Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The Anglo-Saxon form of thane, used in some historical works. See thane.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Thane. See thane.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Alternative spelling of thane.

Etymologies

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Examples

  • a Saxon knight known as Sir Ordgar, a "thegn," (1) or baronet, of

    Historic Girls Elbridge Streeter Brooks 1874

  • Early medieval peasants ended up learning the language of the local thegn; later medieval gentlehommes ended up learning the language of their peasants.

    Cadafael, King of Gwynedd Carla 2009

  • One unnamed thegn, after the priest Coifi's speech in Book II, Chapter XIII, casts his lot in favor of conversion and uses the famous image of a sparrow flying through a mead hall:

    Edwin of Northumbria Carolingian 2006

  • One unnamed thegn, after the priest Coifi's speech in Book II, Chapter XIII, casts his lot in favor of conversion and uses the famous image of a sparrow flying through a mead hall:

    Archive 2006-10-01 Carolingian 2006

  • Edward was a surviving English thegn and sheriff of Wiltshire.

    The English Resistance: The Underground War Against the Normans Carla 2006

  • Simon had no compunction in ousting what had been the thegn from his hut and appropriating his chair.

    Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine 2003

  • Simon had no compunction in ousting what had been the thegn from his hut and appropriating his chair.

    Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine 2003

  • Mordred, beckoned forward by the King, received Cerdic's ceremonial kiss, then found himself riding between the Saxon king and a red-haired thegn who was a cousin of Cerdic's queen.

    The Wicked Day Stewart, Mary, 1916- 1983

  • He and his neighbour, with gestures and grins, managed to exchange names: the red-haired thegn was called Bruning.

    The Wicked Day Stewart, Mary, 1916- 1983

  • Then they rode thither—his ealdorman Osric and his thegn Wigfrith and the men he had left behind him—and discovered the atheling in the stronghold where the king lay slain—and they had locked the gates against them—and they went thither.

    The Early Middle Ages 500-1000 Robert Brentano 1964

Comments

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  • "The first reference to a stone bridge across the Thames occurs in a document of AD 958 when Eadwig granted to his thegn, Eadrig, the lands "first to the stone bridge and from the stone bridge eastwards along the Thames until it comes to the boundary of the people of King's Hone." King's Hone is now known as Kingston Bagpuize, and the site of the stone bridge is that of the present Radcot Bridge."

    - in Thames: The Biography by Peter Ackroyd, p 132

    August 16, 2009

  • See also thane, a freeman granted land by the king for military service, or a baron/lord in Scotland.

    August 17, 2009