IETHELING  , an Anglo-Saxon word compounded of cethele, or ethel, meaning

noble, and ing, belonging to, and akin to the modern German words Adel, nobility, and adelig, noble . During the earliest years of the Anglo-Saxon rule in England the word was probably used to denote any person of noble birth . Its use was, however, soon restricted to members of a royal family, and in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle it is used almost exclusively for members of the royal house of Wessex . It was occasionally used after the Norman Conquest to designate members of the royal family . The earlier part of the word formed part of the name of several Anglo-Saxon kings, e.g . "Ethelbert, "Ethelwulf, "Ethelred, and was used obviously to indicate their noble birth . According to a document which probably dates from the loth century, the wergild of an aetheling was fixed at 15,000 thrymsas, or 11,250 shillings . This wergild is equal to that of an archbishop and one-half of that of a king .