lord". Huscarls/heorthgeneats are provided for by the lord (king, ealderman/jarl, thegn/thane), thegns have their own land which they must take care of.

Roderick
Having just finished 'way too much Saxon stuff...


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