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 |
| Cyning (king) |
| Ealdorman ( Earl after c.1000) |
| Hold / High-reeve |
| Thegn (thane) |
| Thingmen / housecarl ( retainer) |
| Reeve / Verderer (bailiff) |
| Ceorl (churl, free tenant) |
| Villein (serf) |
| Cottar (cottager) |
| Þēow (thrall, slave) |
Ealdorman ( /ˈɔːldərmən/, Old English pronunciation: [ˈæ͜ɑɫ.dorˌmɑn]) [1] was an office in the government of Anglo-Saxon England. During the 11th century, it evolved into the title of earl.
Early use
The Old English word ealdorman was applied to high-ranking men. It was equated with several Latin titles, including princeps, dux, comes, and praefectus. The title could be applied to kings of weaker territories who had submitted to a greater power. For example, a charter of King Offa of Mercia described Ealdred of Hwicce as "subregulus ... et dux ('underking and ealdorman')." [2]
In Wessex, the king appointed ealdormen to lead individual shires. [2] Under Alfred the Great ( r. 871–899), there were nine or ten ealdormen. Each West Saxon shire had one, and Kent had two (one for East Kent and one for West Kent). [3]
10th century
In the 10th century, the kings of Wessex successfully unified England into one kingdom, and ealdormen became the local representatives of the monarch. [2] The ealdorman commanded the shire's fyrd (army), co-presided with the bishop over the shire court, and enforced royal orders. He had a right to the "third penny": one-third of the income from the shire court and one-third of the revenue from tolls and dues levied in the boroughs. The king could remove ealdormen. [4] [5]
Starting with Edward the Elder ( r. 899–924), it became customary for one ealdorman to administer three or four shires together as an ealdormanry. [6] One ealdormanry covered Wessex east of Selwood and another covered Wessex west of Selwood. [2] By 965, Mercia had four or five ealdormen and Northumbria only one. [7] The boundaries of the ealdormanries are unknown, and they may not have covered the entire kingdom. It is possible that the king kept some areas under his personal jurisdiction. [4]
In the 11th century, the term eorl, today's earl, replaced that of ealdorman, but this reflected a change in terminology under Danish influence rather than a change in function. [8]
Notable ealdormen
- 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)
See also
- Alderman
- Earls, ealdormen and high-reeves of Bamburgh
- Starosta, the Slavic equivalent of ealdorman
Citations
- ^ "ealdorman". Collins English Dictionary.
- ^ a b c d Stafford 2014, p. 156.
- ^ Loyn 1984, p. 75.
- ^ a b Powell & Wallis 1968, p. 6.
- ^ Lyon 1980, pp. 62–63.
- ^ Lyon 1980, p. 63.
- ^ Loyn 1984, p. 77.
- ^ Stafford 2014, p. 157.
References
- Loyn, H. R. (1984). The Governance of Anglo-Saxon England, 500–1087. Governance of England. Vol. 1. Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804712170.
- Lyon, Bryce (1980). A Constitutional and Legal History of Medieval England (2nd ed.). W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-95132-4. 1st edition available to read online here.
- Powell, J. Enoch; Wallis, Keith (1968). The House of Lords in the Middle Ages: A History of the English House of Lords to 1540. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 0297761056.
- Stafford, Pauline (2014). "Ealdorman". In Lapidge, Michael; Blair, John; Keynes, Simon; Scragg, Donald (eds.). Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England (2nd ed.). Wiley Blackwell. pp. 156–157. doi: 10.1002/9781118316061. ISBN 9780470656327.
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
- Loyn, Henry R. "The term ealdorman in the translations prepared at the time of King Alfred." English Historical Review 68 (1953): 513–25.
- Stenton, Sir Frank M. Anglo-Saxon England; 3rd ed. London: Oxford University Press, 1971.
- Williams, Ann. Kingship and Government in Pre-Conquest England, c. 500–1066. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1999 ISBN 0-333-56797-8