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Line 1: {{short description\|Term in Anglo-Saxon England for a man of high status}} {{other uses\|Alderman (disambiguation)}} [[File:Anglo-Saxon Chronicle - ealdormen (British Library Cotton MS Tiberius A VI, folio 4r).jpg\|thumb\|A mention of ealdormen in the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'']]▼ {{Anglo-Saxon status}} '''Ealdorman''' ({{IPAc-en\|ˈ\|ɔː\|l\|d\|ər\|m\|ə\|n}}, {{IPA-ang\|ˈæ͜ɑɫ.dorˌmɑn}})<ref>[https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/ealdorman "ealdorman"]. ''[[Collins English Dictionary]]''.</ref> was an office in the [[Government in Anglo-Saxon England\|government of Anglo-Saxon England]]. During the 11th century, it evolved into the title of [[earl]]. '''Ealdorman''' ({{IPAc-en\|ˈ\|ɔː\|l\|d\|ər\|m\|ə\|n}})<ref>[https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/ealdorman "ealdorman"]. ''[[Collins English Dictionary]]''.</ref> was a term in early medieval England which originally applied to a man of high status, including some of royal birth, whose authority was independent of the king. It evolved in meaning and in the eighth century was sometimes applied to the former kings of territories which had submitted to great powers such as [[Mercia]]. In [[Wessex]] in the second half of the ninth century it meant the leaders of individual shires appointed by the king. By the tenth century ealdormen had become the local representatives of the West Saxon king of England. Ealdormen would lead in battle, preside over courts and levy taxation. Ealdormanries were the most prestigious royal appointments, the possession of noble families and semi-independent rulers. Their territories became large, often covering former kingdoms such as Mercia or [[Kingdom of East Anglia\|East Anglia]]. Southern ealdormen often attended court, reflecting increasing centralisation of the kingdom, but the loyalty of northern ealdormen was more uncertain. In the eleventh 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.<ref>Stafford, "Ealdorman"</ref> ==Early use== ▲[[File:Anglo-Saxon Chronicle - ealdormen (British Library Cotton MS Tiberius A VI, folio 4r).jpg\|thumb\|A mention of ealdormen in the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'']] The [[Old English]] word ''ealdorman'' was applied to high-ranking men. It was equated with several [[Latin]] titles, including {{Lang\|la\|[[princeps]]}}, {{Lang\|la\|[[dux]]}}, {{Lang\|la\|[[comes]]}}, and {{Lang\|la\|[[praefectus]]}}. The title could be applied to kings of weaker territories who had submitted to a greater power. For example, a [[Anglo-Saxon charters\|charter]] of King [[Offa of Mercia]] described [[Ealdred of Hwicce]] as "''subregulus''{{nbsp}}... ''et dux'' ({{gloss\|underking and ealdorman}})."{{Sfn\|Stafford\|2014\|p=156}} In [[Wessex]], the king appointed ealdormen to lead individual [[shire]]s.{{Sfn\|Stafford\|2014\|p=156}} Under [[Alfred the Great]] ({{reign\|871\|899}}), 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).{{Sfn\|Loyn\|1984\|p=75}} ~~==Aldermen==~~ Although earls may be regarded as the successors of ealdormen, the word ''ealdorman'' itself did not disappear and survives in modern times as [[alderman]] in many jurisdictions founded upon [[English law]]. This term, however, developed distinctly different meanings which have little to do with ealdormen, who ruled shires or larger areas, while aldermen are members of a municipal assembly or council, such as the [[City Council of Chicago]] and the City of [[Adelaide]].<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/manning/adelaide/council/misc.htm \|title=Adelaide – City Council, Town Hall and Allied Matters \|publisher=Slsa.sa.gov.au \|access-date=2011-03-02 \|url-status=dead \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110310051226/http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/manning/adelaide/council/misc.htm \|archive-date=10 March 2011 }}</ref> ==10th century== Similar titles also exist in some Germanic countries, such as the Swedish ''Ålderman'', the Danish ''Oldermand'' and West Frisian ''Olderman'', the Dutch ''Ouderman'',{{refneeded\|date=February 2020}} the (non-Germanic) Finnish ''Oltermanni'' (a borrowing from the neighboring Germanic Swedes) and the German ''Ältester'', which all mean "elder man" or "wise man". In the 10th century, the kings of Wessex successfully unified England into one kingdom, and ealdormen became the local representatives of the monarch.