Housecarl
Encyclopedia
In medieval Scandinavia
, housecarls and sometimes spelled huscarle or houscarl) were either non-servile
manservants, or household troops in personal service of someone, equivalent to a bodyguard
to Scandinavia
n lords and kings. This institution also existed in Anglo-Saxon England after its conquest by the kingdom of Denmark in the 11th century. In England, the royal housecarls had a number of roles, both military and administrative; they are well-known for having fought under Harold Godwinson
at the Battle of Hastings
. The original Old Norse term, húskarl, literally means "house man"; see also the Anglo-Saxon
term churl
or ceorl, whose root is the same as the Old Norse
karl, and which also means "a man, a non-servile peasant".
word húskarl (plural : húskarlar) had a general sense of "manservant", as opposed to the húsbóndi, the "master of the house". In that sense, the word had several synonyms : griðmenn ("home-men") in Norway
and Iceland
, innæsmæn ("inside-men") in Denmark
. Housecarls (húskarlar) were free men, not to be confused with thralls (slaves or serfs) ; to this effect, the Icelandic laws also calls them einhleypingar ("lone-runners") and lausamenn ("men not tied"). Both terms emphasise that they were voluntarily in service of another, as opposed to thralls.
With time, the term "housecarls" (húskarlar) came to acquire a specific sense of "retainers", in the service of a lord, in his hirð, lid or drótt (all meaning "bodyguard", "troop of retainers"). In Denmark
, this was also the sense of the word himthige, a variant of húskarl (see below). This meaning can be seen, for instance, on the Turinge stone :
According to Omeljan Pritsak
, this Þorsteinn may have commanded the retinue of king Yaroslav I the Wise
. Thus, the housecarls mentioned here would be royal bodyguards ; in any case, it can be seen here that the word "housecarl" now applied to someone who fought in the service of someone.
and the Konungs skuggsjá
("King's Mirror"), explicit the link between a king or leader and his retainers (housecarls and hirðmenn). There was a special fine for the killing of a king's man, which in Konungs skuggsjá
is underlined as an advantage of entering the king's service. Conversely, retainers were expected to avenge their leader if he was killed.
Sigvatr Þórðarson
(also known as Sigvat the Skald), a court poet to two kings of Norway, Olaf II of Norway
(saint Olaf) and Magnus the Good (and also to two kings of Denmark), called the retainers of Olaf II of Norway
heiðþegar, meaning "gift- (or pay-)receivers". More precisely, Snorri Sturluson
explained that "heið-money is the name of the wages or gift which chieftains give". Thus, Sigvat probably referred to an institution similar to the Danish heimþegar (see below) or to the housecarls of Canute the Great
(see below): free men in the service of a king or lord, who gave them gifts as payment of said service. It is known from Icelandic sources that in the 1060s, the royal housecarls were paid with Norwegian coins.
Six runestones in Denmark
, DR 1
, DR 3, DR 154, DR 155, DR 296, and DR 297, use the term heimþegi (pl. heimþegar), meaning "home-receiver" (i.e. one who is given a house by another). The use of the term in the inscriptions suggest a strong similarity between heimþegar and housecarls: like housecarls, heimþegar are in the service of a king or lord, of whom they receive gifts (here, homes) for their service. Johannes Brøndsted
interpreted heimþegi as nothing more than a local (Danish) variant of húskarl.
Johannes Brøndsted
suggested that the garrison of the Danish fort of Trelleborg
may have consisted of royal housecarls, and that kings Svein Forkbeard and Canute the Great
may have "safeguarded the country by a network of forts manned by the royal housecarls, the mercenaries, the hird". Among the Hedeby stones
, the Stone of Eric
(DR 1) is dedicated by a royal retainer to one of his companions :
"Sven" is probably king Svein Forkbeard, as elsewhere on the Hedeby stones
. Another runestone there, the Skarthi stone (DR 3), was apparently personally raised by king Svein :
Under Svein Forkbeard and Canute the Great
, when the Danish kings came to rule England, a body of royal housecarls was developed there, with institutions that were partly of Norse inspiration, and partly inspired by canon law
(see below). But even after the Danish kings had lost England, housecarls continued to exist in Denmark. Such a group of royal retainers was still in place at the beginning of the 12th century, under Niels of Denmark
, when, according to Danish historian Svend Aggesen, Aggesen's grandfather, a member of the retinue, was tried for the murder of a fellow housecarl. Svend Aggesen's account of the law governing Canute the Great's housecarls in 11th century England (the Witherlogh or Lex Castrensis) may reflect, in fact, those governing Danish housecarls in the 12th century. But, by the end of the 12th century, housecarls had probably disappeared in Denmark; they had transformed into a new kind of nobility, whose members no longer resided at the king's court.
conquered and occupied Anglo-Saxon
England
; the housecarls of Canute were highly disciplined bodyguards. It is unclear, however, whether Canute's housecarls were all Scandinavians ; according to Susan Reynolds
, it is likely that some of them were, or became, or were thought of as English.
