Becoming Thane

After you kill the dragon in the Main Quest Dragon Rising, Jarl Balgruuf the Greater decides to give the Dragonborn the title of Thane of Whiterun, giving a housecarl (Lydia), and allowing the purchase of property in the city. Guards will also think twice before arresting a Thane.

Whiterun isn't the only Hold where you can become Thane. This page is here to help you if you decide to take your lust for power to the other holds in Skyrim. The standard formula for each hold is to complete a specific quest or objective for the Jarl and then help out a specific number of citizens within the hold, either by doing quests, miscellaneous objectives, or helping out some other way.

Via Imperial Legion questline
-Complete "Blood on the Ice."

-After completing the Reunification of Skyrim quest, Brunwulf Free-Winter will become Jarl of Windhelm. Speak to him, he will offer you the title of Thane contingent on you helping 5 people of Windhelm and purchasing Hjerim from his steward. Once you've completed those two objectives, Brunwulf will grant you the title of Thane, give you a leveled weapon (unknown) of Eastmarch and appoint you a housecarl.

NOTE : For some players the quest is bugged.

BUG: Finishing the Imperial Legion quest line gets rid of a critical guard NPC to the quest Blood on the Ice. Doing it before Blood on Ice makes it impossible to become Thane as the quest will not start and you will not be able to buy the house. (PS3 confirmed). You can however, enter your home before adding decorations, and investigate the murder scene inside, which will start the quest Blood on the Ice. On PC, you may purchase Hjerim and start the quest that way.

OR

Via Stormcloak questline
-Complete Blood on the Ice.

-Progress through the Stormcloak quests until Liberation of Skyrim: Liberate Falkreath Hold. Ulfric will then say the men have been calling you the "Bone-Breaker," offer you the option to purchase a home in Windhelm and hand you a leveled weapon. Speak to Jorleif to purchase Hjerim.

NOTE: You are not Thane at this point, but at least you have a home in Windhelm.

-There are two ways to becomeThane of Eastmarch.
 * 1) Liberate all of the holds that are in Imperial command (Falkreath, The Reach, and Hjaalmarch ), up until the Solitude mission. From there, Ulfric will tell you to go to the Stormcloak Camp outside of Solitude, and will promote you to a Stormcloak Officer, which comes with a new set of armour (the same set that Galmar Stone-Fist owns), "Stormcloak Officer Armour ". After finishing your conversation with him, talk to him again, and he will offer you the title of Thane, which is contingent on helping 5 citizens of Windhelm, and purchasing the house, "Hjerim ".
 * 2) Complete, "Blood on the Ice " and, "Rescue from Fort Neugrad ". Upon completing the rescue mission, report back to Ulfric. After talking through all of the conversational options that relate to the questline, exit the, "conversation" with him, then talk with him again. There should be an option saying, "My Jarl, is there anything else you need?" He will offer you the title of Thane, so long as you; purchase Hjerim, and become more well known by the people of Windhelm (help 5 people within the city). Complete these tasks, and you can become the new Thane of Eastmarch.
 * Upon receiving the title of Thane, you also receive a leveled axe or waraxe bearing the name, "Axe of Eastmarch ".

-Helping 5 citizens of Windhelm is simple; (this first piece is simply from my own personal experiece) once you've completed, "Blood on the Ice " and followed the steps above, you should have 2/5 completed. If not, simply talk to the Captain about the murders (despite having completed the quest already) and it should make the total 2/5. Next, find the two beggars roaming somewhere around the center of the city, give them a coin, and that's two more people that you've helped. Then, find the drunken Dark Elf racist that hangs out at and/ or near Candlehearth Hall, challenge him to a fight, win (collect a nice little 100g), and that should bring your total up to 5/5. If this doesn't work, there are plenty of odd-job quests to be done, the easist being found in the market place, and in the Dark Elf slums.

Falkreath Hold (Capital: Falkreath)
This Hold is as straightforward as Hjaalmarch: Obtain a drink for the Jarl, then kill the assigned Bandit Leader. Complete three quests/miscellaneous objectives for locals and you're set.

-Quest objective for the Jarl will be different depending on civil war quests.
 * Sell vegetables at Corpselight Farm.
 * Deliver ashes to the Hall of the Dead for Thadgeir (Dengeir's house).
 * Retrieve Runil's Journal from an ambient location.
 * Sell firewood at Half-Moon Mill.
 * Steal a private letter from Lod for Dengeir.
 * Complete A Daedra's Best Friend.
 * Complete Ill Met By Moonlight.

