The office, rank, or jurisdiction of a hersir (a Norse nobleman or leader); authority or dominion held by such a figure.
From Old Norse 'hersir' (plural of 'hersir,' meaning warrior or nobleman) + the English suffix '-ship,' used to denote rank or office.
The concept of 'hership' shows how Norse and Viking political structures influenced English terminology—the suffix '-ship' (as in 'kingship' or 'lordship') comes directly from Old Norse practice.
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