Hearthweru

The Hiredmenn or Hearthweru (Old English: heorþ-werod), also known as Hearthguard, were the household retainers of an Anglo-Saxon lord or king. An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary defines them as "A band of household retainers". They're closely comparable to later Housecarls and the Comitatus.

There term for a lord or great man's household in Old English, was Híréd, cognate with Hird, and heorþ referred to the house's Hearth. In addition, they had a litany of terms for the member of a lord's household. This included cniht, hiredmann (hirdman), and after the Danish Conquest of England, huscarl. Cniht would develop into the modern term, knight. Not all of these words are exact synonyms, and hiredmann also refers to paid warriors.

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