Holds

Map of Skyrim.

Holds are the nine administrative divisions of Skyrim, different from each other both in climate and local government.

Each of the nine Holds is governed by a Jarl who resides in the Hold's capital city. The Jarls are largely independent, but swear fealty to Skyrim's High King, who in turn swears fealty to the Emperor upon joining the Septim empire in the late Second Era.

Each Hold also employs their own guards, who can be identified by the color of their uniform and the Hold symbol they bear on their shields.

Given the independent nature of governance, crimes are tracked independently by each Hold, and a criminal who is wanted in one Hold may have no bounty in another.

Old Holds

Main article: Old Holds

Winterhold, Eastmarch, The Rift and The Pale are known collectively as the "Old Holds," and have remained more isolated—not only from a geographic standpoint, but a political one as well, given that they are all initially aligned with the Stormcloaks during the civil war. The Old Holds are bound together in history, as these holds were inhabited by the ancient Nords.

West Skyrim

Main article: West Skyrim

Falkreath, Haafingar, Hjaalmarch, The Reach, and Whiterun are all a part of West Skyrim. The Nords of Western Skyrim are known to be progressive and would see an influence from the Empires of Cyrodiil and other places such as High Rock or Hammerfell. These Holds tend to stick with each other in times of war such as during the Skyrim Civil War and the Alliance War.

The Holds of Skyrim

Hold	Capital	Jarl	Allegiance	Potential Jarl	Guard Armor Color
Eastmarch	Windhelm	Ulfric Stormcloak	Stormcloak	Brunwulf Free-Winter	Blue
Falkreath	Falkreath	Siddgeir	Imperial	Dengeir of Stuhn	Grey Blue
Haafingar	Solitude	Elisif the Fair	Imperial	-	Red
Hjaalmarch	Morthal	Idgrod Ravencrone	Imperial	Sorli the Builder	Pale Green
The Pale	Dawnstar	Skald the Elder	Stormcloak	Brina Merilis	Cream
The Reach	Markarth	Igmund	Imperial	Thongvor Silver-Blood	Green
The Rift	Riften	Laila Law-Giver	Stormcloak	Maven Black-Briar	Purple
Whiterun	Whiterun	Balgruuf the Greater	Neutral, later Imperial	Vignar Gray-Mane	Yellow
Winterhold	Winterhold	Korir	Stormcloak	Kraldar	White

Trivia

• Taking a carriage to a hold that has no stables (Falkreath, Morthal, Dawnstar, and Winterhold) costs 50 , whereas those with stables (Windhelm, Solitude, Markarth, Riften, and Whiterun) costs 20 .
• The carriage drivers posted outside Windhelm, Solitude, Markarth, Riften, and Whiterun can be asked what they know about said capital.

See also

• County

Appearances

• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim