Becoming Thane

The Dragonborn can become a Thane of all the 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 in some other way.

Becoming a Thane of a Hold carries several perks, including the ability to bribe guards into ignoring minor crimes.

Imperial Legion Questline
After completing the Reunification of Skyrim quest, Brunwulf Free-Winter will become Jarl of Windhelm. The Dragonborn must speak to Brunwulf, and Brunwulf will offer the title of Thane contingent on them helping five people of Windhelm and purchasing Hjerim from Brunwulf's steward. After these two objectives have been completed, Brunwulf will grant the Dragonborn the title of Thane, give him a random leveled weapon of Eastmarch, and appoint a housecarl to serve them.

Stormcloak Questline
After progressing through the questline Liberation of Skyrim: Liberate Falkreath Hold, the Dragonborn will receive the option to become a Thane. This is done by selecting the "My Jarl, is there anything further you need?" conversation option. Ulfric Stormcloak will respond that there is a place in his court for a new Thane, but the title can only be given to one known throughout the hold and that owns property in Windhelm.

Regardless of the questline followed, there are two requirements to becoming Thane of Eastmarch: There are several easy ways to assist the people of Eastmarch: While completing Blood on the Ice is not a prerequisite of becoming a Thane of Eastmarch, the quest will automatically start upon the purchase of Hjerim. Also, if on the Legion's side in the Civil War, Brunwulf's bandit quest must be done to become a Thane anyway.
 * Purchase Hjerim from Jorleif for 12,000 gold.
 * Assist five citizens of Eastmarch.
 * Giving a gold coin to either Silda the Unseen or Angrenor Once-Honored. A septim may be given to both, on separate occasions (after the perk wears off), and that will count as two people helped.
 * Delivering Adonato Leotelli's book to Giraud Gemane in Solitude.
 * Giving mead to Torbjorn Shatter-Shield
 * Beating Rolff Stone-Fist in a brawl in the inn.
 * Retrieving Shahvee's Amulet from a radiant location for Shahvee. Free light armor and lockpick training are also given as a reward.
 * Getting better wages from Torbjorn Shatter-Shield for Argonian dock workers after talking to Scouts-Many-Marshes.
 * Stealing twice distilled skooma for Stands-In-Shallows.
 * Retrieving Queen Freydis's Sword for Oengul War-Anvil.
 * Planting Viola's Gold Ring for Revyn Sadri.
 * Clearing out a radiant location of bandits for Brunwulf Free-Winter.
 * Bringing an amulet of arkay to Torbjorn Shatter-Shield

Falkreath Hold (Capital: Falkreath)
Upon speaking to Jarl Siddgeir, he will request a bottle of Black-Briar Mead. If the Dragonborn waits to reach level ten without visiting Falkreath, the Jarl will request to see them by sending a letter.

The starting quest for the Jarl to obtain a drink is a "radiant" quest that cannot be started if the Dragonborn is already on one of the following quests considered to be part of Rare Gifts.

After getting his drink, the Jarl will give the Dragonborn a quest to kill a bandit leader in a radiant location. Upon completing this objective, the offer of becoming a Thane will be made.
 * 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 Arkay for Torbjorn Shatter-Shield in Windhelm.

It is also possible to receive a letter where Siddgeir wants to talk to the Dragonborn.

Assist three citizens of Falkreath Hold. This can be done in several ways, including: Because Falkreath has the fewest citizen quests of any hold, and because the town is so open to dragon attacks, if the player waits until the mid-game or endgame to become Thane, it can be difficult to find enough citizens alive to do three quests. This becomes an even worse problem with installed, as citizens will also be attacked by vampires. Lod (the blacksmith) and Narri (the tavern worker) can be killed. Players can usually find the remaining quests they need by finding citizens who tend to stay inside buildings and by investing 500 gold in Gray Pine Goods using the Investor Speech skill.
 * Selling vegetables at Corpselight Farm.
 * Delivering ashes to the Hall of the Dead for Thadgeir (Dengeir's house).
 * Retrieving Runil's journal from a radiant location.
 * Selling firewood at Half-Moon Mill.
 * Investing in a store.
 * Stealing a private letter from Lod for Dengeir.

The quest objective for the Jarl will be different depending on civil war quests. If the expansion is installed (and enabled), the Dragonborn may receive a letter at any time early in their adventures from Siddgeir requesting a meeting at his longhouse in Falkreath. If this is the case, if the Dragonborn goes to meet him, the first part of this quest will be skipped entirely in favor of the next part of the quest to become a Thane.

The Jarl of Falkreath is added as a citizen so when the quest is started only two citizens need to be helped.

