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) |
In Anglo-Saxon England, the reeve was a senior official with local responsibilities under the Crown, such as the chief magistrate of a town or district. After the Norman Conquest, it was an office held by a man of lower rank, appointed as manager of a manor and overseer of the peasants. In this later role, historian H. R. Loyn observes, "he is the earliest English specialist in estate management."[1]
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