Skyrim:Thane

Thane is an honorary title presented by the jarl of a hold to individuals of high esteem. The bestowed title is one of both recognition and prestige. Thanes may be chosen due to their importance to the city or for their heroic deeds. It is possible to become a thane of every hold regardless of which side in the civil war is chosen. Each jarl has their own requirements for the title and may bestow the honor on multiple people.

Benefits of Being a Thane

• Grants you a personal housecarl follower (if available).
• Grants you a symbolic weapon of the city.
• Guards will forgive your bounty up to 1999 gold (once per hold).

Becoming a Thane

The general process for becoming a thane comes down to a relatively general formula with the exception of Whiterun, where it is initially achieved by completing the quest Dragon Rising, and does not require the steps below to complete, unless you have joined the Stormcloaks and completed Battle for Whiterun.

1. You befriend the jarl through a quest or favors.
2. The jarl asks you to demonstrate your value to the hold by assisting the people (five people in holds with major cities, three people in the other holds; in the Rift this stage is skipped).
3. The jarl asks you to purchase a house in the city (major cities except Whiterun).
4. The jarl grants the title of Thane and all that comes with it.

Progress made in assisting the people is dependent on disposition of citizens of the hold. Each citizen whose disposition is raised to friend counts towards the objective. Note that if you befriend the same citizen twice, the citizen only counts once for the Thane quest. Also, if a friend dies, you do not lose progress. In most cases, there is one quest for each citizen which will befriend that citizen. Some citizens may have more than one quest which will befriend them. Many citizens have no specific quest available at all.

The thane quests and their general pieces are related below:

Quest	Jarl	Favors & Quests	Residence	Housecarl	Honorary Weapon
Thane of Eastmarch	Ulfric Stormcloak	Rescue from Fort Neugrad	Hjerim	Calder	Axe of Eastmarch
	Brunwulf Free-Winter	Battle for Windhelm
Thane of Falkreath	Siddgeir	Rare Gifts, Kill the Bandit Leader	Lakeview ManorHF	RayyaHF	Blade of Falkreath
	Dengeir of Stuhn	Rescue from Fort Neugrad
Thane of Haafingar	Elisif the Fair	Elisif's Tribute	Proudspire Manor	Jordis the Sword-Maiden	Blade of Haafingar
Thane of Hjaalmarch	Idgrod Ravencrone	Laid to Rest	Windstad ManorHF	ValdimarHF	Blade of Hjaalmarch
	Sorli the Builder	The Battle for Fort Snowhawk
Thane of the Pale	Skald	Kill the Giant	Heljarchen HallHF	GregorHF	Blade of the Pale
	Brina Merilis	The Battle for Fort Dunstad
Thane of the Reach	Igmund	Find Hrolfdir's Shield	Vlindrel Hall	Argis the Bulwark	Blade of the Reach
	Thongvor Silver-Blood	The Battle for Fort Sungard
Thane of the Rift	Laila Law-Giver	Supply and Demand	Honeyside	Iona	Blade of the Rift
	Maven Black-Briar
Thane of Whiterun	Balgruuf the Greater	Dragon Rising	Breezehome	Lydia	Axe of Whiterun
	Vignar Gray-Mane	Battle for Whiterun			Blade of Whiterun
Thane of Winterhold	Korir	Find the Helm of Winterhold	-	-	Blade of Winterhold
	Kraldar	Rescue from Fort Kastav

†	All honorary weapons listed are randomly assigned enchanted melee weapons. More info can be found on this page.

NPC Thanes

NPCs that are thanes are typically identified through dialogue. There is no specific faction marking for thanes only, but all of them are contained in the same faction as jarls: JobJarlFaction.

Thane Erikur of Haafingar

Name	Hold	House	Notes
Bryling	Haafingar	Bryling's House	Owns Stonehills settlement and Rockwallow Mine
Dengeir of Stuhn	Falkreath Hold	Dengeir's House	Former Jarl of Falkreath, deposed by his nephew Siddgeir. Siding with the Stormcloaks will allow him to regain the title of Jarl.
Erikur	Haafingar	Erikur's House	Sister is the steward Gisli.
Hrongar	Whiterun Hold	Dragonsreach	Brother of Jarl Balgruuf the Greater

Mjoll the Lioness is declared by the Rift's jarl, Laila Law-Giver, to be a champion of the people. Her virtue and heroic nature are extolled by Laila, but this only represents one facet of being a thane.

Notes

• If the jarl that granted you thane is replaced through the events of the civil war or via Season Unending you will lose the title. New jarls are willing to allow you to start at the beginning of the thane quest for helping them become jarl. The sole exception is Haafingar, where Elisif does not get replaced.
• Using the Investor perk to invest in merchants befriends them. Also, selling produce to farmers, selling firewood to lumberjacks, and selling ore to mine owners befriends them. There is also the Companions radiant quest Rescue Mission which, if completed successfully, befriends the randomly-selected citizen selected by it.
• If Season Unending has been used to change the jarls of holds, the new jarls may allow you to become thane without completing any other prerequisite quests in some cases.