Haafingar (Capital: Solitude)
Talk to Falk Firebeard in the Blue Palace and he will give the quest The Man Who Cried Wolf, investigating the lights and sounds coming out of Wolfskull Cave, which is located in the mountains west of Solitude. After completing the quest, talk to Falk again for a reward. Then speak directly to the Jarl herself and she will thank them and assign one more task.

She will ask that Torygg's war horn be placed on a Shrine of Talos as a tribute to her late husband. Take the war horn to the specified Shrine and place it at the foot of the statue of Talos, then return to Elisif. She will invite the Dragonborn to become a Thane, but only after meeting the requirements.
 * Purchase Proudspire Manor for 25,000 gold
 * Assist five citizens of Haafingar

There are several ways to assist the people, including:
 * Asking Aldis for information about Angeline Morrard's daughter.
 * Giving Potema's skull to Styrr during the quest The Wolf Queen Awakened.
 * Delivering the Stros M'Kai Rum to Falk Firebeard for Sorex Vinius.
 * Get Corpulus Vinius to forgive Belrand's debts.
 * Get Irnskar Ironhand to let Octieve San off his debts.
 * Retrieving Noster Eagle-Eye's helmet for him.
 * Selling firewood to Hjorunn at Solitude Sawmill.
 * Giving a coin to a beggar like Noster Eagle-Eye.
 * Wearing Radiant Rainment Fine Clothes when meeting the queen for Radiant Raiment.
 * Selling vegetables to Katla at Katla's Farm.
 * Finding the book The Mirror for Captain Aldis.
 * Releasing shipment from East Empire Trading Company for Evette San.

Once this has been done, return to Jarl Elisif and become a Thane of Haafingar and be given the Blade of Haafingar.

Some time after Wolfskull Cave has been cleaned out and the Dragonborn has leveled up at least once, a courier arrives with a letter from Falk requesting a meeting. This initiates the quest to hunt down Potema's spirit, The Wolf Queen Awakened. It is not required to become a Thane, but completing it counts toward the total of helping citizens in Solitude.

Hjaalmarch (Capital: Morthal)
Becoming Thane of Hjaalmarch is fairly straightforward. First investigate the house that burned down, and then complete the subsequent quests. The grateful Jarl will say that she'd be happy to make the Dragonborn a Thane once "known through her Hold." This translates into helping three different people(completing the quest Laid to rest may count as one of them), most of whom can be found in Morthal.

If the only reason for becoming thane is to purchase the land for the Hearthfire DLC, it is not necessary to actually finish helping with the three tasks before being allowed to purchase the land. Upon finding and speak to Aslfur, he may have a dialog option for buying a house, at which point he will say that while there are no houses available, he can sell some land. The title also includes being awarded the Blade of Hjaalmarch.
 * Idgrod the Younger asks that a note be delivered to Danica Pure-Spring in Whiterun.
 * Challenge and beat Benor in fisticuffs or drop armor near him then talk to him and select the option that lets him take the armor, allowing him to be recruited as a follower.
 * Sell firewood to Jorgen at the mill.
 * Sell firewood to Hroggar at the mill.
 * Deliver a message from Gorm to Captain Aldis in Solitude.
 * Invest in Lami's alchemy shop.
 * Sell ore at Rockwallow Mine.

Similar to Falkreath, if this is attempted late in the game, it may be difficult to find three citizens alive to help, especially if Dawnguard is installed.

The Pale (Capital: Dawnstar)
Thane of The Pale is obtained by completing the following tasks: The quest Waking Nightmare, which is begun by talking to Erandur in the Windpeak Inn. Then complete three minor quests.

The Dragonborn must be level 22 to obtain the quest to kill a giant, which then leads to the offer to become a Thane (after completing the three minor quests) the Blade of the Pale is awarded along with the title.
 * Give a drink to Karl, one of the miners.
 * Sell iron ore to Beitild (unless already killed during Contract: Kill Beitild).
 * Sell quicksilver ore to Leigelf.
 * Bring Night Falls on Sentinel to Rustleif or invest 500 gold in his shop.
 * Fetch Fine cut void salts for Captain Wayfinder.
 * Fetch the Ring of Pure Mixtures for Frida in The Mortar and Pestle or invest 500 gold in her shop.
 * Sell firewood to Aeri at Anga's Mill in the far south east of The Pale (unless killed during Contract: Kill Ennodius Papius).
 * Report Cicero to the guard for Vantus Loreius outside Loreius Farm.
 * An eighth quest for the local museum also exists, but it does not count towards the quest.
 * When selling firewood to Aeri, she will ask that a letter be delivered to the Jarl; this does not count towards the quest.

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


 * Completing the quest Mourning Never Comes.
 * Deliver spiced beef to Voada for Banning
 * Steal the Dibella statue for Degaine.
 * Give a drink to 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
 * Give a Daedra Heart to Moth gro-Bagol.