, directly or through Anglo-Saxon laws. Other possible inspirations include the rules of the Jomsvikings
and the rules of the Norwegian hirð. The Whitherlogh defined an etiquette
: housecarles were to be seated at the kings' tables according to a number of factors, among which skill in war and nobility. They could be disgraced by being moved to a lower place; this was punishment for minor offences, such as not giving proper care to the horse of a fellow housecarl. After three such offences, the offender could be seated at the lowest place, and no-one was to talk to him, but everyone could throw bones at him at will. Murder of another housecarl was punished by outlawry and exile, whereas treason was punished by death and confiscation of all property. Quarrels between housecarles were decided by a specific tribunal (gemot), the Huskarlesteffne, in the presence of the king; depending on the nature of the quarrel, a varying number of testimonies would be required. However, the Witherlogh as we know it through Svend Aggesen was redacted more than one century after the time of Canute; thus, we cannot be sure that it presents an accurate picture of Canute's housecarls.
After the reign of Canute, the term "housecarl" came to cover armed retainers of any household, and was frequently used in contrast to the non-professional fyrd ; they could be in service not only of the kings, but also of the earl
s. For instance, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
refers to the retainers of earl Tostig Godwinson
as housecarles, and states that 200 of them were killed in a revolt in Northumbria
in 1065. However, it is unclear whether the earls had by that time created their own housecarls, or if the meaning of the word had merely expanded to cover the earls' retinues.
A special tax was levied to provide pay in coin to the royal housecarls. According to Saxo Grammaticus
, the pay was monthly. Due to these wages, the housecarls can be seen as a sort of mercenaries; the Knýtlinga saga
calls them málamenn ("men receiving wages"), while Florence of Worcester
uses the term solidarii ("salarymen") and William of Malmesbury
that of stipendarii ("paid men"). Furthermore, the housecarles were not bound to indefinite service; but there was only one day in the year during which they could leave the king's service. That was New Year's Eve
, a day on which it was customary for Scandinavian kings to reward their retainers with gifts.
On the other hand, the number of housecarls to receive land grants and estates from the king seems to have been rather limited, from the beginning of Canute's reign up to the Norman conquest in 1066. At that last date, the Domesday Book
records thirty-three landholding housecarls in the kingdom, a limited number; and furthermore, these estates were small. Thus, it does not seem that the English landholders were deprived of their properties to provide for land grants to the king's housecarls. On the other hand, some of Canute's housecarls seem to have been quite prosperous; the Abbotsbury Abbey
was founded either by one of them under the reign of Canute himself, or by his wife under the reign of Edward the Confessor
.
recounts how, in 1041, there was a revolt against a very heavy levy in Worcester, and two of king Harthacnut's housecarls, who were acting as tax collectors, were killed.
This debate has direct consequences on the assessment of the housecarls' specificities, and whether or not they were an elite troop. For instance, Charles Oman
, in his book The Art of War in the Middle Ages (1885), states that the main advantage of the housecarls at Hastings were their esprit de corps. This view, still widely held today, mainly stems from Svend Aggesen's 12th-century description of Canute's housecarls as a group characterized by a strict code (see above); Aggesen having been used as a main source by L.M. Larson's The King's Household in England Before the Norman Conquest (1902). However, more recently, historian Nicholas Hooper criticised Larson and stated that "it is time to debunk the housecarl"; according to Hooper, housecarls were not in effect distinguishable from Saxon thegn
s, and were mainly retainers who received lands or pay (or both), but without being really a standing army. Hooper further asserts that in morale and experience, the housecarls were not a distinguished, elite troop in comparison with the English elements of the army.
