Where does the shire come from?

Shire is a traditional term for a division of land, found in Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and some other English-speaking countries. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the beginning of Anglo-Saxon settlement, and spread to most of the rest of England in the tenth century.

1. Why do they call it the Shire?
2. Why do British town names end in shire?
3. What is the meaning of a shire?
4. Who divided England into shires?
5. Is the Shire based on Ireland?
6. When were shires created?
7. Do Saxons still exist?
8. Why are places called ham?
9. How many shires are in England?
10. Where is the Shire in Middle Earth?
11. What is a shire in Scotland?
12. How many shires are there in Scotland?
13. Who rules a Shire?
14. Where does the Anglo in Anglo-Saxon come from?
15. Who is Anglo-Saxon?

Why do they call it the Shire?

The word shire is very ancient and is used to denote a district or region that has its own special administration. According to the Online Etymological Dictionary linguists have proposed a Proto-Germanic asterisk-word, *skizo, as an ancient root for “shire”.

Why do British town names end in shire?

“Shire” is just the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of the old French word “county”, so Yorkshire, for example, means “County of York”. ... (Yorkshire was so vast that for much of its history it was split into east, west and north “ridings”, which basically just means “thirds”.)

What is the meaning of a shire?

1 : an administrative subdivision especially : a county in England. 2 : any of an old breed of large heavy draft horses of British origin having heavily feathered legs. Shire. geographical name.

Who divided England into shires?

The whole kingdom was divided into shires by the time of the Norman conquest. Robert of Gloucester accounts for thirty-five shires and William of Malmesbury thirty-two, Henry of Huntingdon, thirty-seven.

Is the Shire based on Ireland?

While The Shire, home to Frodo and Bilbo, in Peter Jackson's movies rests in New Zealand, not many people know that J.R.R. Tolkien's inspiration for his masterpieces “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Silmarillion” come from the karst landscape of the Burren region and Celtic legends of the west of Ireland, County Clare.

When were shires created?

In 1634, eight "shires" were created in the Virginia Colony by order of Charles I, King of England. They were renamed as counties only a few years later.

Do Saxons still exist?

While the continental Saxons are no longer a distinctive ethnic group or country, their name lives on in the names of several regions and states of Germany, including Lower Saxony (which includes central parts of the original Saxon homeland known as Old Saxony), Saxony in Upper Saxony, as well as Saxony-Anhalt (which ...

Why are places called ham?

The village of HAM in Gloucestershire—as well as the “ham” found at the end of countless place names like Birmingham and Nottingham—is derived from a widely-used Old English word, hamm, for a town or farmstead, or else an enclosure or otherwise isolated or enclosed area of land, like a hill or an area of land ...

How many shires are in England?

There are 2 types of Non-Metropolitan Counties as Shire Counties and Unitary Authorities. With a non-official definition of the Shire, there are a total of 28 Shire County in the UK.

Where is the Shire in Middle Earth?

The Shire, home of the Hobbits, is located in the north-western part of Middle-earth on the map. It's where Frodo and Bilbo Baggins started both of their epic adventures. To the west of the Misty Mountains is Rivendell, the home of the elves. Mirkwood lies to the east.

What is a shire in Scotland?

The shires of Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachdan na h-Alba), or counties of Scotland, are historic subdivisions of Scotland established in the Middle Ages and used as administrative divisions until 1975.

How many shires are there in Scotland?

Historically, Scotland was divided into 34 counties or shires. Although these no longer have any administrative function, they are still used to some extent in Scotland for cultural and geographical purposes, and some of the current council areas are named after them.

Who rules a Shire?

Shires or counties:

Each shire had its own court and was under the control of an earl. The earl had authority over the shire courts but had to pay the king one third of any money collected in fines or taxes.

Where does the Anglo in Anglo-Saxon come from?

The people we call Anglo-Saxons were actually immigrants from northern Germany and southern Scandinavia. Bede, a monk from Northumbria writing some centuries later, says that they were from some of the most powerful and warlike tribes in Germany. Bede names three of these tribes: the Angles, Saxons and Jutes.

Who is Anglo-Saxon?

Anglo-Saxon, term used historically to describe any member of the Germanic peoples who, from the 5th century ce to the time of the Norman Conquest (1066), inhabited and ruled territories that are today part of England and Wales.