Originally meaning a Military Companion to the King. It has come to mean a land holding administrative office. (MEDIEV-L. Medieval Terms) Pre-Conquest noble below the level of earl; local estate owner with at least 5 hides of land and a residence. Richer ones had grand halls behind large defences. Backbone of the royal army. Cite, 214 3) A member of the late O.E. noble or upper class. (Reynolds, Susan. An Introduction to the History of English Medieval Towns, 200) Related terms: Thane
a VASSAL, usually a manorial LORD, holding land by military or administrative services in Anglo-Saxon and early Norman England.
("thane") a freeborn warrior-retainer of a lord; thegns were housed, fed and armed in exchange for complete fidelity to their sworn lord. Booty won in battle by a thegn was generally offered to their lord, and in return the lord was expected to bestow handsome gifts of arms, horses, arm-rings, and so on to his best champions.
The warrior class in England, roughly equivalent to a miles, or knight. He was a mounted warrior, but usually dismounted to do combat. A thegn was obligated to fight because of his social class. If he held land ( and he usually did ) he was doubly obligated to fight for the lord he held his land from. Some thegns held from no one and could "take their land where they would." In other words, transfer their service to the lord of their own choice.
An Anglo-Saxon term for a man of noble status.
In Early Medieval Anglo-Saxon culture, a thegn or thane was an attendant, servant, retainer, or official. The word is Anglo-Saxon: þeg(e)n. In Old High German degan, and in Old Norse þegn ("thane, franklin, freeman, man")http://www.northvegr.org/zoega/509.php.