78
THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. ■
[book I.
Hertford, Huntingdon, Bedford, Northampton, Lei-
cester, Lincoln, Nottingham, Cambridge, Norfolk,
SutFolk and' Essex, comprising with Middlesex
thirty-two of the shires, out of forty into which
England is now distributed.
Yet even these names and divisions arc of great
antiquity : Asser, in his life of Ælfred, mentions by
name, Berkshire, Essex, Kent, Surrey, Somerset,
Sussex, Lincoln, Dorset, Devon, Wiltshire and
Southampton, being a third of the whole number :
unfortunately, from his work being composed in
Latin and his consequent use of рада, we cannot
tell how many of these -divisions were considered
by him as Scir.
The Saxon Chronicles, during the period ante-
rior to the reign of Ælfred, seem to know only
the old general divisions : thus we have Cantwara
land, Kent1; Westseaxan, SuSscaxan, Eastseaxan,
Middleseaxan, Wessex, Sussex, Essex, Middlesex :
Eastengle, Eastanglia: NorSanhymbra land, Sii-
Sanhymbra land, Myrcna land, Northumberland,
Southumberland, Mercia : Lindisware and Lindisse,
Lincolnshire: ShSrige, Surrey; Wiht, the Isle of
Wight; Hwiccas, the Hwiccii in Gloucestershire
and Worcestershire2; Merscware, the people of
Romney Marsh : Wilssetan, Dornsmtan and Sumor-
sætan, Wiltshire, Dorsetshire and Somersetshire3.
1 The division of Kent into East Centingas and West Centingas is
retained by the charters till late in the eleventh century.
2 “ Cirrenceaster adiit, qui Britannice Cairceri nominatur, (ɪuae est
in meridians parte Huicciorum.” Asser, Vit. Ælfr. an. 879.
3 Where the country is considered as a territorial division, rather
than with reference to the race that possesses it, instead of sætan or
CH. ш.]
THE GA' OR SCΓR.
79
But after the time of Ælfred, the different ma-
nuscripts of the Chronicles usually adopt the word
Scir, in the same places as we do, and with the same
meaning. Thus we find, Bearrucscir, Bedanford-
scir, Buccingahamscir, Defenascir, Deorabyscir,
Eoforwicscir, Gleawanceasterscir, Grantabrycgscir,
Hamtdnscir (Southampton), Hamtiinscir (North-
ampton), Heortfordscir, Herefordscir, Huntandiin-
scir, Legeceasterscir, Lindicolnascir, Oxnafordscir,
Scrobbesbyrigscir (but also Scrobsetan), Snotinga-
hamscir, Staeffordscir, Wmringwicscir or Waering-
scir, Wigraceasterscir, and Wiltunscir: Middel-
seaxe, Eastseaxe, SirSseaxe, Sii1Srige and Cent re-
main: Eastengle is not divided into Norfolk and
Suffolk. Thus, out of the thirty-two shires south
of the Humber, which Florence and William of
Malmesbury mention, the Chronicles note twenty-
six, of which twenty-one are distinguished as shires
by the word scir.
In Beda nothing of the kind is to be found : the
general scope of his Ecclesiastical History rendered
it unnecessary for him to descend to minute details,
and besides the names of races and kingdoms, he
mentions few divisions of the land. Still he notices
the Provincia Huicciorum : the Middelangli or
Angli Mediterranei, a portion of the Mercians : the
Mercii Australes and Aquilonales : the Regio Suder-
geona or Surrey : the Regio Loidis or Elmet near
York: the Provincia Meanwarorum, or Hundreds
setan, the settlers, we have sæte, the land settled', thus Sumorssete. So
Eastseaxe for Eastseaxan or Eastseaxna land ; Cent for Centingas or
Cantware ; Lindisse for Lindisware.