A thegn, in Anglo-Saxon society, was an aristocratic retainer of a king or nobleman in Dark Ages-era Britain. The thegns acted as a judicial committee whenever a case in court was brought before a king or noble, and they also held lands in their own counties. However, as the class rapidly expanded, they began to lose their claims to land, and they became a warrior class of society, above the thralls. Later, the thegns would be replaced by the huscarls.