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Cyning (sovereign) |
Ætheling (prince) |
Ealdorman (Earl) |
Hold / High-reeve |
Thegn |
Thingmen / housecarl (retainer) |
Reeve / Verderer (bailiff) |
Churl (free tenant) |
Villein (serf) |
Cottar (cottager) |
Þēow (slave) |
A housecarl (Old Norse: húskarl; Old English: huscarl) was a non-servile manservant or household bodyguard in medieval Northern Europe.
The institution originated amongst the Norsemen of Scandinavia, and was brought to Anglo-Saxon England by the Danish conquest in the 11th century. They were well-trained, and paid as full-time soldiers. In England, the royal housecarls had a number of roles, both military and administrative, and they fought under Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings.
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