Social structure
What station or class are you of? Is this the same as the station or class you were born to? Do you have a heraldic device?
I am gently born to a median-thegn. My husband Erik was born a ceorl but through his father’s hard work and his, prospered their farm so he was granted this same rank. Alfred the Great says, “And if a ceorl throve, so that he had fully five hides of his own land, church and kitchen, bellhouse and burh-gate-seat, and special duty in the king’s hail, then was he thenceforth of thegn-right worthy.”
The term thegn is falling into some disuse in the south but is still common in the north. Were I to be granted a peerage in Caid, the rank would be honored in Northumbria. A Caidan peerage would be the equivalent of the king’s thegn, who receives his lands directly from the king. The difference is that my son would not inherit the title.
As for arms, Northumbria has not developed heraldry so I derive a grant of arms from my dual Caid citizenship.
Are you wealthy, poor?
We are well off in land and I receive rents from sub-tenants. There is not a good deal of hoarded coin but there is enough for new wardrobes every year, payment and support for my son and our people including styweard (STEE-way-ard=steward), weavers, maids, coc (cook), haeleth (HAHL-eth=men/warriors), sceaphierdea (SHAY-op-hee-urda=shepherds), and ceorls (churls). We no longer own theows (THEY-ows=slaves) as that is frowned upon by the church, and I was never comfortable with it myself. And of course we also provide clothing for the household, food, seed, equipment, and animals. It is an expensive concern but my farm of Fairhall is a prosperous holding.
Is this likely to change under Norman rule?
I pray God not. As remote as we are, we pay our rents on time to Lord Robert, the Norman knight who holds this demense. We also gift his household with our fine mutton and wool and further depend on the bonds of kinship through my cousin Alienor, who married Robert three years ago and has borne him two sons. It is becoming more common for the Normans to marry native English women which has brought more families into safe harbor. Our king Henry has just married a great English lady and we praise God for our own good queen.