A thane was a kind of lord in early England and in early Scotland — roughly from the years before 1066. He held land from the king, and in return he fought for the king and brought his own men to the fighting.

A thane was a kind of lordthane是一種貴族領主 in early England and in early Scotland存在於早期的英格蘭和蘇格蘭 roughly from the years before 1066大約是1066年以前的年代 He held land from the king他從國王那裡獲得土地 and in return he fought for the king作為回報，他要替國王打仗 and brought his own men to the fighting還要帶自己的手下一起參戰

In rank he sat below an earl but clearly above an ordinary farmer, and later writers often place him below a knight, though "knight" belongs to a slightly later world and the two do not line up neatly. That untidiness is honest: old ranks changed over the centuries, and the word covered somewhat different men in different places and times.

In rank he sat below an earl地位上他在earl之下 but clearly above an ordinary farmer但明顯高於普通農民 and later writers often place him below a knight後來的作者常把他放在knight之下 though "knight" belongs to a slightly later world不過knight是屬於稍晚一點的時代 and the two do not line up neatly兩者並不能整整齊齊地對應 That untidiness is honest這種不整齊反而是誠實的 old ranks changed over the centuries舊時代的階級在幾百年間一直在變 and the word covered somewhat different men in different places and times這個字在不同地方、不同時代所指的人也有點不一樣

Today the word is history-book English and story English. Most people who know it at all know it from Shakespeare's *Macbeth*, where Macbeth is called Thane of Glamis and Thane of Cawdor — in Scotland the title was tied to a place, so a thane was a thane *of* somewhere. You will also meet it in fantasy novels and games, which borrow it for its old, weighty sound.

Today the word is history-book English and story English現在這個字是歷史書和故事裡才會用的英文 Most people who know it at all know it from Shakespeare's Macbeth大部分知道這個字的人，都是從莎士比亞的《馬克白》認識的 where Macbeth is called Thane of Glamis and Thane of Cawdor劇中馬克白被稱為Thane of Glamis和Thane of Cawdor in Scotland the title was tied to a place在蘇格蘭，這個頭銜是跟某個地方綁在一起的 so a thane was a thane of somewhere所以一個thane會是某個地方的thane You will also meet it in fantasy novels and games你也會在奇幻小說和遊戲裡看到它 which borrow it for its old, weighty sound借用它那種古老、有份量的語感

Nobody is a thane now; there is no modern job with this name. You may also see it spelled thegn in books about Old English, which is the older spelling of the same word.

Nobody is a thane now現在沒有人是thane了 there is no modern job with this name也沒有以這個名字存在的現代職位 You may also see it spelled thegn in books about Old English在講古英語的書裡，你也可能看到拼成thegn which is the older spelling of the same word這是同一個字比較古老的拼法