Thane (Scotland)
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Thane ( who was at the head of an administrative and socio-economic unit known as a thanedom or thanage.
History
[T]he "thane", though he later developed into a laird, was at first an officer, half royal servant and half landowner, who looked after a portion of the king's land.
— John Duncan Mackie, [3]
The earliest documentary record of a thane is in the written judgement of a land dispute settled at a
The thane was introduced in the reign of David I (reigned 1124–1153), an Anglophile, to replace the Gaelic tòiseach (meaning leader, and with which the term Taoiseach shares an origin). In Scotland at that time toshach designated a deputy to a mormaer, controlling a particular portion of a mormaerdom on the mormaer's behalf. The English thegn was a more general term, simply referring to landholders of widely varying importance.[9] Having introduced earl to describe mormaers, David used thane to describe toshachs.[citation needed]
Functionally, the thane was a territorial administrator, acting under a territorial earl (the latter resembling a
However, after the death of
List of thanages
- Aberdeen
- Formartine
- Belhelvie
- Kintore
- Aberdeen
- Kincardine O'Neil
- Aboyne
- Angus
- Kinnaber
- Menmuir
- Clova
- Kinalty
- Tannadice
- Aberlermo
- Old Montrose
- Inverkeilor
- Idvies
- Forfar
- Glamis
- Downie
- Monifieth
- Banff
- Boyne
- Mumbrie
- Netherdale
- Aberchirder
- Conveth
- Glendowachy
- East Lothian
- Haddington
- Fife
- Falkland
- Kingskettle
- Dairsie
- Kellie
- Inverness
- Calder
- Kinmylies
- Essich
- Kincardine
- Dingwall
- Durris
- Cowie
- Uras
- Arbuthnott
- Kincardine
- Fettercairn
- Newdosk
- Aberluthnott
- Laurencekirk
- Morphie
- Kinross
- Kinross
- Moray
- Brodie
- Dyke
- Cromdale
- Kilmalemnock
- Rathnech
- Fochabers
- Molen
- Nairn
- Cawdor
- Moynes
- Perth
- Alyth
- Strathardle
- Coupar Angus
- Longforgan
- Scone
- Kinclaven
- Glentilt
- Dull
- Fortingall
- Crannach
- Findowie
- Dalmarnock
- Strowan
- Auchterarder
- Dunning
- Forteviot
- Ross & Cromarty
- Dingwall
- Stirling
- Callendar
Cultural associations
In William Shakespeare's Macbeth (1606), the character Macbeth holds the title "Thane of Glamis", and later, "Thane of Cawdor".[11] The historical King Macbeth fought a Thane of Cawdor who died in battle, but he did not thereby acquire the title himself.[citation needed] The character Macduff is Thane of Fife.
The 2nd Earl of Cawdor wrote a history of the Thanes of Cawdor, in 1742, published in 1859.[12]
In the video game
See also
- Abthain
- Thane of Calder
- Thane of Cawdor
- Thane of Fife
- Thane of Lochaber
- Thegn
References
- ^ "taidhn". www.faclair.com.
- ^ "thane - definition of thane in English from the Oxford dictionary". oxforddictionaries.com. Archived from the original on 18 September 2012.
- ISBN 9780140206715.
- ^ Taylor 2016, p. 54.
- ^ Taylor 2016, pp. 54–55.
- ^ Taylor 2016, p. 56.
- ^ Taylor 2016, p. 65.
- ^ Grant 1993, pp. 45–46.
- ^ Grant 1993, pp. 41–42.
- ^ Taylor 2016, p. 55.
- ^ William Shakespeare (1911). The Tragedy of Macbeth. Scribner's Sons. pp. 10–11. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
- ^
John Frederick Vaughan Campbell Cawdor (1742). Innes, Cosmo (ed.). The Book of the Thanes of Cawdor: a series of papers selected from the charter room at Cawdor. 1236-1742, Volume 1236, Issue 1742. Edinburgh: Spalding Club. p. xiii. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
As we cannot name the first Celtic chieftain who consented to change his style of Toshach and his patriarchal sway for the title and stability of King's Thane of Cawdor, so it is impossible to fix the precise time when their ancient property and offices were acquired.
- ^ Becoming Thane - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Wiki Guide - IGN, retrieved 1 December 2020
Bibliography
- Grant, Alexander (1993). "Thanes and Thanages, from the Eleventh to the Fourteenth Centuries". In Grant, Alexander; Stringer, Keith J. (eds.). Medieval Scotland: Crown, Lordship and Community. Essays Presented to G. W. S. Barrow. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. pp. 39–81. ISBN 0748604189.
- Taylor, Alice (2016). The Shape of the State in Medieval Scotland, 1124–1290. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198749202.