Holds are the 9 administrative divisions of Skyrim.

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.

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 HoldsEdit

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.^[1] The Old Holds are binded together in history, as these holds were inhabited by the ancient Nords. 

The Holds of SkyrimEdit

Hold	Capital	Jarl	Allegiance[note 1]	Potential Jarl
Eastmarch	Windhelm	Ulfric Stormcloak [note 2]	Stormcloak [note 3]	Brunwulf Free-Winter
Falkreath	Falkreath	Siddgeir [note 1]	Imperial	Dengeir of Stuhn
Haafingar	Solitude [note 4]	Elisif the Fair [note 2]	Imperial [note 3]
Hjaalmarch	Morthal	Idgrod Ravencrone [note 1]	Imperial	Sorli the Builder
The Pale	Dawnstar	Skald the Elder [note 1]	Stormcloak	Brina Merilis
The Reach	Markarth	Igmund [note 1]	Imperial	Thongvor Silver-Blood
The Rift	Riften	Laila Law-Giver [note 1]	Stormcloak	Maven Black-Briar
Winterhold	Winterhold	Korir [note 1]	Stormcloak	Kraldar
Whiterun	Whiterun	Balgruuf the Greater [note 1]	Neutral, later Imperial	Vignar Gray-Mane

FootnotesEdit

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7} These can change if the Dragonborn undertakes the Skyrim Civil War questline.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} These Jarls claim the title of High King or Queen.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Eastmarch and Haafingar are the "centers" of their respective factions.
4. ↑ Solitude is also the overall capital of Skyrim.

   5. When taking a carriage to a hold, holds that have no walls (Falkreath, Morthal, Dawnstar, and Winterhold) cost 50 gold, where as those with walls cost 20 gold.

See AlsoEdit

• County

ReferencesEdit

AppearancesEdit

• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Start a Discussion Discussions about Holds

• 

  The House Lords of Skyrim - Chapter I: The Great Houses - Part I: Friend or Foe?

  2 messages
  • 
    HolyWyvern
    It's the first year of the Fourth Era. The Oblivion Crisis just ended, the Ruby Throne lies empty, the Crystal Tower has been destroyed - allow... 2014-04-15T00:29:20Z
  • 
    HolyWyvern
    (HellooooOoOo? Someone wants to join?! D:) 2014-04-16T23:06:14Z
• 

  9 masks, 9 holds?

  170 messages
  • 
    Zephrim
    Oh no its not associated with any hold any more than say Labyrinthian. Back in the Merethic both of those places were major cities in their ... 2014-02-27T22:14:28Z
  • 
    KawaiiFez
    That makes sense. The boarders (considering Tamriel's insane amount of wars) have probably changed a lot over time. This sort of paralels ... 2014-02-28T14:06:07Z

See more discussions >