Yet another theory is that the role of a standing army was not assumed, or was not mostly assumed, by the royal housecarls; but that the housecarls were a smaller body of household troops, partly stationed at the king's court. During the reign of Edward the Confessor
, a number of sailors and soldiers, the lithsmen, were paid wages and possibly based in London; those lithsmen were, according to some, the main standing armed force, while the housecarls were only acting as a secondary one.
One reason to doubt the existence of a standing army made of housecarls is that when there was a revolt in 1051, under the reign of Edward the Confessor
, no such standing army was used to crush it, whereas its existence would have allowed for a swift, decisive action against the rebels.
, the housecarls had a crucial role as the backbone of Harold's army at Hastings. Although they were numerically the smaller part of Harold's army, their possibly superior equipment and training meant they could have been used to strengthen the militia, or fyrd, which made up most of Harold's troops. The housecarls were positioned in the center, around their leader's standard, but also probably in the first ranks of both flanks, with the fyrdmen behind them. In the Battle of Hastings
, these Housecarls fought after Harold's death, holding their oath to him until the very last man was killed.
The Bayeux Tapestry
depicts the housecarls as footmen clad in mail
, with conical nasal helmets, and fighting with the great, two-handed Dane axe.
Viking Age
Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...
, housecarls and sometimes spelled huscarle or houscarl) were either non-servile
Slavery in medieval Europe
Slavery in early medieval Europe was relatively common. It was widespread at the end of antiquity. The etymology of the word slave comes from this period, the word sklabos meaning Slav. Slavery declined in the Middle Ages in most parts of Europe as serfdom slowly rose, but it never completely...
manservants, or household troops in personal service of someone, equivalent to a bodyguard
Bodyguard
A bodyguard is a type of security operative or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous, wealthy, or politically important figure—from assault, kidnapping, assassination, stalking, loss of confidential information, terrorist attack or other threats.Most important public figures such...
to Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n lords and kings. This institution also existed in Anglo-Saxon England after its conquest by the kingdom of Denmark in the 11th century. In England, the royal housecarls had a number of roles, both military and administrative; they are well-known for having fought under Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson was the last Anglo-Saxon King of England.It could be argued that Edgar the Atheling, who was proclaimed as king by the witan but never crowned, was really the last Anglo-Saxon king...
at the Battle of Hastings
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings occurred on 14 October 1066 during the Norman conquest of England, between the Norman-French army of Duke William II of Normandy and the English army under King Harold II...
. The original Old Norse term, húskarl, literally means "house man"; see also the Anglo-Saxon
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
term churl
Churl
A churl , in its earliest Old English meaning, was simply "a man", but the word soon came to mean "a non-servile peasant", still spelt ċeorl, and denoting the lowest rank of freemen...
or ceorl, whose root is the same as the Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
karl, and which also means "a man, a non-servile peasant".
In Scandinavia
As free menservants
Originally, the Old NorseOld Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
word húskarl (plural : húskarlar) had a general sense of "manservant", as opposed to the húsbóndi, the "master of the house". In that sense, the word had several synonyms : griðmenn ("home-men") in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, innæsmæn ("inside-men") in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. Housecarls (húskarlar) were free men, not to be confused with thralls (slaves or serfs) ; to this effect, the Icelandic laws also calls them einhleypingar ("lone-runners") and lausamenn ("men not tied"). Both terms emphasise that they were voluntarily in service of another, as opposed to thralls.
As combatant retainers
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, this was also the sense of the word himthige, a variant of húskarl (see below). This meaning can be seen, for instance, on the Turinge stone :
According to Omeljan Pritsak
Omeljan Pritsak
Omeljan Pritsak was the first Mykhailo Hrushevsky Professor of Ukrainian History at Harvard University and the founder and first director of the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute.-Career:Pritsak began his academic career at the University of Lvov in interwar Poland where he...
, this Þorsteinn may have commanded the retinue of king Yaroslav I the Wise
Yaroslav I the Wise
Yaroslav I, Grand Prince of Rus, known as Yaroslav the Wise Yaroslav I, Grand Prince of Rus, known as Yaroslav the Wise Yaroslav I, Grand Prince of Rus, known as Yaroslav the Wise (Old Norse: Jarizleifr; ; Old East Slavic and Russian: Ярослав Мудрый; Ukrainian: Ярослав Мудрий; c...
. Thus, the housecarls mentioned here would be royal bodyguards ; in any case, it can be seen here that the word "housecarl" now applied to someone who fought in the service of someone.