- Note that the starting quest for the jarl to obtain a drink is a "radiant" quest that you cannot pick up if you currently are on one of the others like it, those quest are:

So if you have one of these quests, finish that before you try and become thane, or else Siddgeir will not give you any quests.
 * Getting the book The Mirror for captain Aldis in Solitude
 * Getting a Mammoth Tusk for Ysolda in Whiterun
 * Getting the book Song of the Alchemists for Lami in Morthal
 * Getting the book Night falls on Sentinel for Rustleif in Dawnstar
 * Getting an Amulet of Arkey for Thorbjorn Shatter-Shield in Windhelm

Haafingar (Capital: Solitude)
Talk to Falk Firebeard in the Blue Palace, and he will give you the quest The Man Who Cried Wolf, summoning you to investigate lights and sounds coming out of Wolf Skull Cave which is located in the mountains west of Solitude. After completing the quest, talk to Falk again and he will reward you. You may then speak directly to the Jarl herself, and she will thank you and give you one more task.

She will ask you to place Torygg’s War Horn on the Shrine of Talos as a tribute to her late husband. Take the War Horn to the specifed Shrine and place it at the foot of the statue of Talos, then return to Elisif for your reward.

After you have completed this task go back and talk to the Jarl. She will invite you to be a thane of hers but in order to be a Thane, you must first own property in Solitude and be known throughout the hold. This property can be purchased from Falk for 25000 gold pieces. Being known throughout the hold is done by helping out 5 of the citizens with their miscellaneous quests. Some of the quests are below.


 * Ask Aldis for information about Angeline Morrard's daughter.


 * Giving Potema's skull to Styrr during the quest The Wolf Queen Awakened


 * Deliver the Stros M'Kai Rum to Falk Firebeard for Sorex Vinius.


 * Talk to Corpulus Vinius about letting Belrand off his debts.
 * Talk to Indaskr about letting Octieve San off his debts
 * Retrieve Noster's Helmet for Noster Eagle-Eye.
 * Chop and Sell Firewood to Hjorunn at Solitude Sawmill
 * Give a coin to a begger like Noster Eagle-Eye
 * Sell something like potatoes, leeks, or wheat to Katla at Katla's Farm

Once you buy the property and help the citizens, go and talk to her, and she will appoint you to be a Thane of Haafingar.

You will also be given the Blade of Haafingar.

Note: Some time after you clear out Wolf Skull Cave and after you have leveled at least once, you will receive a letter from a courier asking you to speak to Falk once more. This is a quest to hunt down Potema's spirit, The Wolf Queen Awakened. It is not required to become Thane, but completing it counts toward your total of helping citizens in Solitude.

Hjaalmarch (Capital: Morthal)
Becoming Thane of Hjaalmarch is fairly straightforward. First, you investigate the house that burned down, and then complete the subsequent quests. The grateful Jarl will tell you that she'd be happy to make you Thane as long as you are "known through her Hold." This translates into helping three different people, most of whom can be found in Morthal.
 * Idgrod the Younger asks you to deliver a note to Danica Pure-Spring in Whiterun.
 * Challenge and beat Benor to fisticuffs or drop armor near him then talk to him and select the option that lets him take the armor drop, thus getting him as a follower.
 * Chop firewood and sell it to Jorgen located at the mill.
 * Deliver a message from Gorm to Captain Aldis in Solitude.
 * Find a copy of "Song of the Alchemists" for Lami.
 * Sell ore at Rockwallow Mine.

You are also given the Blade of Hjaalmarch.

The Pale (Capital: Dawnstar)
Thane of The Pale is obtained by completing the following tasks:

The quest Waking Nightmare begun by talking to Erandur in the inn.

Then complete three minor quests An eighth quest for the local museum also exists, but it does not count towards the quest.
 * Give a drink to Karl, one of the miners.
 * Sell iron ore to Beitild (Possibly killed by the player during Contract: Kill Beitild).
 * Sell quicksilver ore to Leigelf.
 * Bring Night Falls on Sentinel to Rustleif
 * Fetch Fine cut Void Salts for Captain Wayfinder.
 * Fetching the Ring of Pure Mixtures for Frida in The Mortar and Pestle.
 * Sell firewood to Aeri at Anga's Mill far south east of The Pale (also possibly killed during Contract: Kill Ennodius Papius.

When selling firewood to Aeri she will ask you to deliver a letter the Jarl, this does not count towards the quest.

The Reach (Capital: Markarth)
To become Thane of Markarth the player needs to kill groups of Forsworn for the Jarl and his steward, and then retrieve Hrolfdir's Shield (this quest is only given when the player is level 20 or higher). The player must then help five citizens of Markarth and own Vlindrel Hall to become Thane.


