Thane (/ˈθeɪn/; Scottish Gaelic: taidhn)[1] was the title given to a local royal official in medieval eastern Scotland, equivalent in rank to the son of an earl,[2] who was at the head of an administrative and socio-economic unit known as a thanedom or thanage.
[4] A further eleven thanes are recorded over the course of the rest of the 12th century, attached to estates from East Lothian to Moray, all of which were at the time under the control of the King of Alba.
[5] From around the beginning of the 13th century a few thanes also start to be documented attached to estates under the control of earls, including Dunning and Strowan, which both lay within the Earldom of Strathearn.
Thanes consequently resembled English barons, but with greater judicial and administrative authority which extended beyond the lands they directly held.
[12] In the video game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, the player character is able to receive the honorary title of Thane of Whiterun (and other "holds") by completing quests for the local Jarl.