In Norwegian service: the heiðþegar
In Norway, too, housecarls were members of the king's or another powerful man's hirð. The institution of the hirð in Norway can be traced back to the 9th century. The texts dealing with royal power in medieval Norway, the HeimskringlaHeimskringla
Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson ca. 1230...
and the Konungs skuggsjá
Konungs skuggsjá
Konungs skuggsjá is a Norwegian educational text from around 1250, an example of speculum literature that deals with politics and morality...
("King's Mirror"), explicit the link between a king or leader and his retainers (housecarls and hirðmenn). There was a special fine for the killing of a king's man, which in Konungs skuggsjá
Konungs skuggsjá
Konungs skuggsjá is a Norwegian educational text from around 1250, an example of speculum literature that deals with politics and morality...
is underlined as an advantage of entering the king's service. Conversely, retainers were expected to avenge their leader if he was killed.
Sigvatr Þórðarson
Sigvatr Þórðarson
Sigvatr Þórðarson or Sigvat the Skald was an Icelandic skald. He was a court poet to King Olaf II of Norway, as well as Canute the Great, Magnus the Good and Anund Jacob, by whose reigns his floruit can be dated to the earlier eleventh century.Sigvatr was the best known of the court skalds of...
(also known as Sigvat the Skald), a court poet to two kings of Norway, Olaf II of Norway
Olaf II of Norway
Olaf II Haraldsson was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. He was posthumously given the title Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae and canonised in Nidaros by Bishop Grimkell, one year after his death in the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030. Enshrined in Nidaros Cathedral...
(saint Olaf) and Magnus the Good (and also to two kings of Denmark), called the retainers of Olaf II of Norway
Olaf II of Norway
Olaf II Haraldsson was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. He was posthumously given the title Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae and canonised in Nidaros by Bishop Grimkell, one year after his death in the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030. Enshrined in Nidaros Cathedral...
heiðþegar, meaning "gift- (or pay-)receivers". More precisely, Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing...
explained that "heið-money is the name of the wages or gift which chieftains give". Thus, Sigvat probably referred to an institution similar to the Danish heimþegar (see below) or to the housecarls of Canute the Great
Canute the Great
Cnut the Great , also known as Canute, was a king of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden. Though after the death of his heirs within a decade of his own and the Norman conquest of England in 1066, his legacy was largely lost to history, historian Norman F...
(see below): free men in the service of a king or lord, who gave them gifts as payment of said service. It is known from Icelandic sources that in the 1060s, the royal housecarls were paid with Norwegian coins.
The housecarls of the Danish kings: the heimþegar
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, DR 1
Stone of Eric
The Stone of Eric, listed as DR 1 in the Rundata catalog, is a memorial runestone that was found in northern Germany. This area was part of Denmark during the Viking Age.-Description:...
, DR 3, DR 154, DR 155, DR 296, and DR 297, use the term heimþegi (pl. heimþegar), meaning "home-receiver" (i.e. one who is given a house by another). The use of the term in the inscriptions suggest a strong similarity between heimþegar and housecarls: like housecarls, heimþegar are in the service of a king or lord, of whom they receive gifts (here, homes) for their service. Johannes Brøndsted
Johannes Brøndsted
Johannes Brøndsted, was a Danish archaeologist and prehistorian.-Biography:Brøndsted was born in Grundfør, Jutland....
interpreted heimþegi as nothing more than a local (Danish) variant of húskarl.
Johannes Brøndsted
Johannes Brøndsted
Johannes Brøndsted, was a Danish archaeologist and prehistorian.-Biography:Brøndsted was born in Grundfør, Jutland....
suggested that the garrison of the Danish fort of Trelleborg
Trelleborg
Trelleborg is a locality and the seat of Trelleborg Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 25,643 inhabitants in 2005. It is the southernmost town in Sweden.-History:...
may have consisted of royal housecarls, and that kings Svein Forkbeard and Canute the Great
Canute the Great
Cnut the Great , also known as Canute, was a king of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden. Though after the death of his heirs within a decade of his own and the Norman conquest of England in 1066, his legacy was largely lost to history, historian Norman F...
may have "safeguarded the country by a network of forts manned by the royal housecarls, the mercenaries, the hird". Among the Hedeby stones
Hedeby stones
The Hedeby stones are four runestones from the 10th century found at the town of Hedeby in northern Germany. This area was part of Denmark during the Viking Age.-Stone of Eric:...