 * Completing the quest Mourning Never Comes.


 * Deliver spiced beef to Voada for Banni


 * Steal the Dibella statue for Degaine.


 * Find The Last Scabbard of Akrash for Ghorza.
 * Complete The Forsworn Conspiracy killing Madanach in the mine.
 * Clear the hall of the dead for Brother Verulus.


 * The second part of The Book of Love Quest.
 * Kill Nimhe for Calcelmo.
 * Deliver the Stallion's Potion to Raerek for Bothela.
 * Retrieve Lisbet's stolen Dibella statue.
 * Deliver a ring to Calcelmo for Kerah.
 * Talk to Mulush gro-Shugurz for Omluag

Alternatively, the player can side with the Stormcloaks and take The Reach by force through the Civil War quests. This will change the Jarl to Thongvor Silver-Blood and the player will immediately be granted the permission to purchase property and become thane without doing the quest for Igmund's shield or helping out the people of Markarth. This is the easiest way to become thane of Markarth.

The above is also possible if the player negotiated the exchange of Markarth during Season Unending.

You are given Blade of the Reach.

The Rift (Capital: Riften)
Connected to the Thieves Guild Quests.

It is possible to become Thane without completing any of the Thieves' Guild quests. Speak to the Argonian named Wujeeta in the fishery, this is on the docks outside the city. Give her the Potion of Healing that she asks for, then ask her about her skooma dealer. Speak to the Jarl to begin the Skooma Trade Quest. Then complete the help x people requirement, and you become Thane, pending purchase of Honeyside.

You MUST have the miscellaneous quest of speaking to the Jarl of Riften activated to get the dialogue for becoming thane and buying a house.

NOTE: If you become Thane before Maven is possibly made Jarl, then you may receive a Random Two-handed Enchanted Weapon. (Xbox 360 confirmed, PC).

GLITCH: Make sure you buy your house and IMMEDIATELY talk to the Jarl afterwards to become Thane. If you go to the house first she will not make you Thane. You get to keep the house but you don't get a House Carl.

FIX: Find Wujeeta in Haelga's Bunkhouse (or anywhere else, this is just where she sleeps) and receive the quest to elimintae the Skooma dealer in Riften. Once you've finished (and told the Jarl so), the dialogue allowing you to become Thane should become available again, assuming you've helped the required number of citizens. (confirmed Xbox 360 with Maven Black-Briar as Jarl)(does not work on PS3 with Laila Law-Giver as Jarl, Patch 1.4)

Whiterun Hold (Capital: Whiterun)
As stated above, the Dragonborn can become Thane of Whiterun during one of the earliest main quests. Simply kill the dragon, discover that the player is Dragonborn, and the Jarl becomes eager to dub them Thane of Whiterun.

After becoming Thane of Whiterun the Jarl will hand you the Axe of Whiterun.

Siding with the Stormcloaks in the Civil War places Vignar Gray-Mane on the throne as Jarl of Whiterun and the Dragonborn's status as Thane is revoked. To become Thane again, the Dragonborn must assist five citizens of Whiterun and purchase Breezehome.

Note: If you were already a Thane to the previous Jarl of Whiterun and if you had already assisted the five citizens and purchased Breezehome, speaking to Vignar after he is promoted to Jarl about becoming thane will automatically complete those quests and then you can just speak to him and he'll hand you a Blade of Whiterun and grant you the title of Thane again.

Winterhold (Capital: Winterhold)
Retrieve the helm from a radiant location for the Jarl Korir, and then as usual, help three of the people.
 * Give Ranmir at The Frozen Hearth Inn a drink, either Ale or Mead. The drink does not necessarily have to be bought, but found.
 * Drop any piece of Apparel from player's Inventory inside The Frozen Hearth inn and let someone pick it up; it is likely that the piece will not actually be taken and can be looted back from the ground.
 * Help Dagur convince Ranmir to pay his bar tab.
 * Invest in Birna's Oddments
 * Steal Nelacar's staff for Malur Seloth.
 * Sell Ore at Whistling Mine.
 * Cleanse the focal points for Drevis Neloren at the College of Winterhold.
 * Completing the quest First Lessons at the college also counts, surprisingly.

Reward: Blade of Winterhold

Note: It is possible, after helping Ranmir with a drink, and then encouraging him to settle his debts, that you can sleep in the Inn's bed's for free.

