Word Nerd: "thane"
Context and Language Videos
Act 1,
Scene 2
Lines 45a-45b
Video Transcript:
RALPH: The word thane derives from an old German word for boy or lad, and it originally referred to a servant in a religious setting, but often was used more specifically to refer to the twelve disciples of Christ.
DAVINA: Later, particularly in Scotland, it came to mean a military servant of the king, like a knight, who was granted a castle and lands in return for maintaining armed soldiers in the service of the king.
RALPH: You’re going to find that many of the thanes in our play resemble Judas more than the other 11 disciples.