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Explanatory Notes to 27. The Shires and Hundreds of England

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Katenes. Caithness, Scotland.back to note source

Dewyes-steowe. This place-name refers to Deastow, today called Berwick-upon-Tweed. Its Gaelic name is Bearaig a Deas. Berwick-upon-Tweed is England’s northernmost town, located at the mouth of the River Tweed on the east coast.back to note source

syndon. “(there) are, (there) exist.” This word is one of several third-person plural forms of the verb ben; see MED, ben (v.).back to note source

stol. “episcopal stool, bishopric.” See MED, stol (n.), sense 1b, “an episcopal chair; also, an episcopal see or residence.”back to note source

Eadward King. Saint Edward the Confessor was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England (1042–1088). He appointed his chaplain Heremon as bishop of Ramsbury in 1045.back to note source

Heremon Biscop. Heremon (or Herman) was bishop of Ramsbury and Sherborne before and after the Norman Conquest. He oversaw the unification and establishment of the episcopate at Salisbury in 1075. He was bishop of Salisbury from 1075 until his death in 1078.back to note source

Bridyport. The place named here should be Crediton, not Bridport, located in Dorset well to the east of Crediton and Exeter.back to note source

Leofrych Biscop. Under King Edward the Confessor, Leofric was appointed bishop of Cornwall and Crediton, which were eventually combined and relocated to Exeter, where he was bishop from 1050 until 1072. A bibliophile, he was the donor of the Exeter Book to Exeter Cathedral.back to note source

on Willames daye the yonger kynges. “In the time of William the Younger,” referring to the reign of William Rufus, 1087–1100 (King William II), who was the son of William the Conqueror, first Norman king of England (1066–1087).back to note source

Johan. King John, who reigned over England from 1199 to 1216.back to note source

other half thes wateres. “across the river.” Or perhaps, the phrase means “across the sea, ?Norway.” The historical jurisdictions of the medieval York episcopate are complex. According to Edwin Burton’s “Ancient See of York” in The Catholic Encyclopedia: “Till the Danish invasion the archbishops of Canterbury occasionally exercised authority, and it was not till the Norman Conquest that the archbishops of York asserted their complete independence. At that time they had jurisdiction over Worcester, Lindsey, and Lincoln, as well as the dioceses in the Northern Isles and Scotland. But the first three sees just mentioned were taken from York in 1072. In 1154 the sees of Man and Orkney were transferred to the Norwegian Archbishop of Drontheim, and in 1188 all the Scottish dioceses except Whithern were released from subjection to York, so that Whithern, Durham, and Carlisle remained to the archbishops as suffragan sees.”back to note source

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Lothen. “Lothian,” a region of southeast Scotland, which includes the city of Edinburgh.back to note source

Brutlaund. “Britain,” that is, probably Wales as opposed to “England.”back to note source

hundred hida. “hundred hides” or “hundreds.” A “hundred” is an area that operates its own jurisdictional court system and administration. See MED, hundred (n.), sense 1, and hide (n.(2)), sense 1.back to note source

xxvi. thusend hida and on half hundred. “twenty-six thousand and a half hundred hides.” The sum of the regional hides listed in this paragraph matches the total given (26,050 hides).back to note source