Trivia

 * Giving a coin to a beggar counts as assisting a citizen.
 * Dropping an item and granting an NPC's request to take it counts as assisting a citizen.
 * Some quests do NOT count as assisting a citizen, even if it seems it should.
 * If you have the Investor perk from the Speech skill tree then investing in a shop counts as assisting a citizen.
 * Defeating a Dragon inside any town will count towards helping citizens. This works with lured dragons and other creatures.
 * Killing a follower who has turned into Werewolf will also count. This seems to work with all the Companions.
 * Helping a blacksmith in any town counts. (Can only be done once in the game)
 * Helping one NPC on two different missions will only count as one assist.
 * Brawling with a citizen counts toward helping the citizens

Bugs
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Markarth

 * Occasionally when you first speak to the Jarl, instead of offering you quests he will immediately name you thane of Markarth, and allow you to purchase property and a housecarl. The circumstances for this occurring are currently unknown.
 * If you choose to aid the Forsworn in the quest No One Escapes Cidhna Mine before starting the quest chain to become Thane, the Steward may no longer offer you the quests required, making that route to becoming Thane inaccessible.
 * Argis the Bulwark may not be appointed as housecarl and never appears in Vlindrel Hall.
 * If you become Thane before the quest Season Unending, you must rehelp the citizens of The Reach.(unknown if taking over the city in the civil war will make you thane again)

Morthal

 * Sometimes after speaking to Jorgen to complete the "Mehrunes' Razor" quest he disappears for good (confirmed PS3).

Riften

 * After completing the skooma quest in Riften for the Jarl, a miscellaneous quest indicates to return to and speak to her. When you're done, you are to buy Honeyside from her steward. If you visit your home immediately after purchasing it, and then try speaking with the Jarl, the quest to return to the Jarl of Riften remains in your quest log and the dialogue to become Thane never triggers.
 * Immediately after purchasing Honeyside, do NOT visit your house or purchase decorations. Instead, talk to the Jarl and she will give you the title. You are then free to visit your home and purchase decor.
 * Player.setstage FreeformRiftenThane 200
 * If you wait for awhile and come back to her, the option to become thane appears
 * When you become Thane you may receive a Blessed Iron Warhammer instead of the Blade of the Rift.
 * If the civil war is completed by siding with the imperials, you will be granted the ability to receive the house immediately, but will be unable to become thane and reap the benefits, as the topic of thane never appears.

Solitude

 * Jarl Elisif will tell you that you may become Thane by buying a house and helping 5 people within her hold, though the quest doesn't initiate. This causes it to be impossible to become Thane of Solitude (though the player may still purchase the house).
 * Quest will not be active after speaking Elsif if the player has not purchased the house. Once the house is purchased and the player has already done any of the helping actions the quest will appear in the quest log Assist the People of Haafingar N/5. Complete the necessary remaining items and it will properly transition to the next task of speaking to Elsif. If the player has already completed 5/5 item in the quest finding and completing a 6th will move it forward and add the task of speaking with Elsif.
 * Despite being named Thane, it will still show up in uncompleted misc quests to help the people of Solitude, despite it saying you have helped 5/5. This doesn't prevent any quests though, and is but a small annoyance.
 * FIX - Use the console command "setRelationshipRank player 2" while targeting a citizen in Solitude, this will cause them to regard you as a friend, update the journal objective to 6/5, and auto-complete. Simply setting the related global variable will not update the journal, so this method must be used.
 * FIX - Preform any task not previously done to get 6/5 which will then auto complete. Chopped wood for Hjorunn for 6th task.
 * The quest to help 5 people (Assist the People of Haafingar) may get "stuck" (i.e. not update after completing quests for citizens), thus preventing the player from becoming Thane. Irrespective of how many people helped, the value may always read 4/5 even though the trophy is awarded for becoming well known in the region.
 * FIX - Invest in a store with the investor perk.
 * After Completing the quest to place Jarl Elisif's husband horn at the Shrine of Talos, do not pick it back up as it does not allow for the dialog box to appear on return of the completed quest.

Whiterun

 * If siding with the Stormcloaks, after capturing the city, Vignar Gray-Mane will offer the title of Thane to you again. However, you may find Brill, Vignar's new Steward, dead at the front gates with nothing equipped.

Winterhold

 * During the quest it is possible for Ranmir to be killed by the magical orbs that invade Winterhold rendering his quest unavailable.
 * Sometimes if the Dragonborn becomes the Archmage of the college before speaking to the Jarl, the Jarl may not give the option to become a Thane.
 * After player return the Helm of Winterhold to the Jarl, it is possible that the Jarl will ask player to retrieve the Helm of Winterhold again and again. It may possibly be caused by the player pickpocketing the Helm of Winterhold after returning it.
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