Norman Conquest Encyclopedia

A member of the household troops of an Anglo-Danish king. The complete force would consist of the fyrd, the troops raised as levies, and the household troops, a permanent force such as Canute (or Cnut) created in 1018 when he retained the crews of some forty ships while paying off the rest of his force. The Anglo-Saxon court was less centralized and the thegn, the higher-class landowner owing military service, became effectively the household soldier. The number actually resident in the king's household was probably quite small, the majority living on their own lands to be summoned when needed. That Harold Godwinsson fought with the support of his personal bodyguard and most loyal followers is undoubted and graphically illustrated in the Bayeux Tapestry, but that he had housecarls in the original sense of the word is doubtful.

See also: Anglo-Saxon; Bayeux Tapestry; Danes; fyrd; Harold Godwinsson; King Cnut; thegn

Related Reading:

• Hastings 1066 (Revised Edition)- The Fall of Saxon England
  (Campaign 13 )
• Anglo Saxon Thegn (Warrior 5)