Ealdorman

For other uses, see Alderman (disambiguation).

A mention of ealdormen in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

Ealdorman (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell Template:Small Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell, Template:IPA) was an office in the government of Anglo-Saxon England. During the 11th century, it evolved into the title of earl.

Early use

The Old English word ealdorman was applied to high-ranking men. It was equated with several Latin titles, including Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, and Template:Lang. The title could be applied to kings of weaker territories who had submitted to a greater power. For example, a charter of King Offa of Mercia described Ealdred of Hwicce as "subregulusTemplate:Nbsp... et dux (Template:Gloss)."Template:Sfn

In Wessex, the king appointed ealdormen to lead individual shires.Template:Sfn Under Alfred the Great (Template:Reign), there were nine or ten ealdormen. Each West Saxon shire had one, and Kent had two (one for East Kent and one for West Kent).Template:Sfn

10th century

From the late ninth to the 10th century, the kings of Wessex unified the Heptarchy into the Kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons, then the Kingdom of the English, then into the Kingdom of England. Ealdormen became the local representatives of the monarch.Template:Sfn The ealdorman commanded the shire's fyrd (army), co-presided with the bishop over the shire court, and enforced royal orders. He had a right to the "third penny": one-third of the income from the shire court and one-third of the revenue from tolls and dues levied in the boroughs. The king could remove ealdormen.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Starting with Edward the Elder (Template:Reign), it became customary for one ealdorman to administer three or four shires together as an ealdormanry.Template:Sfn One ealdormanry covered Wessex east of Selwood and another covered Wessex west of Selwood.Template:Sfn By 965, Mercia had four or five ealdormen and Northumbria only one.Template:Sfn The boundaries of the ealdormanries are unknown, and they may not have covered the entire kingdom. It is possible that the king kept some areas under his personal jurisdiction.Template:Sfn

In the 11th century, the term eorl, today's earl, replaced that of ealdorman, but this reflected a change in terminology under Danish influence rather than a change in function.Template:Sfn

Notable ealdormen

• Æthelmund, Ealdorman of the Hwicce
• Ælfhere, ealdorman of Mercia (d. 983)
• Ælfhelm, ealdorman of southern Northumbria (d. c. 1006)
• Ælfric, ealdorman of Hampshire
• Æthelweard the Chronicler
• Byrhtnoth, ealdorman of Essex (d. 991)
• Eadric Streona, ealdorman of the Mercians (d. 1017)
• Odda, Ealdorman of Devon (fl. 878)
• Wulfhere, Ealdorman of Wiltshire (fl. c. 855–877)
• Wulfstan, ealdorman of Wiltshire (d. 802)

See also

• Alderman
• Earls, ealdormen and high-reeves of Bamburgh
• Starosta, the Slavic equivalent of ealdorman

References

• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book 1st edition available to read online here.
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite encyclopedia

Further reading

• Banton, N., "Ealdormen and Earls in England from the Reign of King Alfred to the Reign of King Æthelred II", D.Phil. thesis, University of Oxford, 1981
• Loyn, Henry R. "The term ealdorman in the translations prepared at the time of King Alfred." English Historical Review 68 (1953): 513–25.
• Stenton, Sir Frank M. Anglo-Saxon England; 3rd ed. London: Oxford University Press, 1971.
• Williams, Ann. Kingship and Government in Pre-Conquest England, c. 500–1066. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1999 Template:ISBN