What is an Odalbönder and Heathguard?
score:8
In Old English (Anglo Saxon), a bönder or bönda was a freeman (Norse bóndi / bóandi). However, there were various degrees of "freeman".
In Anglo Saxon England, the lowest of these classes was called a ceorl, and above them was a theign.
In Sweden, the equivalent grades of freemen were simply bönder and odalbönder, defined under the "odal" concept. Odalbönder owned their land, and that land would generally have been inherited within their family for some generations. The bönder were freemen who rented their land.
The concept is expanded upon in the Swedish Wikipedia article Bondeståndet i Sverige.
I'm not familiar with the term "Heathguard", however a quick Internet search suggests that the term is commonly used by wargamers for small bands of warriors.
I would suggest double-checking the spelling, since there are a few possibilities (although none wholly convincing). It looks like the word "Heathguard" might derive from either the Old English / Norse word "heaðo" meaning "war", the word "hirð" meaning "retinue", or even the word "hȳrian" meaning "hired". The first two might suggest a personal bodyguard in battle, while the third may indicate a "mercenary guard" in this context.
Note the root of the English word "guard" is actually French, rather than Anglo Saxon / Norse.
Edit 15 March 2020
On further reflection, and having re-read a few of the texts, I suspect that "heathguard" in this context should probably actually be "hearth-guard", in which case it is probably a rough translation of heorð-genēatas, which is more-commonly translated as "hearth companions".
The term appears, for example, in the Anglo-Saxon poem The Battle of Maldon and in Beowulf, and from the context it is clear that the heorð-genēatas were a kind of bodyguard for whom deserting their lord in battle was the deepest-possible dishonour. At the Battle of Maldon, Byrhtnoth's heorð-genēatas continue fighting (to the death) after Byrhtnoth fell, even though many other survivors of the fyrd had fled following the death of their lord.
The Anglo-Saxon heorð-genēatas may thus be more-or-less the equivalent of the Scandinavian huscarls (the term huscarl doesn't appear in Anglo-Saxon England until the 11th century, following the conquest by Cnut Sweynsson in 1015/1016).
Upvote:3
I believe Heathguard is a related to the common surname name "Heyward".
The "W" and "G" sounds are related between German and French: "Ward" => "Guard" just like "William" => "Guillaume"
"Hey" is related to "hedge". Hedges were used to separate tracts of farmland. "heather" is also a type of hedge.
A "Heyward" is someone who guards property lines.
Source for "Heyward" is History of the English Language podcast. Might be episode 117.
More post
- 📝 Did the Pope's crossbow and archery bans have any effect?
- 📝 Did the Romans install offensive statues in the temples of conquered territories?
- 📝 Who were the "tyrants" that Charles Martel "crushed"?
- 📝 Why is Kubb - a skittles game - associated with the Viking Age?
- 📝 Can anyone identify the regiment and rank from this WWI photograph?
- 📝 Was 18th century Prussia really so militarily obsessed?
- 📝 Why did Chrstianity spread so easily?
- 📝 Why didn't the Soviets keep their encircled forces supplied by airlifting supplies?
- 📝 Could someone who had joined a monastery decide to leave?
- 📝 Why did Great Britain switch its alliance to France?
- 📝 When did the Roman Empire devalue currency?
- 📝 Was Fascism capitalist or communist or as many say, was it a "third type" of ideology?
- 📝 What is the origin of Kula Devata or Family Deity?
- 📝 In a feudal system the king would give land to the knights in exchange for military services. Where did he get his money from then?
- 📝 How did the USS Reprisal sink?
- 📝 Was David Ben-Gurion's marriage to Paula in December 1917 in New York?
- 📝 Why where individual servings replaced with shared dishes during the Song dynasty?
- 📝 Why were so many of the earliest banks founded by cloth merchants?
- 📝 What differences led to Technicolor becoming the dominant color filming technology in Hollywood?
- 📝 Is the history of relations between Ukraine and Russia similar to what was between Ireland and Uk?
- 📝 What political events led to the Separate Car Act that was upheld in Plessy v. Ferguson?
- 📝 Why was there an increase in literature regarding fire safety in America during the 1970s?
- 📝 Why, in the Bill of Rights, is the right to a speedy trial a separate amendment from the right to a trial by jury?
- 📝 Why were blacks still victimized in the Northern states after slavery's abolition?
- 📝 Does U.S. law still apply to persons who were deported to Russia in 1919 using the "Soviet Ark"?
- 📝 Was there a "European Balance of Power Strategy" for Anglo-American interests in between 1925 and 1935?
- 📝 Why did the maple leaf become associated with Canada?
- 📝 Battle of Seattle
- 📝 What is the nature of the Hyksos territory in Transjordan and northern Arabia depicted on these maps?
- 📝 Did the 1st Marine Division use the M3 carbine on Okinawa?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Was murdering a slave illegal in American slavery, and if so, what punishments were given for it?
- 📝 What is the oldest authentic example of people complaining about modern times and the young?
- 📝 To what extent did Native American cultures develop metalworking for tools and weapons?
- 📝 What is the difference between the Ancient Greek religion and the Ancient Roman religion?
- 📝 What do the modern Japanese people think about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
- 📝 What is the date and original source of this medieval picture?
- 📝 Were there any Germans in Japan after the surrender of Germany in May, 1945 and if so, what happened to them?
- 📝 What coin is this and where is it from? Thai script, Thai arms. Rev: left facing portrait
- 📝 Besides Magna Carta and general decentralization, what specifically led to democratization in England?
- 📝 What is the difference between the Middle Ages and the Dark Ages?
- 📝 In WWII, what were the major differences in tank combat on the eastern and western fronts?
- 📝 What are the text and subtext of this 1949 Soviet cartoon?
- 📝 In this cartoon from Puck, what indicates the identities of France and Britain?
- 📝 What is the evidence to claim that political order in ancient Rome was sufficiently different under "kingdom", "republic" and "empire"?
- 📝 What was the average height of Roman men and women?
- 📝 What is the origin of the "wheat and chessboard" legend?
- 📝 What were the EMP effects, if any, of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
- 📝 What was the shortest time between a historical event occuring and a museum opening dedicated to said event?
- 📝 What is the earliest evidence of contact between Ireland and Egypt?
- 📝 What exactly was East Prussia between 1933 and 1945? Was it part of a larger government, and which one?
- 📝 What did Tacitus write about Nero and the Great Fire of Rome 64AD?
- 📝 What East German laws and regulations were extended to the West after unification?
- 📝 What is the primary source for this quote by Julius Caesar's on Celts and Germans?
- 📝 What was the most recent country to be conquered and disappear?
- 📝 Who are the three men standing and what are they holding at this University of Paris Doctors' Meeting?
- 📝 Even though Spain and Portugal had many colonies (15th/16th C), what factors permitted UK/France to become world powers later (18th/19th C)?
- 📝 What happened to Soviet citizens on Finnish territory before and during winter war?
- 📝 What goods did Germany trade during World War II, and with whom?
- 📝 What were the demographics and economics of South-East Asian islands around year 1400?
- 📝 What does the skull and crossbones on the Nazi uniform represent?