Cyning (king) |
Ealdorman (Earl after c.1000) |
Hold / High-reeve |
Thegn (thane) |
Thingmen / housecarl (retainer) |
Reeve / Verderer (bailiff) |
Ceorl (churl, free tenant) |
Villein (serf) |
Cottar (cottager) |
Þēow (thrall, slave) |
Hold (or Hauld) was a title of nobility, used in early medieval Scandinavia and the English Danelaw.
Holds were described as "noblemen of exalted rank" in Viking Northumbria by Frank Stenton, with a wergild of 4000 thrymsas, equivalent to a king's high-reeve.[1] Hold is described as a title just below the earl in Oxford Dictionary of Surnames.