Ealdorman

An ealdorman (from Old English ealdorman, lit. "elder man"; plural: "ealdormen") is the term used for a high-ranking royal official and prior magistrate of an Anglo-Saxon shire or group of shires from about the ninth century to the time of King Cnut. The term ealdorman was rendered in Latin as dux in early West Saxon charters, and as præfectus (which is also the equivalent of gerefa, modern reeve, from which sheriff or shire reeve is derived). In the Life of King Alfred by the Welsh bishop Asser, the Latin equivalent is comes. As the chief magistrate of a shire or group of shires (county) in Anglo-Saxon England, he commanded the army of the shire(s) and districts under his control on behalf of the king.

They were appointees of the king and were originally mostly from the ancient and powerful families, but later were often chosen from among the king's comites (plural of comes, lit. "companion") and many, especially in the early Danish period, were new to high office. When smaller kingdoms such as Sussex and Essex were absorbed within a larger one, e.g. Wessex, the former ruling family seems to have been suffered a diminution of their title from "King" or "Sub-King" to Eorldorman. Presumably this office would have initially been hereditary among the former royal family but in later Anglo-Saxon times the office was clearly not hereditary or where it was this was exceptional. There are several examples of tenth-century ealdormen whose sons became ealdormen (if not always of the same district), such as Æthelstan Half-King and Æthelweard the Chronicler.

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