Quote:
Originally Posted by Galadriel55
Hui, you are brilliant!  I am going for Thane/Thegna. I am going back through the document and cutting out all the "princes" to Angband where they belong. Maybe make up a Thaneling (Thegnling?) for a Thane's child too, unless there is already a word for this. |
You know, I don't think most of the titles have diminutive forms like that. 'Prince' isn't etymologically related to 'queen', for instance; and 'baronet' is an entirely separate title to 'baron'.
In the English peerage, a son of a peer can often use his father's highest secondary title (if he doesn't have one of his own). James, Viscount Severn, is actually the son of the real Viscount Severn - who is also Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, and so doesn't need to be a viscount.
So as son of Thane Barahir, Beren would be Lord Beren (of Ladros). I think that the husband of a ruling Thegn (it's Galadriel again, I guess?) would also take a secondary title, on the grounds that male titles usually outrank female ones (did I already mention sexism?).
If you want to avoid getting lords all over the place, I think "Thaneson" would be the most likely form. The female would be "Thanesdottir", or some variant with different vowels: -dotter, -datter.
Alternately, apparently English uses -ing as a patronymic, so "Thegning" or "Thaning" might work? They both look a bit clumsy though. "Thaining" would preserve the sound, but looks like a typo for training. "Thanet" should be avoided like the plague.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Galadriel55
Would the word still apply to pre-Beor chiefs who did not have land or fealty, only chiefdom? They aren't a problem, they can be "chieftains" without any difficulty, just a point of interest.
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I think "Chieftain" would be best for them, because it's explicitly the title of Lady Haleth's heirs, who had no overlord. You could almost imagine they used it in defiance: yeah, we're
just chieftains, none of your fancy Thanes and Lords and whatnot - but at least we're free.
hS