, the Stone of Eric
Stone of Eric
The Stone of Eric, listed as DR 1 in the Rundata catalog, is a memorial runestone that was found in northern Germany. This area was part of Denmark during the Viking Age.-Description:...
(DR 1) is dedicated by a royal retainer to one of his companions :
"Sven" is probably king Svein Forkbeard, as elsewhere on the Hedeby stones
Hedeby stones
The Hedeby stones are four runestones from the 10th century found at the town of Hedeby in northern Germany. This area was part of Denmark during the Viking Age.-Stone of Eric:...
. Another runestone there, the Skarthi stone (DR 3), was apparently personally raised by king Svein :
Under Svein Forkbeard and Canute the Great
Canute the Great
Cnut the Great , also known as Canute, was a king of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden. Though after the death of his heirs within a decade of his own and the Norman conquest of England in 1066, his legacy was largely lost to history, historian Norman F...
, when the Danish kings came to rule England, a body of royal housecarls was developed there, with institutions that were partly of Norse inspiration, and partly inspired by canon law
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
(see below). But even after the Danish kings had lost England, housecarls continued to exist in Denmark. Such a group of royal retainers was still in place at the beginning of the 12th century, under Niels of Denmark
Niels of Denmark
Niels of Denmark was King of Denmark from 1104 to 1134, following his brother Eric Evergood, and is presumed to have been the youngest son of king Sweyn II Estridson. Niels actively supported the canonization of Canute IV the Holy, and his secular rule was supported by the clergy...
, when, according to Danish historian Svend Aggesen, Aggesen's grandfather, a member of the retinue, was tried for the murder of a fellow housecarl. Svend Aggesen's account of the law governing Canute the Great's housecarls in 11th century England (the Witherlogh or Lex Castrensis) may reflect, in fact, those governing Danish housecarls in the 12th century. But, by the end of the 12th century, housecarls had probably disappeared in Denmark; they had transformed into a new kind of nobility, whose members no longer resided at the king's court.
In England
The term entered the English language when Svein Forkbeard and Canute the GreatCanute the Great
Cnut the Great , also known as Canute, was a king of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden. Though after the death of his heirs within a decade of his own and the Norman conquest of England in 1066, his legacy was largely lost to history, historian Norman F...
conquered and occupied Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
; the housecarls of Canute were highly disciplined bodyguards. It is unclear, however, whether Canute's housecarls were all Scandinavians ; according to Susan Reynolds
Susan Reynolds
Susan Reynolds is a British medieval historian whose 1994 book Fiefs and Vassals: the Medieval Evidence Reinterpreted was part of the attack on the concept of feudalism as classically portrayed by previous historians such as François-Louis Ganshof and Marc Bloch.She believes that the technical...
, it is likely that some of them were, or became, or were thought of as English.
Organisation as royal bodyguards and courtiers
According to 12th century Danish historian Svend Aggesen, Canute's housecarls were governed by a specific law, the Witherlogh or Lex Castrensis. Their organisation in a band or guild was Scandinavian in character, but the legal process the Witherlogh defines is mainly derived from canon lawCanon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
, directly or through Anglo-Saxon laws. Other possible inspirations include the rules of the Jomsvikings
Jomsvikings
The Jomsvikings were a possibly-legendary company of Viking mercenaries or brigands of the 10th century and 14th century AD, dedicated to the worship of such deities as Odin and Thor. They were staunchly pagan, but they reputedly would fight for any lord able to pay their substantial fees, and...
and the rules of the Norwegian hirð. The Whitherlogh defined an etiquette
Etiquette
Etiquette is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group...
: housecarles were to be seated at the kings' tables according to a number of factors, among which skill in war and nobility. They could be disgraced by being moved to a lower place; this was punishment for minor offences, such as not giving proper care to the horse of a fellow housecarl. After three such offences, the offender could be seated at the lowest place, and no-one was to talk to him, but everyone could throw bones at him at will. Murder of another housecarl was punished by outlawry and exile, whereas treason was punished by death and confiscation of all property. Quarrels between housecarles were decided by a specific tribunal (gemot), the Huskarlesteffne, in the presence of the king; depending on the nature of the quarrel, a varying number of testimonies would be required. However, the Witherlogh as we know it through Svend Aggesen was redacted more than one century after the time of Canute; thus, we cannot be sure that it presents an accurate picture of Canute's housecarls.
