Back in Medieval times, a Thane was a man who held power within his county or region, he was rich and held a huge estate that towered over the smaller houses in the city or village. In Skyrim, this is much the same since the player is given an element of power once being granted the title of a Thane by the Jarl. However, compared to how a Thane was portrayed throughout history, it really makes you wonder how important your latest Skyrim character actually is.
There are multiple parts of being a Thane that don’t line up with its historical accuracy but then again you do play a Dragonborn, and that isn’t exactly historically accurate. Nevertheless, there are multiple occasions where the player finds themselves wondering why they went through the effort of slaying dragons, vampires, and bandits just for the title of Thane.
10 You Don’t Get Any Money
One of the main things a Thane is known for is money. They are famously rich and end up passing their wealth down for generations, so when the player completes their first mission and gains the title of a Thane many players are left confused at the lack of reward and development the character receives.
Rather than being able to live up to their new title, the player needs to hunt around and scavenge for money as they used to, something that can be extremely frustrating. It certainly feels like you’ve made no progress.
9 You Still Have To Pay For A House
Not only does the Jarl refuse to give you money but he also expects you to buy a house, stating that he can only make you a Thane if you possess a house in that specific Hold. So after completing the battles and helping the citizens you must then fight to get some money to buy a tiny house just so you can say you’re a Thane.
Traditionally Thanes had mansions and huge estates for their servants to live in as well as the rest of the family. They never had to even think about finding the money for a house. Even if they didn’t have one, the king or whoever bestowed the name on them would have got one for them!
8 You Can Be A Thane Of More Than One Hold
Whilst playing Skyrim, the player can traverse mountains and explore a multitude of different locations, most of which you can change, get banished from, or become a Thane in. Whilst this makes for some wonderful weapons and a wide variety of homes to put children and so many useless items inside, it just doesn’t make sense.
Many fans and gamers have questioned if being a Thane of more than one Hold actually works with the lore of the game, and to be honest it doesn’t. It places the players’ loyalties all over Skyrim. While it has no repercussions, people wanting to play the game true to the lore will end up struggling when it comes to becoming a Thane.
7 No Treasure From Some Holds
This can often be extremely frustrating since some locations can hand out amazing loot from becoming a Thane, but then the player gets to that one location like Eastmarch and they get nothing. As a Thane, most would expect a gift if they are not getting money or a house. They would expect to hold something that shows others the power they have had bestowed on them. However certain locations just give you nothing.
It makes no sense that the player has gone out and put their lives at risk to fight a dragon on their own only to get a title. More often than not the player finds themselves walking away from these quests with the loot they got from the kills and nothing else.
6 You Can Only Get Out Of One Murder Per Hold
Despite getting no gold, no house, and sometimes no treasure, there are still some pretty helpful perks to being a Thane. One of the main ones, depending on where the players’ morality lies, is that they can get away with murder and other small crimes without punishment. This can be very useful for some quests, or just if someone is getting a little too annoying.
As awesome as this sounds, players can only get away with murder once. This can prove to be frustrating when a town requires a little fighting. When Thanes were popular in history they were ultimately above most laws, aside from treason, and could usually get away with murder so long as it wasn’t too prolific. For the sake of accuracy Skyrim Thanes should too!
5 You Have To Help Out Citizens
Thinking back to historical Thanes, there is no way they helped any citizens in their quest for power. If anything they stepped all over them and probably used a few as stepping stones to gain the money they needed. This isn’t to say that Skyrim should have their Thanes acting like villains, but it can certainly be irritating when you have to traipse around each Hold giving money or helping a baker with his quest for flour when you could be slaying a deadly dragon or fighting a bloodsucking vampire.
In the quest to become a Thane, helping citizens becomes one of the most tedious jobs, luckily most players do it without realizing. Just handing beggers money or picking up quests for some quick coin are consider to be helping the citizens.
4 No One Treats You Differently
You’d think that once becoming a Thane, interactions with guards or citizens would change. Being a person of such high esteem would certainly warrant a lot more respect when Thanes were a thing so why doesn’t your character get any of that too?
Obviously, it isn’t really that simple since no one would want to rewrite the entire game just because the character fought a dragon and made a Jarl happy, but it certainly makes no sense when you find out that no one really cares about your status, especially guards, well unless you want to get away with murder.
3 You Only Get One Housecarl
It’s common knowledge that throughout history people’s status has been dictated by the amount of money, servants, and land they own. So to only get one housecarl seems a little odd, despite them being pretty useful.
A Thane is the equivalent of a Lord and holds a sizeable amount of power in their county. They would most certainly have upwards of 10 servants in their estate to help with the cooking, cleaning, gardening, and serving the Thanes themselves. When the player is granted the same status, getting only one helper is a bit of an insult.
2 You Gain No Power
Along with getting no money, no house, and only one housecarl, the player pretty much holds no power over anything or anyone. They are never expected to speak their mind or opinion, rather serving as a glorified guard for the Jarl as he sends the player off to kill anything threatening him.
While this is one of the Thane’s jobs, most players find themselves in the same position as they were before which makes becoming a thane pretty useless, aside from completing quests.
1 You Have To Fight For It
For the most part, the player has to defeat a big enemy in order to be named a Thane. But when you go and talk to Jarl Elisif to become the Thane of Solitude most players will notice the rather useless Thane, Erikur.
Erikur hardly looks like a warrior and is ultimately disliked by most people in Solitude which begs the question, how did he actually become a Thane? He may have fought but he certainly didn’t kill a dragon or help the citizens as he doesn’t have the personality for that. Ultimately it feels a little biased that the player has to risk their lives on multiple occasions when other Thanes most likely don’t.
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