Alternatively, the Dragonborn 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 Dragonborn will immediately be granted the permission to purchase property and become a Thane without doing anything else.

The above is also possible if the Dragonborn negotiated the exchange of Markarth during Season Unending. The Blade of the Reach is awarded along with the title.

The Rift (Capital: Riften)
Speak to the Argonian named Wujeeta in the fishery 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.

Unlike every other Thane quest, at least 3 other quests to help citizens of the Rift must be completed before the Jarl will offer the title. When enough citizens have been helped, a new miscellaneous quest will appear named, "Speak to the Jarl of Riften.. Before the title can be accepted, Honeyside must be purchased (normally 8,000 gold, it can be purchased with only 5,000). There are a number of quests that can be completed to assist the citizens of the Rift. They include:
 * Help Shadr - Talk to Sapphire in Riften.
 * Help Svana Far-Shield - Talk to Indaryn, Bolli and Hofgrir Horse-Crusher.
 * Help Harrald - Delivery from Balimund.
 * Help Hafjorg - Delivery from Filnjar in Shor's Stone.
 * Help Hofgrir Horse-Crusher - challenge him in a brawl.
 * Help Alessandra - Delivery to Andurs in Whiterun.
 * Help Bolli - Delivery to Kleppr in Markarth.
 * Help Wylandriah - Delivery from Ivarstead, Winterhold and Windhelm.
 * Help Talen-Jei - Find him three flawless amethysts
 * Help Marise Aravel - Find her five ice wraith teeth.
 * Help Ingun Black-Briar - Find her twenty each Deathbell, Nightshade and Nirnroot.
 * Help Madesi - Find him a piece of gold ore, a mammoth tusk and two flawless sapphires.
 * Help Balimund - Find him ten fire salts.
 * Help Snilf - Donation.
 * Help Edda - Donation.
 * Help Anuriel/Hemming Black-Briar - Bounty Quests (Unlimited).
 * Help Dravin - Quest Dravin's Bow.
 * Help Brand-Shei - Quest Wreck of The Pride of Tel Vos.
 * Help Mjoll the Lioness - Quest Retrieve Grimsever.
 * Help From-Deepest-Fathoms - Quest Unfathomable Depths.

Whiterun Hold (Capital: Whiterun)
The Dragonborn becomes a Thane of Whiterun as part of the main quest. After killing the dragon at the Western Watch Tower and revealing that they are the Dragonborn, the Jarl becomes eager to dub them Thane of Whiterun. After becoming a Thane of Whiterun the Jarl will award them 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 a Thane again, the Dragonborn must assist five citizens of Whiterun and purchase Breezehome, (if this hasn't already been done). Speak to Vignar after he is promoted to Jarl about becoming a Thane. He'll award a Blade of Whiterun and grant them the title of Thane again.

Winterhold (Capital: Winterhold)
Retrieve the Helm of Winterhold from a radiant location for the Jarl Korir, and then help three people in the hold.

This can be done by
 * Give Ranmir at The Frozen Hearth Inn a drink, either ale or mead.
 * Drop any piece of apparel from the Dragonborn's inventory inside the Frozen Hearth and give someone permission to pick it up, (it is likely that the piece will not actually be taken and can be picked up later).
 * Help Haran convince Ranmir to pay his bar tab.
 * Invest in Birna's Oddments.
 * Steal Nelacar's staff for Malur Seloth.
 * Sell ore at the Whistling Mine.
 * Cleanse the focal points for Drevis Neloren at the College of Winterhold.
 * Completing the quest First Lessons at the College of Winterhold.

The Blade of Winterhold will be awarded, along with the new title.

Trivia

 * Giving a coin to a beggar counts as assisting a citizen.
 * Dropping an item and granting a character'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.
 * Investing in a shop using the Investor perk from the Speech skill tree counts as helping a citizen.
 * Defeating a Dragon inside any town will count towards helping citizens.
 * Helping a blacksmith in any town counts. (Can only be done once.)
 * Helping one character on two different missions will only count as assisting one citizen.
 * Winning a brawl with a citizen counts toward helping the citizens.
 * Brunwulf Free-Winter and Ulfric Stormcloak are two of five Jarls who will exclude the phrase "Wouldn't want them to think you're part of the common rabble, now." when granting the title of Thane of Eastmarch.