After the reign of Canute, the term "housecarl" came to cover armed retainers of any household, and was frequently used in contrast to the non-professional fyrd ; they could be in service not only of the kings, but also of the earl
Earl
An earl is a member of the nobility. The title is Anglo-Saxon, akin to the Scandinavian form jarl, and meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. In Scandinavia, it became obsolete in the Middle Ages and was replaced with duke...
s. For instance, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great...
refers to the retainers of earl Tostig Godwinson
Tostig Godwinson
Tostig Godwinson was an Anglo-Saxon Earl of Northumbria and brother of King Harold Godwinson, the last crowned english King of England.-Early life:...
as housecarles, and states that 200 of them were killed in a revolt in Northumbria
Northumbria
Northumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
in 1065. However, it is unclear whether the earls had by that time created their own housecarls, or if the meaning of the word had merely expanded to cover the earls' retinues.
Pay, land grants, and social role
Saxo Grammaticus
Saxo Grammaticus also known as Saxo cognomine Longus was a Danish historian, thought to have been a secular clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, foremost advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. He is the author of the first full history of Denmark.- Life :The Jutland Chronicle gives...
, the pay was monthly. Due to these wages, the housecarls can be seen as a sort of mercenaries; the Knýtlinga saga
Knýtlinga saga
Knýtlinga saga is an Icelandic kings' saga written in the 1250s, which deals with the kings who ruled Denmark since the early 10th century....
calls them málamenn ("men receiving wages"), while Florence of Worcester
Florence of Worcester
Florence of Worcester , known in Latin as Florentius, was a monk of Worcester, who played some part in the production of the Chronicon ex chronicis, a Latin world chronicle which begins with the creation and ends in 1140....
uses the term solidarii ("salarymen") and William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. C. Warren Hollister so ranks him among the most talented generation of writers of history since Bede, "a gifted historical scholar and an omnivorous reader, impressively well versed in the literature of classical,...
that of stipendarii ("paid men"). Furthermore, the housecarles were not bound to indefinite service; but there was only one day in the year during which they could leave the king's service. That was New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
, a day on which it was customary for Scandinavian kings to reward their retainers with gifts.
On the other hand, the number of housecarls to receive land grants and estates from the king seems to have been rather limited, from the beginning of Canute's reign up to the Norman conquest in 1066. At that last date, the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
records thirty-three landholding housecarls in the kingdom, a limited number; and furthermore, these estates were small. Thus, it does not seem that the English landholders were deprived of their properties to provide for land grants to the king's housecarls. On the other hand, some of Canute's housecarls seem to have been quite prosperous; the Abbotsbury Abbey
Abbotsbury Abbey
The Abbey of St Peter was a Benedictine monastery in the village of Abbotsbury in Dorset, England. The abbey was founded in the eleventh century by King Cnut's thegn Orc and his wife Tola, who handsomely endowed the monastery with lands in the area. The abbey prospered and became a local centre of...
was founded either by one of them under the reign of Canute himself, or by his wife under the reign of Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
.
Administrative role
The royal housecarls had some administrative duties in peacetime as the King's representatives. Florence of WorcesterFlorence of Worcester
Florence of Worcester , known in Latin as Florentius, was a monk of Worcester, who played some part in the production of the Chronicon ex chronicis, a Latin world chronicle which begins with the creation and ends in 1140....
recounts how, in 1041, there was a revolt against a very heavy levy in Worcester, and two of king Harthacnut's housecarls, who were acting as tax collectors, were killed.
Military role
Because the main sources on Canute's housecarls were written at least one century after Canute's reign, there are several theories about the exact nature and role of these housecarls. Canute is said to have retained 3,000 to 4,000 men with him in England, to serve as his bodyguard. One theory is that these men were Canute's housecarls, and that they served as a well-equipped, disciplined, professional, and quite numerous (for the time) standing army at the service of the king. However, another theory is that there was nothing like an important, standing, royal army in 11th century Anglo-Saxon England.This debate has direct consequences on the assessment of the housecarls' specificities, and whether or not they were an elite troop. For instance, Charles Oman
Charles Oman
Sir Charles William Chadwick Oman was a British military historian of the early 20th century. His reconstructions of medieval battles from the fragmentary and distorted accounts left by chroniclers were pioneering...
