Old English Titles



*Taken from Robert Christian's Net Book of Names*
As a follow-up to the "How's your Latin?" thread, I thought I would post a list of Old English (Anglo-Saxon) titles. The early English lived outside the direct Carolingian sphere and they had a strong written vernacular tradition. Thus, while Latin documents from England at this time use some Latin titles (dux, comitus, etc), there are also many documents which preserve the Old English titles. For those who don't know, Old English was the vernacular language of the Anglo-Saxons, spoken mainly between 400-1100 (approximately). I have included pronunciations in brackets.

Speaking of Tolkein, the Riders of Rohan more or less spoke Anglo-Saxon. As it turns out, every ancestor of Theoden's name is an Anglo-Saxon word for king or chief or something very similar. My experience with Anglo-Saxon titles is that they are very, very fluid, and it's hard to tell which titles are "official" and which are descriptive. "Helm", for instance, means "protector," but it also means "king" or "chief" since the king was seen as a protector of his people. Below is a list of Theoden's ancestors as found in *The Return of the King*, appendix B, with rough translations. I have placed an asterisk next to terms I suspect Tolkein coined out of the Old English, as I cannot locate them directly in my OE dictionary:

abbat/abbesse (like modern prononciation)
abbot/abbess
AEtheling (AHth-uh-ling--pronounce the ae as in "quack")
prince. Not just the son of a king, but anyone with enough royal blood to assume the throne, should the need arise.
Aldor
elder, aldorman
archebisceop (AR-che-BISH-op)
archbishop
bisceop (BISH-op)
bishop
Brego
chief
Brytta
treasure-giver, lord
Ceorl (CHURL)peasant. usually a free farmer, their rights eroded over the course of Anglo-Saxon history.
chapmann (CHOP-mon)/mangere (MON-jer)
merchant
coc (COKE)
cook
cwen (kwayn)
queen
Cynig/cyning (KIN-igg/KIN-ing)
king
Deor*
chief (it means something like "fierce one like a beast")
Duguth/Geoguth (DOO-guth/YO-guth)
old warriors/young warriors. The primary divisions of a lord's military retainers.
Ealdormann (ALL-der-mon)
powerful nobleman, in charge of shire or district. Held power and authority directly from the king, but were also powerful landowners in their own rights. The equivalent of "earl."
Eorl (AY-orl)
earl. A loan word from the Scandinavian languages, following the Viking settlement of 850-900.
Eorl
as noted, means "nobleman," later with the same rank as "count"
Fengel
king
Folca*
lord (lit. "man of the people")
Folcwine*
lord (lit. "friend of the people")
Frea
king
Frealaf
descendant of kings, king
Freawine
king's friend, nobleman
Gerefe (ye-RAY-ve)
Reeve. An official, usually with judicial authority, appointed to oversee a shire by the king. Not a hereditary position in practice.
Goldwine
gold friend, lord (he's your friend coz he gives out gold)
Gram*
chief (this also means "fierce one")
guma
Warrior
Helm
protector, king
Hlavord/Hlafdige (HLAV-ord/HLAV-dee)
Lord/Lady. These terms literally meant "loaf-guard" and "loaf-kneader."
Hundredman (like you would think)
A local official in charge of justice within a "hundred," which contained roughly one hundred families.
hunta (HUNT-uh)
hunter
Ides (i-duhs)
lady, noblewoman
Ierthling (EERTH-ling)
farmer, literally "earthling"
Isensmith (EYE-zen-SMITH)
Blacksmith
maesspreost/preost (MAHSS-preost)/PRAY-ost)
priest
munuc/nunn=(MUN-uk/NUN)
monk/nun. Note that modern English takes most of its terms for religious offices from Old English, while many of the OE terms for secular offices have fallen into disuse.
Rink (RINK)/Haeleth (HAHL-eth, remember to quack)/Beorn (BAY-orn)
all words meaning man or warrior. The word waepenedman was the term used to designate "male" (yes, it's a double entendre), opposed to wifman, which meant "person who is female" (whence we get the term "wife").
sceaphierde (SHAY-op-hee-urd)
shepherd
scop (SHOPE)
bard
styweard (STEE-way-ard)
pig-guard. Later, "steward." From this word, we get the not-too-unfamiliar surname "Stewart." How royal.
Thegn (THAYNE)
thain. A member of the petty nobility.
Theoden (THEY-o-den)
chief. A poetic term used to designate any leader of men. Yes, it's where Tolkien got the name.
Theoden
king
Theow (THEY-ow)
Slave. Present in diminishing numbers through the period.
Thengel
king (actually, a variation on Fengel)
Walda*
lord (lit. "he who rules")


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