Lit. 'king's thegn'. Although *DB occasionally applies the term to great pre-Conquest landholders subject only to the king, it is primarily used of lesser royal officials, whose expertise was necessary to the incoming Norman administration and who therefore continued to hold land in 1086. These taini regis held their lands by *thegnage, a tenure analogous to *serjeanty and soon amalgamated with it. Many 13c serjeanties can be traced back to lands held by taini regis in 1086. -
Cf. Thegn
Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases. Christopher Coredon with Ann Williams.