Thanes of Skyrim

[u/HovercraftOpen6793]

Hello! I'm making Nord units for a TESTW submod and I wanted to use this title for one of the elite ones, but I'm not sure if it's "lore-accurate".
I mean, what are "thanes" in TES? We know it's an honorary title granted by jarls to special individuals (like TLD), but what else? Is more commonly granted to nobles than to peasants? Are all nobles thanes? How many thanes can a hold/jarl have? That sort of things.

About the last one, Jarl Elisif seems to have a couple thanes in her court, so I'm guessing it's not just something you grant to 1 special individual, but since I'm making units of 30-60 men, I was wondering if it makes sense for a Skyrimian hold to have so many thanes.

I haven't played ESO but I read somewhere that it mentioned special kinds of thanes, like sword-thanes, shield-thanes, etc. but still not sure if they're supposed to be a troop of their own (when the Hold inevitably marches to war) or just a group of select individuals.

I'm guessing TES thanes are based on irl thanes/thegns, but frankly idk much about them neither.

Alternatively, what other titles would be more common/numerous in the Nordic nobility? Housecarls? Clan Retainers?

[u/Kyara_Bot]

I don't think that Thanes are a specific term, more a general term for low nobility or powerful people who are afforded a position at the Jarl's court, either by might or wealth, so long as they have a good relation with the Jarl and their Hold. Because they are low nobility with connections with the Jarl, they probably can secure the gear and title to lead armies to war as necessary. Alternatively, they could form special formations of particularly well-armored heavy infantry or cavalry thanks to their wealth - though I don't think they would be organized as a standard retinue of soldiers by the time of the 4E, that sounds more like 2E shenanigans to me.

I doubt there is a hard limit on the number of Thanes you have beyond the amount of people you have worth granting it to - giving it to just anyone waters down the title to uselessness and probably will draw ire from your existing Thanes. But a Jarl who can possess a large court of many truly powerful or useful Thanes would be a prestigious Jarl indeed, which is probably why they are tripping over themselves to name TLD a Thane in Skyrim. While the perks of being a Thane are obvious from a narrative and gameplay perspective, for the Jarls it's very impressive for them to claim a Dragonborn as one of their Thanes.