{{Sfn\|Stafford\|2014\|p=156}} 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.{{Sfn\|Powell\|Wallis\|1968\|p=6}}{{Sfn\|Lyon\|1980\|pp=62–63}} Starting with [[Edward the Elder]] ({{reign\|899\|924}}), it became customary for one ealdorman to administer three or four shires together as an ealdormanry.{{Sfn\|Lyon\|1980\|p=63}} One ealdormanry covered Wessex east of [[Selwood Forest\|Selwood]] and another covered Wessex west of Selwood.{{Sfn\|Stafford\|2014\|p=156}} By 965, Mercia had four or five ealdormen and Northumbria only one.{{Sfn\|Loyn\|1984\|p=77}} 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.{{Sfn\|Powell\|Wallis\|1968\|p=6}} ~~==See also==~~ * [[Earls, ealdormen and high-reeves of Bamburgh]]▼ 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.{{Sfn\|Stafford\|2014\|p=157}} ==Notable ealdormen== * [[Æthelmund\|Æthelmund, Ealdorman of the Hwicce]] * [[Ælfhere, Ealdorman of Mercia\|Ælfhere, ealdorman of Mercia]] (d. 983) Line 22 ⟶ 27: * [[Eadric Streona\|Eadric Streona, ealdorman of the Mercians]] (d. 1017) * [[Odda, Ealdorman of Devon]] (fl. 878) * [[Wulfhere, Ealdorman of Wiltshire]] (fl.~~855-?877~~ ''c''. 855–877) * [[Wulfstan, ealdorman of Wiltshire]] (d. 802) ==~~References~~See also== * [[Alderman]] ▲* [[Earls, ealdormen and high-reeves of Bamburgh]] * [[Starosta]], the Slavic equivalent of ealdorman ==Citations== {{reflist}} ==~~Sources~~References== {{refbegin}} * {{cite encyclopedia\|last=Stafford \|first=Pauline \|title= Ealdorman\|year=2014\|editor1-first= Michael\|editor1-last= Lapidge\|editor2-first= John\|editor2-last= Blair\|editor3-first= Simon\|editor3-last= Keynes \|editor4-first= Donald\|editor4-last= Scragg \|encyclopedia=The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England\|edition=Second\|location=Chichester, UK\|publisher= Blackwell Publishing\|isbn=978-0-470-65632-7}} * {{cite book \| last = Loyn \| first = H. R. \| author-link = H. R. Loyn \| title = The Governance of Anglo-Saxon England, 500–1087 \| publisher = Stanford University Press \| series = Governance of England \| volume = 1 \| year = 1984 \| url = https://archive.org/details/governanceofangl0000loyn \|url-access=registration \| isbn = 9780804712170}} * {{cite book \| last = Lyon \| first = Bryce \| author-link = Bryce Lyon \| title = A Constitutional and Legal History of Medieval England \| publisher = W. W. Norton & Company \| edition = 2nd \| year = 1980 \| isbn = 0-393-95132-4}} 1st edition available to read online [https://archive.org/details/constitutionalle0000bryc here]. * {{cite book \| last1 = Powell \| first1 = J. Enoch \| author-link1 = Enoch Powell \| last2 = Wallis \| first2 = Keith \| title = The House of Lords in the Middle Ages: A History of the English House of Lords to 1540 \| publisher = Weidenfeld & Nicolson \| year = 1968 \| location = London \| url = https://archive.org/details/houseoflordsinmi0000powe \| url-access = registration \| isbn = 0297761056}} * {{cite encyclopedia \| last = Stafford \| first = Pauline \| author-link = Pauline Stafford \| title = Ealdorman \| encyclopedia = Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England \| editor-last1 = Lapidge \| editor-first1 = Michael \| editor-last2 = Blair \| editor-first2 = John \| editor-last3 = Keynes \| editor-first3 = Simon \| editor-last4 = Scragg \| editor-first4 = Donald \| edition = 2nd \| year = 2014 \| pages = 156–157 \| publisher = Wiley Blackwell \| doi = 10.1002/9781118316061 \| isbn = 9780470656327 \| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=tZkzAQAAQBAJ}} {{refend}} ==Further reading== {{refbegin}} 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~~513–25. [[Frank Stenton\|Stenton, Sir Frank M.]] ''Anglo-Saxon England''; 3rd ed. London: [[Oxford University Press]], 1971. [[Ann Williams (historian)\|Williams, Ann]]. ''Kingship and Government in Pre-Conquest England, c. 500–1066''. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1999 {{ISBN\|0-333-56797-8}} {{refend}} [[Category:Anglo-Saxon ealdormen\| ]]