Lendmann (plural lendmenn; non, lendr maðr) was a title in

medieval Norway The history of Norway has been influenced to an extraordinary degree by the terrain and the climate of the region. About 10,000 BC, following the retreat inland of the great ice sheets, the earliest inhabitants migrated north into the territor ...

. Lendmann was the highest rank attainable in the

hird The hird (also named "Håndgangne Menn" in Norwegian), in Scandinavian history, was originally an informal retinue of personal armed companions, hirdmen or housecarls, but came to mean not only the nucleus ('Guards') of the royal army, but also ...

of the Norwegian king, and a lendmann stood beneath only

earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

s and kings. In the 13th century there were between 10 and 20 ''lendmenn'' at any one time. The term is first mentioned in

skald A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: , later ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry, the other being Eddic poetry, which is anonymous. Skaldic poems were traditionally ...

-poetry from the reign of king Olaf Haraldsson (reigned 1015–1028) in the early 11th century. The ''lendmenn'' had military and police responsibilities for their districts. King Magnus VI ''Lagabøte'' (reigned 1263–1280) abolished the title ''lendmann'', and the ''lendmenn'' were given the title of

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

. In 1308

Haakon V of Norway Haakon V Magnusson (10 April 1270 – 8 May 1319) ( non, Hákon Magnússon; no, Håkon Magnusson, label=Modern Norwegian) was king of Norway from 1299 until 1319. Biography Haakon was the younger surviving son of Magnus the Lawmender, Kin ...

(reigned 1299–1319) abolished the title baron as well. A lendmann was allowed to keep a

retinue A retinue is a body of persons "retained" in the service of a noble, royal personage, or dignitary; a ''suite'' (French "what follows") of retainers. Etymology The word, recorded in English since circa 1375, stems from Old French ''retenue'', it ...

of forty without special permission from the king. The term ''lendmann'' is sometimes confused with ''

lensmann in modern Norwegian or in Danish and older Norwegian spelling (; ) is a term with several distinct meanings in Nordic history. The Icelandic equivalent was a . Fief-holder The term traditionally referred to a holder of a royal fief in Denmark ...

'', which is a title used in local administration (a policeman in smaller towns) in later centuries, however the two terms are not related. In English historical literature and translations, ''lendmann'' is often translated as ''landed man''.

References

11th-century establishments in Norway 13th-century disestablishments in Norway Medieval Norway Early Germanic warfare Norwegian nobility Norwegian noble titles {{job-stub