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HomeHome / Total War SAGA: Thrones of Britannia / Defena / Units / Earl's Thegns
Earl's Thegns DefenaDefena Melee Infantry

Earl's Thegns

Lands and estates do not hold these men back from their rightful service.

As the kingdoms of Britain expanded, royal deputies were needed to deal with the routine business of the land on behalf of their kings. Such men were referred to as ealdormen in the early Saxon period, but by the eleventh century the title was superseded by Scandinavian influence and they came to be referred to as earls and jarls, with the latter term used more in places more populated by Danes. An earl or jarl was not necessarily just a royal official, but could also be an upper-class man with land, estates, and a military retinue, likely by virtue of being descendant of a family that had previously ruled as kings, but subsequently had their lands absorbed into a larger kingdom.

Being well-to-do men, earls could fund the training and equipment for their own bands, so they were often made up of more elite soldiers than those who merely fought in the fyrds. Militarily, their thegns were their most important servants. In the earliest times of Saxon migration, they were exclusively defined by their military service, with the first Anglo-Saxon nobles keeping ‘gesiths’ as they were formerly known in their retinues, who were better trained and more highly motivated due to a close relationship with their warmongering lords. In the later Saxon era, they became a middle-ranking land-owning ‘officer class’ with major roles in organising and leading the fyrds. Danish rule over conquered English lands meant that some thegns even fought for their conquerors, in return for being able to keep their lands within the puppet kingdoms.

Earl's Thegns

Unit Name

Earl's Thegns

Main Unit Key

eng_earls_thegns

Land Unit Key

eng_earls_thegns

Naval Unit Key

vik_draca

Soldiers

160

Category

Melee Infantry

Class

Melee Infantry

Custom Battle Cost

700

Recruitment Cost

700

Upkeep Cost

200

Melee Skill

36

Melee Damage

38

├ Melee Weapon

vik_sword

├ Melee Base Damage

32

├ Armour-piercing Damage

6

├ Armour Piercing

No

├ Attack Against Cavalry

0

├ Attack Against Elephants

0

└ Attack Against Infantry

0

Charge Bonus

24

Melee Defence

66

├ Base Defence

36

├ Shield

vik_medium

└ Shield

30

Armour

27

├ Armour

vik_mail_long

├ Armour Defence

27

└ Shield Armour

0

Health

100

├ Man Entity

vik_inf_heavy

├ Man Health

100

└ Bonus Hit Points

0

Morale

47

Abilities

Earl's Thegns
  • Shield Castle
    "Heads down, lads, things are about to get a little hairy around here!"
    Units cannot move in this formation.

Attributes

  • [[col:yellow]]Expert Charge Defence[[/col]]
    This unit’s melee attack and damage are increased against charging enemies.
  • [[col:yellow]]Disciplined[[/col]]
    This unit does not suffer a morale penalty when the general dies. It can also rally after routing more often.
  • [[col:yellow]]Hide (forest)[[/col]]
    This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.

Strengths & Weaknesses

No Strengths and Weaknesses
Recuitment Requirement
Required Technology Trained Fighters Cost 150 Upgrade From Thegns
Upgrade
Required Technology Offensive Masters Cost 150 Upgrade To Mailed Thegns