Bugs
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Markarth

 * Occasionally when first speaking to the Jarl, instead of offering quests he will immediately grant the title of thane of Markarth, and allow the purchase of property and assign a housecarl.
 * If the Forsworn were aided in the quest No One Escapes Cidhna Mine before starting the quest chain to become a Thane, the steward may no longer offer the quests required, making that route to becoming Thane inaccessible.
 * This can be fixed on the PC by using the console command "SetStage Favor157 10" to force start the quest to obtain the shield. Pressing M while the quest is highlighted on the log will cause the map give directions. Once given the shield, the Jarl will offer to let the Dragonborn buy a house, and the steward will have the dialogue to sell it.
 * Argis the Bulwark may not be appointed as housecarl and never appear in Vlindrel Hall.
 * May be fixed by buying all the upgrades to Vlindrel hall.
 * If already a Thane before the quest Season Unending, the citizens of The Reach may need to be helped again.

Morthal

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

Riften

 * After completing the Skooma Trade quest in Riften for the Jarl, a miscellaneous quest indicates to return and speak to her. When done, the next step is to buy Honeyside from her steward. If Honeyside is visited immediately after purchasing it, and then the Dragonborn tries speaking with the Jarl, the quest to return to the Jarl of Riften remains in the quest log and the dialogue to become a Thane never triggers.
 * Using the console command "Player.setstage FreeformRiftenThane 200" may solve the problem.
 * After waiting for a while and returning to her, the option to become a Thane appears.
 * An enchanted iron weapon may be received instead of the Blade of the Rift.
 * If the Civil War is completed by siding with the Imperials, the Dragonborn will be granted the ability to receive the house immediately, but will be unable to become a Thane and reap the benefits, as the topic of becoming a Thane never appears.
 * Exception: It will appear if the Dragonborn's relationship status with Maven is high enough. However, this requires not only completing the thieves guild quest line and interacting positively with her. The Dragonborn will also have to complete the Quill of Gemination quest.
 * If the above fails, PC users can use the console to boost her relationship status, which will open up the dialogue option necessary to become thane under Maven.
 * If the Dragonborn obtains any of the quests listed above for Riften and doesn't complete one of them (i.e. it's still listed on the journal), but completes 3 alternative quests, the option to purchase a house will not appear.
 * A solution is to complete the outstanding quest(s).

Solitude

 * Jarl Elisif will say that the Dragonborn may become a Thane by buying a house and helping five people in her hold, but the quest doesn't initiate. This causes it to be impossible to become a Thane of Solitude (though the house may still be purchased).
 * Quest will not be active after speaking with Elisif if the house has not been purchased. Once the house is purchased and any of the helping actions have been done, the quest will appear in the quest log "Assist the People of Haafingar number/5". Completing the necessary remaining items will properly transition to the next task of speaking to Elisif. If five citizens have already been helped, finding and completing a sixth will move it forward and add the task of speaking with Elisif.
 * The completed quest "Assist the People of Haafingar (5/5)", may get stuck in the quest list after completion, even after becoming a Thane. This may happen if the citizens were helped before the quest to help five citizens was received.
 * A solution is to help any other citizen (either do an additional side quest, give money to Dervenin or invest in a store with the investor perk). Selling vegetables at Katla's farm works but it may take some time for the objective to complete. The count will update to "6/5" and the quest will complete and be removed.
 * After completing the quest to place Jarl Elisif's husband's horn at the Shrine of Talos, picking it back up immediately does not allow for the dialog box to appear on return of the completed quest. It can be picked up afterwards.

Whiterun

 * If siding with the Stormcloaks, after capturing the city, Vignar Gray-Mane will offer the title of Thane again. However, Brill, Vignar's new Steward, may be found 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 the Helm of Winterhold has been given to the Jarl, it is possible that Jarl Ulfric will ask that the Helm of Winterhold be retrieved again and again.
 * If the Helm of Winterhold is found after finishing the Imperial Questline, it may be necessary to lockpick Jarl Brunwulfs house to find Jarl Korir inside. After giving the helm to him the quest will not update making it impossible to become a Thane of Winterhold.
 * Upon returning the Helm of Winterhold, the Dragonborn may be asked to retrieve it again, but from a different dungeon.

Falkreath

 * Before being given the first radiant quest by Jarl Siddgeir to get him some Black-Briar Mead, the Dragonborn may have to accept a quest from Nenya, the Jarl's steward, to kill a bandit leader in one of the nearby hideouts. Once the bandit leader has been killed, the Dragonborn is directed back to Nenya to complete the quest. However when she is spoken to, the dialog option to finish the quest does not appear.
 * It is still possible to finish it by speaking to the Jarl instead, who will give the appropriate dialog.
 * The favor counter can get stuck before reaching 3/3, regardless of which quests are done.
 * This can be fixed by selling cabbages to Mathies.
 * There is a bug in which Jarl Siddgeir does not offer the quest to acquire Black-Briar Mead. There is no known way to fix this.
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