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 bound 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

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  9 masks, 9 holds?

  181 messages
  • 
    A Wikia contributor
    If I may leap in… Looking at the lore, we can say that the Dragon Cult arrives in Skyrim with the Atmorans, and therefore we can also ... 2014-07-22T07:13:58Z
  • 
    A Wikia contributor
    There's some discussion about the number 9 in this, and based on what I've looked at, I don't think it's 9, I think its 8+1. Seems like a w... 2014-07-24T04:42:10Z
• 

  Will Rorikstead become its own hold?

  26 messages
  • 
    A Wikia contributor
    Whiterun most probably won't fragment. It's actually a thriving hold that is almost independent of its neighbours.That is why,in the fi... 2014-01-02T14:48:57Z
  • 
    A Wikia contributor
    I can see it becoming a big town/city but not a hold, I'd love to see that tbh 2014-07-05T14:15:16Z

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