Ealdorman
Cyning (sovereign) |
Ætheling (prince) |
Ealdorman (Earl) |
Hold / High-reeve |
Thegn |
Thingmen / housecarl (retainer) |
Reeve / Verderer (bailiff) |
Churl (free tenant) |
Villein (serf) |
Cottar (cottager) |
Þēow (slave) |
Ealdorman (
Aldermen
Although earls may be regarded as the successors of ealdormen, the word ealdorman itself did not disappear and survives in modern times as alderman in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. This term, however, developed distinctly different meanings which have little to do with ealdormen, who ruled shires or larger areas, while aldermen are members of a municipal assembly or council.
Similar titles also exist in some Germanic countries, such as the Swedish Ålderman, the Danish Oldermand and West Frisian Olderman, the Dutch Ouderman,[citation needed] the (non-Germanic) Finnish Oltermanni (a borrowing from the neighboring Germanic Swedes) and the German Ältester, which all mean "elder man" or "wise man".
See also
- Starosta, the Slavic equivalent of ealdorman
- Earls, ealdormen and high-reeves of Bamburgh
- Æthelmund, Ealdorman of the Hwicce
- Ælfhere, ealdorman of Mercia (d. 983)
- Ælfhelm, ealdorman of southern Northumbria(d. c. 1006)
- Ælfric, ealdorman of Hampshire
- Æthelweard the Chronicler
- Byrhtnoth, ealdorman of Essex (d. 991)
- Eadric Streona, ealdorman of the Mercians (d. 1017)
- Odda, Ealdorman of Devon (fl. 878)
- Wulfhere, Ealdorman of Wiltshire (fl. c. 855–877)
- Wulfstan, ealdorman of Wiltshire(d. 802)
References
- ^ "ealdorman". Collins English Dictionary.
- ^ Stafford, "Ealdorman"
Sources
- Stafford, Pauline (2014). "Ealdorman". In Lapidge, Michael; Blair, John; Keynes, Simon; Scragg, Donald (eds.). The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England (Second ed.). Chichester, UK: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 978-0-470-65632-7.
Further reading
- Banton, N., "Ealdormen and Earls in England from the Reign of King Alfred to the Reign of King Æthelred II", D.Phil. thesis, University of Oxford, 1981
- English Historical Review68 (1953): 513–25.
- Stenton, Sir Frank M. Anglo-Saxon England; 3rd ed. London: Oxford University Press, 1971.
- ISBN 0-333-56797-8