medieval-atlas/administration/188

Transcription

Shires and thanages The characteristic officer responsible for administering the shire on western highlands it would be rash to say positively that shire behalf of kings, earls or bishops was known as a thane (Old English organisation and thanes or their equivalent were not normal features pegn 'one who serves').ln Tweedale, Teviotdale, Lothian and the of those areas. Nevertheless, sufficient record material survives for Merse it appears that the typical ministerial class in the earliertwelfth the west from the period before \350 to suggest that if royal lordship century, intervening between the king and the greatest magnates on was organised there in a comparable way to that found in the east, the one hand and the mass of the population on the other, was then a somewhat different vocabulary was employed by which its composed of thanes and then slightly less substantial and powerful details were habitually described. 'Shires' remained a living word in companion officials known by the Scandinavian loan-word, drengs. Scotland in the later middle ages. It cou ld still be used in the old sense In the south-eastern region references to individual thanes and of a ponion of a larger estate, as in Herbenshire, Machanshire and thanages are rare, whereas in Scotland north of Forth it is commoner Bishopshire; but from the sixteenth century the word came increasto find individual references than to thanes as a class. Owing to the inglyto be used -as it had long been used in England-as synonymous ~!!!parative lack o~ntary~rlm:I::nOCk;th SheriffdO:::n:ount ecord for the south-weS~~~ y. ~ Dingwall ~ke• Elgin Munbrie . Glendowachy -v "Moyness . Rathenech • Aberchlrder ~a •• Srodie ~ ~~ Conveth ~s• Cawdor ~ ?erdale AFormartine (Fyvle) / Cromdale • } ( .~rt!n:(Tolquhon) ~Kliilor • . Selhelvie ~ Kincardine ~.O' Neil ~ :~ ~::~ iowie '-~Fettercaim • Clova Newdosk I • -') uthnot "'-. ~Menmuir ~Aberh~thnot Glentllt Kinalty . orfie :::::::::> Strathardle \ . .... Tannady,ce • Downl~ -.qld Montrose Crannach _ _ .~II Eassie, . Aberlel)1no • -. ---:7 ~Alyth. • .Inverkeilor Fortlngall Dalmamock . GI . Idvies'" J • amls r . • • Coupar Angus ,-/ Fandow~eMonifieth ~ Scone Longforgan Strowan ~ •• . • Dairsie, Dunning Fortevlot • Kingskettlel ---- . • v~alkland~e Klnross kms 0 25 50 75 100 • Thanages recorded before about 1350 i I , i i i i , 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 miles Thanages about 1350 GWSB 188

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