Late Anglo-Saxon thegn

LATE ANGLO-SAXON THEGN (late 9th - early 10th centuries AD), during the time when England was under constant attack by the Vikings. In Anglo-Saxon society, a thegn was an aristocrat who ranked at the third level in the pyramid of power, below the ealdormen and the king.

The Late Anglo-Saxon period roughly goes from 850 to 1066, following the Middle Anglo Saxon period (650-850) and before that, the Early Anglo-Saxon period (410-650). In total, this Germanic people originating from what is now southern Denmark and northern Germany, ruled during six centuries the territory that roughly corresponded to the former Roman Britain, which they originally divided into seven petty kingdoms (Wessex, Mercia, East Anglia, Essex, Sussex, Kent and Northumbria). In the late 9th century Alfred the Great, king of Wessex, recaptured London from the Vikings and declared himself “king of the Anglo-Saxons”, being the first to claim that the Anglo-Saxons were one people. Alfred’s descendants would unite the seven kingdoms, and his grandson Æthelstan would become the first king to rule over a unified England.

References:
- Abingdon Sword, late 9th-early 10th centuries. Replica by Patrick Barta.
- “Broken back” seax (the battle knife). Replica by Pictavia Leather.
- Cheddar brooch, 800-900 AD, replica by Storrvara.
- Embroidery on the tunic by the reenactment group Regia Anglorum.
- Conical hat based on a representation of a king and his Witan from the Old English Hexateuch, an early 11th century Anglo-Saxon manuscript. Identical hats are also represented in a Norse context, such as the Thor figurine of Eyrarland (Iceland, 11th century), or the Odin figurine of Lindby (Sweden, 11th century).
- Shield design based on representations from the Tiberius Psalter (an 11th century Anglo-Saxon manuscript).