In Anglo-Saxon England, thegns were aristocratic nobility of the second rank, below the ealdormen who governed large areas of England. The term was also used in early medieval Scandinavia for a class of retainers. In medieval Scotland, there were local officials known as thanes. Etymology The Old English (, "man, attendant, retainer") is cognate with Old High German and Old Norse ("thane, franklin, freeman, man"). The thegn had a military significance, and its usual Latin translation was , meaning soldier, although was often used. An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary describes a thegn as "one engaged in a king's or a queen's service, whether in the household or in the country". It adds: "the word ... seems gradually to acquire a technical meaning, ... denoting a class, containing several degrees", but what remained consistent throughout was its association with military service. Origins The precursor of thegn was the gesith, the companion of the king or great lord, a member of his comitatus. The concept of personal association is traceable in all applications of gesith; 'thegn' began to be used to describe a military gesith. It is only used once in the laws before the time of Aethelstan (), but more frequently in the charters. Apparently unconnected to the German and Dutch word , or serve, H. M. Chadwick suggests "the sense of subordination must have been inherent ... from the earliest time". It gradually expanded in meaning and use, to denote a member of a territorial nobility, while thegnhood was attainable by fulfilling certain conditions. The nobility of pre-Conquest England was ranked according to the heriot paid in the following order: earl, king's thegn, median thegn. In Anglo-Saxon society, a king's thegn attended the king in person, bringing his own men and resources. A "median" thegn did not hold his land directly from the king, but through an intermediary lord. Status While inferior to the ætheling, or of a kingly family, the thegn was superior to the ceorl. Chadwick states; "from the time of Æthelstan, the distinction between thegn and ceorl was the broad line of demarcation between the classes of society". His relative status was reflected in the level of weregild, generally fixed at 1,200 shillings, or six times that of the ceorl. He was the twelfhynde man of the laws, as distinct from the twyhynde man, or ceorl. While some inherited the rank of thegn, others acquired it through property ownership,