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Counties of Scotland
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Counties of Scotland
The counties or shires of Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachdan na h-Alba) were historic subdivisions of Scotland.
The shires were originally established in the Middle Ages for judicial purposes, being territories over which a sheriff had jurisdiction. They were distinct from the various older mormaerdoms, earldoms and other territories into which Scotland was also divided, which are collectively termed the provinces of Scotland by modern historians. The provinces gradually lost their functions, whereas the shires gradually gained functions. From the 16th century, the shires served as constituencies, electing shire commissioners to the Parliament of Scotland. From 1667 each shire had commissioners of supply responsible for collecting local taxes; the commissioners of supply were subsequently given various local government functions as well. From 1797, the shires also served as areas for organising the militia, which was the responsibility of a lord-lieutenant.
Following the union of Scotland and England under the Acts of Union 1707, the term "county" came to be used interchangeably with the older term "shire". From 1748 onwards sheriffs ceased to be automatically appointed to a single shire, with progressively larger sheriffdoms created instead, grouping multiple shires under a single sheriff.
Elected county councils were created in 1890 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, taking most of the functions of the commissioners of supply. The county councils were abolished in 1975, when local government was reorganised. Following another reorganisation in 1996, Scotland is now divided into 32 council areas. Some of the council areas share names with the historic counties, but in most such cases they have notable differences in their boundaries. The historic counties are still used for certain limited functions, serving as registration counties. There are also lieutenancy areas which are based on the historic counties, but with some notable differences.
The early Kingdom of Alba was subdivided into smaller territories under the control of various ranks of noble, including mormaers, earls, and thanes. As Alba expanded and evolved into the Kingdom of Scotland, it took in various other territories as it grew. There was no single collective term for these territories at the time, but modern historians now use the term provinces, or provincial lordships for the smaller ones.
Malcolm III (reigned 1058 to 1093) appears to have introduced sheriffs as part of a policy of imitating the administrative structures then being used in England by its Norman rulers. The provinces formed part of the feudal hierarchy of land ownership, but justice was administered by sheriffs, appointed to separately defined shires. More shires were created by Edgar (reigned 1097 to 1107), Alexander I (reigned 1107 to 1124), and in particular David I (reigned 1124 to 1153). David completed the division of the country (as it then was) into shires by the conversion of existing thanedoms.
The shires occasionally covered the same area as a province; for example, the shire of Forfar covered the same area as the province of Angus. More often though, the shires were groupings or subdivisions of the provinces. For example, the province of Lothian was covered by the three shires of Linlithgow, Edinburgh and Haddington. Conversely, the shire of Ayr covered the three provinces of Carrick, Cunninghame and Kyle. Shires were sometimes created which did not endure. For example, there was a Sheriff of Dingwall in the mid-13th century, and in 1293 shires of Lorn and Kintyre were created, which were later merged into the shire of Argyll.
In 1305 Edward I of England, who had deposed John Balliol, issued an ordinance for the government of Scotland. The document listed the twenty-three shires then existing and either appointed new sheriffs or continued heritable sheriffs in office.
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Counties of Scotland
The counties or shires of Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachdan na h-Alba) were historic subdivisions of Scotland.
The shires were originally established in the Middle Ages for judicial purposes, being territories over which a sheriff had jurisdiction. They were distinct from the various older mormaerdoms, earldoms and other territories into which Scotland was also divided, which are collectively termed the provinces of Scotland by modern historians. The provinces gradually lost their functions, whereas the shires gradually gained functions. From the 16th century, the shires served as constituencies, electing shire commissioners to the Parliament of Scotland. From 1667 each shire had commissioners of supply responsible for collecting local taxes; the commissioners of supply were subsequently given various local government functions as well. From 1797, the shires also served as areas for organising the militia, which was the responsibility of a lord-lieutenant.
Following the union of Scotland and England under the Acts of Union 1707, the term "county" came to be used interchangeably with the older term "shire". From 1748 onwards sheriffs ceased to be automatically appointed to a single shire, with progressively larger sheriffdoms created instead, grouping multiple shires under a single sheriff.
Elected county councils were created in 1890 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, taking most of the functions of the commissioners of supply. The county councils were abolished in 1975, when local government was reorganised. Following another reorganisation in 1996, Scotland is now divided into 32 council areas. Some of the council areas share names with the historic counties, but in most such cases they have notable differences in their boundaries. The historic counties are still used for certain limited functions, serving as registration counties. There are also lieutenancy areas which are based on the historic counties, but with some notable differences.
The early Kingdom of Alba was subdivided into smaller territories under the control of various ranks of noble, including mormaers, earls, and thanes. As Alba expanded and evolved into the Kingdom of Scotland, it took in various other territories as it grew. There was no single collective term for these territories at the time, but modern historians now use the term provinces, or provincial lordships for the smaller ones.
Malcolm III (reigned 1058 to 1093) appears to have introduced sheriffs as part of a policy of imitating the administrative structures then being used in England by its Norman rulers. The provinces formed part of the feudal hierarchy of land ownership, but justice was administered by sheriffs, appointed to separately defined shires. More shires were created by Edgar (reigned 1097 to 1107), Alexander I (reigned 1107 to 1124), and in particular David I (reigned 1124 to 1153). David completed the division of the country (as it then was) into shires by the conversion of existing thanedoms.
The shires occasionally covered the same area as a province; for example, the shire of Forfar covered the same area as the province of Angus. More often though, the shires were groupings or subdivisions of the provinces. For example, the province of Lothian was covered by the three shires of Linlithgow, Edinburgh and Haddington. Conversely, the shire of Ayr covered the three provinces of Carrick, Cunninghame and Kyle. Shires were sometimes created which did not endure. For example, there was a Sheriff of Dingwall in the mid-13th century, and in 1293 shires of Lorn and Kintyre were created, which were later merged into the shire of Argyll.
In 1305 Edward I of England, who had deposed John Balliol, issued an ordinance for the government of Scotland. The document listed the twenty-three shires then existing and either appointed new sheriffs or continued heritable sheriffs in office.
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