The term thegn (or thane or thayn in Shakespearean English), from OE þegn, ðegn "servant, attendant, retainer,""one who serves"is commonly used to describe either an aristocratic retainer of a king or nobleman in Anglo-Saxon England, or as a class term, the majority of the aristocracy below the ranks of ealdormen and high-reeves. It is also the term for an early medieval Scandinavian class of retainers.

Thegn
Thegn
Morcar (Thegn)
Saxon Thegn, 443-1066 AD
Anglo-Saxon thegn, 449-1066AD
Wulfstan - An Anglo-Saxon Thegn
Last Tales of Mercia 7: Godric the Thegn
Literary Terms and Definitions: Comitatus, Thegn, Hlaford
Thegn and Ceorl in traditional history interpretations of pre-conquest society from Lambarde to Sharon Turner [microform] : 1568-1805
Bishopstone: The residence of an Anglo-Saxon thegn (a minor lord) is discovered beside a village church