medieval-atlas/administration/187

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Shires and thanages This and the next map show. respectively, the location of portions described as 'extensive', because very little land was retained to be of royal and magnatial demesne to which record applied the deexploited directly by the lord and very little use was made of yearscriptive or defining term 'shire' in the period from about 1100 to round. servile or 'manorial' labour. Instead the population dwelled about 1350, and places associated in the same period with officers in dispersed settlements at varying distances from the centre, each styled 'thanes' (teinus, thaynus, toisech , in some cases 'sheriff, minsettlement constituting an agrarian unit, pastoral or crop-growing ister or prepositus), most commonly by being called 'thanages' or or a mixture of the two, and some at least of the settlements special'thanedoms' (teinagium, thanagium). It will be seen that there is a izing in a particular product such as oats, barley, cheese, geese, fish, considerable degree of correlation between the two. The key to an honey, etc. On the other hand, an estate so organised would be limunderstanding of the two phenomena is the lordship enjoyed and ited to an area within which foodstuffs could be conveniently transexercised by the kings almost certainly to be traced back into preported and tenants could travel -mostly, perhaps, on foot -to perhistoric times. This lordship was exercised over districts convenform the necessary services. The Old English and Middle English iently controlled and administered from some principal centre of term scir, scire (shire), literally 'division', was used to describe or kingly authority (often originally a fortified centre, hill-fort, promidentify such estates in much of southern and eastern Scotland (as ontory-fort or the like), and it was realised in the form of renders in indeed in northern and midland England). It is not certain what earkind. cereals, animals and other foodstuffs, certain labour services lier vernacular term was used in any of the Celtic languages, but it (often of a specialised sort such as assistance with the lord's huntseems likely that some form of the word cat/wir orcaer (loans from ing). occasionally some money rents, and a variety of semi-predial, Latin castrum, castra)was applied to shires in early times. semi-administrative functions and services. Such lordship may be • Cromdale · Alvie ( j • Shire of Gellan •Rathillet Blebo Kinrymont • . Dunning • •• .......... Muthil (?) Strathmiglo . Cupar • Kinninmonth Bishopshire Kennoway .. • Kelli;-JraiI • ~_ .-Rires ;.::;, . Carlownie (?)St:athleven-....&ocinie V..J Stirling ....... • --{ lochore • ,...., Kirkcaldy Herbertshire • • inghorn • Edinburgh /} Bunkle • Berwick upon Tweed • Shires before about 1350 Alvie and Cromdale are off map kms 0 25 50 75 100 I I I I I I I I 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 miles Shires before about 1350 GWSB 187

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