thane
Anglo-Saxon landowner
A thane was a man granted land by an Anglo-Saxon or Scottish king in exchange for military service—a rank below nobility but above ordinary freemen.
The term is best known from Shakespeare's *Macbeth*, where the title Thane of Cawdor figures prominently: The Thane of Cawdor lives, a prosperous gentleman.
The word is purely historical.
Person of noble birth
- earlBritish hereditary noble rank
- baronLow-ranking peer
- lordNobleman or ruler
- peerageSystem of noble ranks
gentry · nobleman · highborn · rank · title · lineage · bloodline · ancestry
Land-holding sworn subordinate
- fiefdomFeudal territory under lord
- manorLanded aristocratic residence
- liegeFeudal superior or subject
- fealtyPledged devotion to authority
homage · serfdom · suzerain · lordship · knight · baron · earldom · chivalry
aristocrat
Person of noble birth
peerage · gentry · nobleman · highborn · rank · title · lineage · bloodline · ancestry · landowner
vassal
Land-holding sworn subordinate
fealty · homage · serfdom · suzerain · lordship · knight · baron · earldom · chivalry · heraldry
Macbeth
Ambitious thane's downfall
- clanRelated group sharing ancestry
- HighlandsNamed elevated regions
- CawdorHighland castle and thaneship
Scotland · chieftain · loch · tartan · Gaelic · kilt · heather · whisky · thistle · croft
Beowulf
Old English epic's protagonist
retinue · warrior · comitatus · Wessex · Mercia · Northumbria