, in his book The Art of War in the Middle Ages (1885), states that the main advantage of the housecarls at Hastings were their esprit de corps. This view, still widely held today, mainly stems from Svend Aggesen's 12th-century description of Canute's housecarls as a group characterized by a strict code (see above); Aggesen having been used as a main source by L.M. Larson's The King's Household in England Before the Norman Conquest (1902). However, more recently, historian Nicholas Hooper criticised Larson and stated that "it is time to debunk the housecarl"; according to Hooper, housecarls were not in effect distinguishable from Saxon thegn
Thegn
The term thegn , from OE þegn, ðegn "servant, attendant, retainer", is commonly used 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 ealdormen and high-reeves...
s, and were mainly retainers who received lands or pay (or both), but without being really a standing army. Hooper further asserts that in morale and experience, the housecarls were not a distinguished, elite troop in comparison with the English elements of the army.
Yet another theory is that the role of a standing army was not assumed, or was not mostly assumed, by the royal housecarls; but that the housecarls were a smaller body of household troops, partly stationed at the king's court. During the reign of Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
, a number of sailors and soldiers, the lithsmen, were paid wages and possibly based in London; those lithsmen were, according to some, the main standing armed force, while the housecarls were only acting as a secondary one.
One reason to doubt the existence of a standing army made of housecarls is that when there was a revolt in 1051, under the reign of Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
, no such standing army was used to crush it, whereas its existence would have allowed for a swift, decisive action against the rebels.
The housecarls of Harold Godwinson : Stamford Bridge and Hastings
By the end of the 11th century in England, there may have been as many as 3,000 royal housecarls (the Þingalið). As the household troops of Harold GodwinsonHarold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson was the last Anglo-Saxon King of England.It could be argued that Edgar the Atheling, who was proclaimed as king by the witan but never crowned, was really the last Anglo-Saxon king...
, the housecarls had a crucial role as the backbone of Harold's army at Hastings. Although they were numerically the smaller part of Harold's army, their possibly superior equipment and training meant they could have been used to strengthen the militia, or fyrd, which made up most of Harold's troops. The housecarls were positioned in the center, around their leader's standard, but also probably in the first ranks of both flanks, with the fyrdmen behind them. In the Battle of Hastings
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings occurred on 14 October 1066 during the Norman conquest of England, between the Norman-French army of Duke William II of Normandy and the English army under King Harold II...
, these Housecarls fought after Harold's death, holding their oath to him until the very last man was killed.
The Bayeux Tapestry
Bayeux Tapestry
The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidered cloth—not an actual tapestry—nearly long, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England concerning William, Duke of Normandy and Harold, Earl of Wessex, later King of England, and culminating in the Battle of Hastings...
depicts the housecarls as footmen clad in mail
Mail (armour)
Mail is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh.-History:Mail was a highly successful type of armour and was used by nearly every metalworking culture....
, with conical nasal helmets, and fighting with the great, two-handed Dane axe.
See also
- ChurlChurlA churl , in its earliest Old English meaning, was simply "a man", but the word soon came to mean "a non-servile peasant", still spelt ċeorl, and denoting the lowest rank of freemen...
(Carl, Charles) - ComitatusComitatus (Classical meaning)Comitatus was a Germanic friendship structure that compelled kings to rule in consultation with their warriors. The comitatus, as described in the Roman historian Tacitus's treatise Germania , is the bond existing between a Germanic warrior and his Lord, ensuring that neither leaves the field of...
- DruzhinaDruzhinaDruzhina, Drużyna or Družyna in the medieval history of Slavic Europe was a retinue in service of a chieftain, also called knyaz. The name is derived from the Slavic word drug with the meaning of "companion, friend". -Early Rus:...
- HirdHirdThe hird, in Norwegian history, was originally an informal retinue of personal armed companions, hirdmen or housecarls, but came to mean not only the nucleus of the royal army, but also developed into a more formal royal court household....
- LeidangLeidangThe institution known as leiðangr , leidang , leding, , ledung , expeditio or sometimes lething , was a public levy of free farmers typical for medieval Scandinavians. It was a form of conscription to organise coastal fleets for seasonal excursions and in defence of the realm...
- Yeomen of the GuardYeomen of the GuardThe Queen's Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard are a bodyguard of the British Monarch. The oldest British military corps still in existence, it was created by Henry VII in 1485 at the Battle of Bosworth Field. As a token of this venerability, the Yeomen still wear red and gold uniforms of Tudor...
Further reading
Reprinted as:External links
- The Housecarls according to a reenactment group: Regia Anglorum's Anglo-Saxon Huscarls