A housecarl (Old Norse: húskarl; Old English: huscarl) was a non-servile manservant or household bodyguard in medieval Northern Europe. The institution...
28 KB (3,314 words) - 14:43, 17 February 2024
'retainer'; from which the modern word knight derives) or huscarl ('housecarl', 'man of the household'). Thegnly wills can be used to reconstruct noble...
15 KB (1,618 words) - 03:03, 8 August 2024
Karl has the same root as churl and meant originally a "free man". As "housecarl", it came back to England. In German, Kerl is used to describe a somewhat...
6 KB (732 words) - 17:29, 8 July 2024
personal armsmen, known as housecarls, who formed the backbone of the royal forces. Some earls also had their own forces of housecarls. Thegns, the local landowning...
63 KB (7,910 words) - 18:17, 28 June 2024
Ealdorman (Earl after c.1000) Hold / High-reeve Thegn (thane) Thingmen / housecarl (retainer) Reeve / Verderer (bailiff) Ceorl (churl, free tenant) Villein...
6 KB (624 words) - 03:23, 3 June 2024
a mix of the fyrd (militia mainly composed of foot soldiers) and the housecarls, or nobleman's personal troops, who usually also fought on foot. The main...
62 KB (8,232 words) - 10:42, 16 August 2024
army. The king and magnates retained professional household troops (see housecarl), and all free men were obligated to perform military service in the fyrd...
60 KB (6,531 words) - 08:14, 16 August 2024
Ealdorman (Earl after c.1000) Hold / High-reeve Thegn (thane) Thingmen / housecarl (retainer) Reeve / Verderer (bailiff) Ceorl (churl, free tenant) Villein...
6 KB (767 words) - 13:12, 2 August 2023
Ealdorman (Earl after c.1000) Hold / High-reeve Thegn (thane) Thingmen / housecarl (retainer) Reeve / Verderer (bailiff) Ceorl (churl, free tenant) Villein...
8 KB (986 words) - 13:21, 6 June 2024
battle, "Harold and his housecarl bodyguard...fought on until an arrow struck the king in the eye." After Harold died, the housecarl bodyguard made a last...
23 KB (2,752 words) - 08:26, 31 July 2024