Thegn
Alestair told me today that he was proud to be my thane. When I asked what that meant, he said to look it up and then I’d know. So I did.
“The term thegn (or thane in Shakespearean English), from OEþegn, ðegn “servant, attendant, retainer”, is commonly employed by historians to describe either an aristocratic retainer of a king or nobleman in Anglo-Saxon England, or as a class term, the majority of the aristocracy below the ranks of ealformen and high-reeves. Il is also the term for an early medieval Scandinavian class of retainers.” (Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia,”Thegn,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thegn)
I have always considered Alestair to be of the Aetheling class, one step higher than the thane, and belonging to the royal line. His dedication to academia and to history goes far above and beyond that of any other student of the craft, and it is this facet of his character that truly inspires nobility in others. Here’s to you, Alestair. Le roi est mort. Vivre le roi.
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